______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
About Trump
  • Home
  • Article Indices
    • Amy Siskind @ Medium (replicated)
  • The Trump Administration
    • Mike Pence
    • The Cabinet & Aides
    • Ambassadors
  • Cartoons and Memes
    • Anti-Trump Memes
    • Political Cartoons >
      • Donald J. Trump
      • Donald J. Trump, Jr.
      • Anthony Scaramucci
    • QuotableQuotes
    • Anti-Trump Protest Signs
    • Time Magazine Covers
  • Sources
  • Contact Us
  • Our Shopping Mall
    • Shopping 0-9
  • Disclosure Statement

WEEK 46: EXPERTS IN AUTHORITARIANISM ADVISE TO KEEP A LIST OF THINGS SUBTLY CHANGING AROUND YOU, SO YOU’LL REMEMBER.

10/1/2017

0 Comments

 
   
Week #46:  October 1, 2017

This week the country turned to a humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico, where 3.5 million Americans lack basics like water, food, medicine and electricity. At least 16 have already died. Trump seemed split between denying the crisis altogether, and blaming Puerto Rico, its officials and the media. The regime's late and inadequate response to Hurricane Maria is the clearest fallout of Trump's unstaffed federal agencies.
____________________________________________________________


1.    At his UN speech on Saturday, N. Korea's foreign minister warned that a strike against the US mainland is "inevitable" following Trump's mocking Kim Jong Un with the nickname "little rocketman."   Read More About This

2.    An ABC/WAPO poll found 66% see Trump as doing more to divide than unite the country. Just 37% trust Trump on his handling of N. Korea.   Read More About This

3.    Eight months in, the ABC/WAPO poll found Trump's approval at 39% (57% disapprove), the lowest approval level since Truman's presidency.   Read More About This

4.    St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported more than 120 people were forcibly arrested in downtown St. Louis by police cracking down on protests. Numerous innocent bystanders were swept up by police.   Read More About This

5.    BuzzFeed reported DHS published new requirements for immigration files, including: social media handles, aliases, associated identifiable information, and search results. The rules take effect October 18.   Read More About This

6.    The new policy will cover not only new immigrants, but also green card holders and naturalized citizens. The policy will also affect US citizens who communicate with immigrants.   Read More About This

7.    In February, the Office of Inspector General issued a report which found the DHS pilot programs for using social media to screen applicants for immigration lacked criteria to determine if it's effective.   Read More About This

8.    NBC reported the Trump regime wants to lower the number of refugees allowed into the US to 45k in 2018, down significantly from 110k in 2017, and lower than the State Dept's recommended 50k in the travel ban.   Read More About This

9.    Boston Globe reported 50 immigrants were arrested in MA as part of nearly 500 rounded-up nationwide in sanctuary cities and in the case of MA, a state that did fall in line with Trump's aggressive deportation policies.   Read More About This

10.    Reuters reported the number of immigrants without criminal histories arrested by ICE is up more than 200% since Trump took office.   Read More About This

11.    Trump's DOJ is demanding private account information for thousands of Facebook users in three separate search warrants targeted at anti-administration activists. Three activist leaders are named.   Read More About This

12.    One leader, Emmelia Talarico, operated the disruptj20 page where Inauguration Day protests were organized and discussed. The page was visited by roughly 6k users. DOJ has also sought info from Dreamhost.   Read More About This

13.    Daily Beast reported documents obtained under a FOIA request strongly suggest ICE agents are using private information obtained by NSA surveillance in their investigations.   Read More About This

14.    POLITICO reported immigration judges sent to the US-Mexico border to speed deportations by Trump are finding their caseload nearly empty, while full caseloads back home are left unattended to.   Read More About This

15.    Ten confederate flags posters with cotton attached to them were found at American University Tuesday night.   Read More About This

16.    Franklin Township in Ohio, a state that wasn't part of the confederacy, will reinstall a confederate monument taken down in the wake of Charlottesville.   Read More About This

17.    At the Air Force Academy, after finding racial slurs scrawled outside black students' doors, Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria gathered all 4k cadets and told them, "You should be outraged not only as an airman, but as a human being."   Read More About This

18.    House Republican Mark Walker referred to his female colleagues as "eye candy." After public condemnation, he said he regretted his "flippant remark meant to be lighthearted."   Read More About This

19.    An article in Columbia Journalism Review argued "given the surfeit of evidence," including most recently Trump's "castigation of NFL players," it is appropriate to use the term racist about Trump.   Read More About This

20.    At a private dinner Monday night, Trump sounded satisfied with his NFL feud, telling guests, "it's really caught on."   Read More About This

21.    David McCraw of the Palmetto Restaurant and Ale House in Greenville, SC said his restaurant will ban all NFL games until protests end.   Read More About This

22.    In a letter to students and parents, the principal of Parkway High School in LA said athletes must "stand in a respectful manner " during the National Anthem, or risk losing playing time or being removed from their team.   Read More About This

23.    Trump's DOJ argued employees can fire people because of their sexual orientation. The DOJ inserted itself in a case opposing the EEOC which backed Donald Zarda, who was fired by Altitude Express for being gay.   Read More About This

24.    BuzzFeed reported HHS announced, for the first time, the department's ten regional representatives will not help states with planning for the upcoming open enrollment period of Obamacare.   Read More About This

25.    In a letter, Oklahoma officials blamed the Trump regime for rising health-care premiums after the regime missed a deadline to approve a waiver that would have reduced premiums by 30% for 130k residents.   Read More About This

26.    Starting Wednesday and continuing, Trump repeatedly blamed the failure of the latest GOP Obamacare repeal attempt on a US senator being in the hospital, confounding his own aides. No senator is in the hospital.   Read More About This

27.    On Monday, at a rally in Alabama for Strange featuring Pence, campaign staffers informed reporters they couldn't leave the pen to interview voters.   Read More About This

28.    On Tuesday, at a speech at Georgetown Law, Sessions criticized US universities for being "politically correct" and infringing on students' free-speech rights.   Read More About This

29.    Students and faculty protested Sessions speech by taking a knee outside the speech; but ironically many were not allowed inside.   Read More About This

30.    Chuck Rosenberg, the acting head of the DEA, resigned Tuesday, saying Trump has little respect for the law. Rosenberg has served under both W. Bush and Obama, and served twice as Comey's chief of staff.   Read More About This

31.    POLITICO reported even after departures of many Trump aides this summer, many who remain are reaching out to headhunters, lobbyists, and GOP operatives for help in finding new jobs.   Read More About This

32.    USA Today reported information on Ivanka's China supply chain has disappeared since she took a senior role in the Trump regime. Tracking data has vanished, leaving the identity of 90% of shipments a mystery.   Read More About This

33.    Ivanka's business secrecy obscures whether China is using business ties to try to influence the White House  --  and whether Ivanka could profit from Chinese government subsidies while destroying American jobs.   Read More About This

34.    On Monday, in a speech to an oil industry group, Zinke said nearly one-third of Interior's employees are not loyal to Trump. He also said he is working to make the department's culture more business friendly.   Read More About This

35.    Zinke also added, without explanation, "Fracking is proof that God's got a good sense of humor and he loves us."   Read More About This

36.    After campaigning for McConnell in KY in Week 45, Gorsuch addressed a conservative group at the Trump Hotel DC amid protests and criticism for speaking at a venue that is the subject of several lawsuits against Trump.   Read More About This

37.    Sunlight Foundation reported Trump National Golf Club in DC hosted the Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup in September, again raising Emoluments Clause concerns. The Turkish government owns 49% of Turkish Airlines.   Read More About This

38.    WAPO reported at a private dinner Tuesday, Trump told attendees he thoughts his calling Kim Jong Un "Rocket Man" at his address to the UN would be seen as a compliment, not an insult.   Read More About This

39.    POLITICO reported Kushner used a private email set up last December to communicate with regime members about government business.   Read More About This

40.    Kushner's lawyer said fewer than 100 emails were sent or received from January through August, but failed to address December, a month when Kushner had undisclosed meetings with Russians.   Read More About This

41.    On Monday, NYT reported that six WH advisers (Kushner, Ivanka, Cohn, Bannon, Miller, Priebus) used private emails accounts to discuss WH matters, sparking charges of hypocrisy.   Read More About This

42.    While four advisers used commercial email services like Gmail, Kushner created a domain, IJKFamily.com in December 2016 for he and Ivanka.   Read More About This

43.    On Monday, Rep Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Comm, announced he is investigating Kushner's use of personal emails.   Read More About This

44.    CNN reported Kushner didn't inform the Senate Intel Comm about the existence of his personal email account during his recent closed interview.   Read More About This

45.    Burr and Warner wrote a letter to Kushner's attorney instructing him to double-check that he has turned over every relevant document, including those from his personal email account, as well as any other email accounts.   Read More About This

46.    POLITICO reported the WH launched an internal probe of private email use following POLITICO's Sunday report. Of particular interest are Kushner and Ivanka's use of a private email domain.   Read More About This

47.    WSJ reported McGahn considered resigning last summer over lack of protocols for meetings between Trump and Kushner, and concern the meetings would be construed by Mueller as an effort to coordinate stories.   Read More About This

48.    Reuters reported in a letter, McCain and Cardin cited that two months after signing it, Trump has not begun enforcing a law imposing new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea.   Read More About This

49.    The letter also noted the Trump regime has not yet provided information related to Russia's defense and intelligence sectors required under the measure. That information is due tomorrow.   Read More About This

50.    WAPO reported Obama met privately with Zuckerberg at a world leaders meeting in Peru on November 19 to warn him if Russian interference wasn't addressed, it would get worse in the next presidential election.   Read More About This

51.    Facebook contacted the FBI in June 2016 over concerns of Russian espionage after tracking a hacking group, but failed to recognize Russian operatives were pumping propaganda using ad micro-targeting.   Read More About This

52.    WAPO reported Russian operatives used targeted messages on Facebook to exploit racism, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiments, and to sow chaos among Americans during the 2016 election.   Read More About This

53.    The divisive themes used by Russian operatives on Facebook mirrored those used by Trump and his supporters on social ­media and on right-wing websites. Investigators are looking into the possibility of coordination.   Read More About This

54.    BuzzFeed reported Bannon plotted to infiltrate Facebook by getting a spy through the company's hiring process. The idea came from Chris Gacek, a former Congressional staffer who now works at Family Research Council.   Read More About This

55.    POLITICO reported that in addition to Trump, Russian-funded Facebook ads also backed Stein and Sanders.   Read More About This

56.    Daily Beast reported Russian operatives impersonated real American Muslims in a Facebook group United Muslims of America named after a real nonprofit, and shared fake memes about Hillary, McCain and more.   Read More About This

57.    CNN reported Russian operatives bought ads on Facebook which referenced Black Lives Matters and targeted residents of Ferguson and Baltimore. The ads were meant to sow discord among Americans.   Read More About This

58.    Congressional investigators are examining the sophisticated targeted by the Russian operatives, and questions arise on whether they knew how to target their ads because of collusion with the Trump campaign.   Read More About This

59.    Paul Horner, a leading purveyor of fake news during the 2016 election, was found dead of an apparent drug overdose. He was 38. Horner told WAPO in 2016 he thought Trump won the White House because of him.   Read More About This

60.    Mother Jones reported on a new study which found Russia concentrated million of fake news tweets to 27 states, 12 of which were swing states including PA, MI and FL where Trump narrowly won.   Read More About This

61.    In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg said he was wrong to dismiss the notion of fake news and its impact on the election: "Calling that crazy was dismissive and I regret it. This is too important an issue to be dismissive."   Read More About This

62.    In explaining why Trump hasn't been suspended from Twitter despite violating the company's guidelines relating to threats of violence (against N. Korea), the company cited his tweets' "newsworthiness."   Read More About This

63.    NYT reported Russian operative relied heavily on Twitter to influence the 2016 election. The platform was used for large-scale automated messaging using "bot" accounts to spread false stories and promote news articles.   Read More About This

64.    Russian operatives' use of Twitter continues, including this week when a network of accounts activated around Trump's admonishment of the NFL. These accounts continue to identify divisive issues and fan the flames.   Read More About This

65.    Twitter met with House and Senate investigators who are probing Russian interference. The company found roughly 200 accounts believed to be tied to the same Russian operatives who bought ads on Facebook.   Read More About This

66.    Twitter handed over copies of all sponsored tweets purchased by Kremlin-backed news agency RT. Twitter said RT spent $274k on ads in 2016.   Read More About This

67.    Warner said he wasn't satisfied with Twitter's Senate Intel Comm briefing, saying it was "frankly inadequate on almost every level."   Read More About This

68.    WSJ reported Google is conducting a broad internal investigation to assess whether Russian operatives used its ads or services to try to manipulate voters. The company is also talking with Congressional investigators.   Read More About This

69.    On Tuesday, the Trump regime denied a request by Puerto Rico to waive the Jones Act in order to ease shipping restrictions and help get fuel and supplies to the island. Trump had waived the act during Harvey and Irma.   Read More About This

70.    On Tuesday, McCain asked the Trump regime to reverse course and waive the Jones Act to help the Puerto Rican people.   Read More About This

71.    On Wednesday, amid uproar, Trump said he was reluctant to waive the Jones Act, citing "we have a lot of shippers and a lot of people that work in the shipping industry" who are opposed to lifting the act.   Read More About This

72.    Bowing to public pressure, Trump finally waived the Jones Act on Thursday, announced through a tweet by press secretary Sanders.   Read More About This

73.    Lawmakers said Trump's 10-day Jones Act waiver is not enough for Puerto Rico. Several members of Congress are pushing for a one-year period.   Read More About This

74.    On Thursday, AP reported despite DHS Secretary Duke saying "the relief effort is under control," Puerto Ricans say relief is failing them. A young mother of two said, "I have not received any help, and we ran out of food yesterday."   Read More About This

75.    On Friday, while speaking about his tax plan, Trump said Puerto Rico relief is hampered by it being surrounded by water: "This is an island, surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water."   Read More About This

76.    Cummings, the ranking dem on the House Oversight Comm and Placket of USVI called for an emergency hearing on Trump's hurricane response to Puerto Rico and USVI. The Katrina hearing was cited as precedent.   Read More About This

77.    On Friday, the general in charge of relief in Puerto Rico said there are "not enough" troops or equipment to place to help.   Read More About This

78.    On Friday, in a tear-filled plea to the media, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz said, "I will do what I never thought I was going to do. I am begging, begging anyone who can hear us to save us from dying."   Read More About This

79.    On Saturday in a series of tweets, Trump attacked the Mayor of San Juan for "poor leadership" and being "nasty." Mayor Cruz tweeted asking people to focus on "saving lives" and not to be "distracted by anything else."   Read More About This

80.    Trump also sent a series of tweet before and after his golf game Saturday blaming the "Fake New Media," working in conjunction with Democrats, for spreading disinformation and taking away the spirit of our soldiers.   Read More About This

81.    Trump also tweeted blame at the people of Puerto Rico during the week saying they "want everything to be done for them" and that they were "already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

82.    Ironically, Trump's golf course in Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy, listing assets of $9mm and liabilities of $78mm. The Puerto Rican government's $33mm investment in Trump's Coco Beach was completely wiped out.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

83.    WAPO reported on Trump's "lost weekend"  --  after Maria hit Puerto Rico on September 20, Trump spent a long weekend (Sept 21–24) in NJ during which he and his top aides effectively went dark on Puerto Rico.   Read More About This

84.    It wasn't until the following Tuesday, September 26, that Trump addressed the situation in Puerto Rico. This after senior officials said on Monday, Trump "was becoming frustrated by the coverage he was seeing on TV."   Read More About This

85.    POLITICO reported Price combined business travel on government-funded private jets with personal travel, including a trip to St. Simons Island for he and his wife where they owns property, and a lunch with his son.   Read More About This

86.    On Thursday, POLITICO reported Price also took military jets to Europe, Asia and Africa with his wife, costing taxpayers over $500k.   Read More About This

87.    In total, Price's travel costs exceeded $1mm since May. On Thursday, Price said he'd pay for ‘his seat' and write a check for $52k.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

88.    Late Friday, after Trump said Price is "fine man" but that he "didn't like the optics." Price resigned late Friday joining an unusually long list of Trump regime firings and resignations.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

89.    WAPO reported the EPA is spending almost $25k to construct a secure, soundproof communications booth for Pruitt. No previous EPA head had a similar set up.   Read More About This

90.    Pruitt and his deputies have taken other steps to heighten security, including having EPA staff members surrender their cellphones and other digital devices before entering meetings with Pruitt.   Read More About This

91.    WAPO also reported Pruitt took charter and military flights that cost taxpayers more than $58k. The EPA's inspector general announced a preliminary probe into Pruitt's travels to Oklahoma at taxpayer expense.   Read More About This

92.    POLITICO reported Zinke has taken several flights on private or military aircraft, including a $12k charter plane to his hometown in Montana, and two chartered flights for Zinke and his staff to the USVI in March.   Read More About This

93.    WAPO reported Zinke charged taxpayers $12k for a flight on a private plane owned by oil executives.   Read More About This

94.    WAPO reported VA Secretary Shulkin took a 10-day, taxpayer-funded, trip to Europe in July with his wife. Shulkin had four days meeting, and the rest was spent on vacation including Wimbledon, a cruise and sight-seeing.   Read More About This

95.    CBS reported Trump kids' ski vacation to Aspen in March cost taxpayers more than half a million dollars, including $330k in security costs, $196k in lodging and tens of thousands in other expenses.   Read More About This

96.    On Wednesday, Trump launched his tax plan saying, ""I don't benefit. I don't benefit." NYT reported, based on two pages of his 2005 return, Trump could save more than $1.1bn under his new plan.   Read More About This

97.    WSJ reported the Treasury Dept took down a 2012 economic analysis which contradicts Mnuchin's take on corporate-tax cut's winners.   Read More About This

98.    CNN reported after months of being at odds, the IRS Criminal Investigation division is now sharing years of Manafort's and Flynn's tax returns with Mueller. It is not clear if Mueller has Trump's tax returns.   Read More About This

99.    CNN also reported the IRS Criminal Investigation division has been working with the FBI to investigate Manafort since before the election in probes that centers on possible money laundering and tax fraud issues.   Read More About This

100.    ABC reported Mueller is investigating Russian-American money that flowed into the Trump campaign during the election. Three Americans with significant Russian business connections contributed almost $2mm.   Read More About This

101.    POLITICO reported Pence sent his lawyer to meet with Mueller over the summer to express his willingness to cooperate in the Russia probe.   Read More About This

102.    CNN reported Mueller could start interviewing WH staff this week, or possible next depending on scheduling.   Read More About This

103.    Spicer hired Chris Mead, a high-powered criminal defense attorney, to represent him in Mueller's Russia probe.   Read More About This

104.    BuzzFeed reported Tillerson and Lavrov had a 45 minute private meeting. Under Secretary Tom Shannon, US official for Europe Elisabeth Millard, and other US officials were excluded, and a full readout was not provided.   Read More About This

105.    After the candidate he backed in the Alabama, Luther Strange, lost the senate primary Tuesday, Trump deleted his tweets supporting Strange.   Read More About This

106.    Roy Moore, the winner in Alabama who was backed by Bannon, is so extremist in his racism, xenophobia and homophobia, many Republicans when asked simply claimed they had never heard of him.   Read More About This

107.    Corker, a Trump ally during the 2016 campaign, became the second Republican to unexpectedly announce he will not seek re-election in 2018.   Read More About This

108.    A Quinnipiac poll found 69% of Americans think Trump should stop tweeting from his personal account, and 57% think he is not fit to serve.   Read More About This

109.    Trump waited four days to call Merkel and congratulate her on winning re-election. Merkel had called Trump on November 9, one day later.   Read More About This

110.    Fifty days after Trump announced he was going to declare the opioid crisis a national emergency, he still has not made it official.   Read More About This

Pic



Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-46-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-e23a6920c44b

Top of Page


Buy Avon

0 Comments

WEEK 45: EXPERTS IN AUTHORITARIANISM ADVISE TO KEEP A LIST OF THINGS SUBTLY CHANGING AROUND YOU, SO YOU’LL REMEMBER.

9/24/2017

0 Comments

 
   
Week #45:  September 24, 2017

Week 45 is the week of Paul Manafort -- who now in retrospect, seems an even more odd choice by Trump for campaign manager. As Mueller zeroes in on Manafort and Flynn, almost every Trump campaign and WH staffers, past and present, is being drawn in to the expanding Russia probe. This week several regime members drew heat for unrepentant kleptocracy.
____________________________________________________________


1.    In a series of bizarre Sunday morning tweets, Trump referred to Kim Jong Un as the "Rocket Man," retweeted a criticism of a NYT story, and retweeted two of his own tweets.   Read More About This

2.    Trump also retweeted a GIF of him hitting Hillary with a golf ball in the head, sparking criticism for the violent imagery against a female political opponent. Elected Republicans remained silent.   Read More About This

3.    The original account of the golf GIF was @Fuctupmind, whose Twitter feed is full of racist, anti-Semitic and anti-LGBTQ tweets.   Read More About This

4.    Trump began his first UN remarks by mentioning Trump World Tower, "I actually saw great potential right across the street to be honest with you."   Read More About This

5.    Trump threatened to "totally destroy" N. Korea, and using his new nickname for Kim Jong Un, said, "Rocket man is on a suicide mission." N. Korea's ambassador walked out before Trump's speech started.   Read More About This

6.    Trump also said, "I will always put America first," and urged other leaders to do the same. Several analysts compared Trump's speech to the 1920'swhen traditionalist reacted to changing times by stoking hate of others.   Read More About This

7.    WAPO's Asia Pacific reporter noted Kim Jong Un's regime tells N. Korean people every day that the US "wants to destroy them and their country. Now, they will hear it from another source" -- Trump.   Read More About This

8.    On Wednesday, in an escalating war of words, N. Korea's foreign minister likened Trump to a "dog barking."   Read More About This

9.    On Thursday, while threatening escalation, Kim Jong Un called Trump a "mentally deranged US dotard." N. Korea analysts noted it is unprecedented to have Kim Jong Un himself directly attack a US leader.   Read More About This

10.    On Friday, the LA Times reported aides repeatedly warned Trump not to deliver a personal attack on Kim Jong Un at his UN speech, saying insults could irreparably escalate tensions.   Read More About This

11.    Pew Research reported America's image has suffered since Trump took office. In a survey spanning 37 nations, just 22% have confidence Trump is doing the right thing in international affairs, versus 64% for Obama.   Read More About This

12.    As tensions rise with N. Korea, 76% of S. Koreans and 72% of Japanese say they have no confidence in Trump to do the right thing in world affairs.   Read More About This

13.    Trump also blasted Iranian leaders as a "corrupt dictatorship behind the false guise of a democracy," and said "the Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions," and an "embarrassment" to the US.   Read More About This

14.    On Friday, Iran showed off its new ballistic missile at a military parade in Tehran. President Rouhani said, "when it comes to defending our country, we will ask nobody for their permission."   Read More About This

15.    At a bilateral meeting, Trump praised Turkey's authoritarian leader Erdogan, saying: "We have a great friendship." Erdogan is the subject of international condemnation for his brutal crackdown on dissidents.   Read More About This

16.    State authorities in NH are investigating the wounding of an 8 year-old biracial boy as a possible hate crime. The boy was pushed off a picnic table with a rope around his neck by teenagers.   Read More About This

17.    US Army recruiters are canceling contracts with hundreds of immigrant recruits, exposing some to deportation. Recruiters claim the move is to eliminate onerous background investigations from the enlistment process.   Read More About This

18.    Newsweek reported white supremacists are recruiting on college campuses. At University of Houston, flyers reading "Beware the International Jew" and "Imagine a Muslim-Free America" were hung around campus.   Read More About This

19.    McClatchy reported the Trump regime is considering a policy which would fast-track the deportation of thousands of unaccompanied Central American teenagers who arrived at the southern border.   Read More About This

20.    More than 150k children who arrived at the southern border, escaping violence and poverty in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, would be sent back when they turn 18, without seeing an immigration judge first.   Read More About This

21.    NPR reported parents traveling within Texas to a hospital to get their two-month old a lifesaving operation were arrested and put into deportation proceedings. A hospital nurse may have tipped border patrol off.   Read More About This

22.    Under Obama, immigration agents avoided enforcement actions at hospitals, schools and churches. The Trump regime rounds up people in the country illegally at those places, even if they have no criminal record.   Read More About This

23.    Guardian reported Trump has assembled the most male-dominated government in decades, with 80% of nominations for top jobs in the Trump regime going to men.   Read More About This

24.    On Friday, DeVos formally rescinded Obama-era policies campus sexual assault meant to protect victims, instead siding with men's rights advocates. No formal policy was put in place, just a higher burden of proof.   Read More About This

25.    WSJ reported as Trump's temporary travel ban expired Friday, DHS may replace it with a targeted approach that will impact nine countries, only one of which is not majority Muslim. Trump has no business interests in the six already on the list, it is uncertain about the additional three.   Read More About This

26.    A triathlon scheduled to take place at Trump National golf course in NC, originally named "Tri at the Trump" then rebranded "Tri for Good," was canceled amid controversy. This would have been the race's fourth year.   Read More About This

27.    WJAR-TV, one of RI's most watched television stations, said it is being forced by its owner Sinclair Broadcast Group to broadcast multiple programs favorable to Trump.   Read More About This

28.    AP reported the Republican Governors Associations quietly set up a media outlet, "The Free Telegraph." Critics called the website, which makes no mention of a being a product of an official party committee, propaganda.   Read More About This

29.    On Monday, Trump said he was looking into staging a military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue for July 4th.   Read More About This

30.    On Wednesday, in a speech at a lunch with African leaders, Trump praised the health care of Nambia, a nonexistent African country.   Read More About This

31.    Nicaragua announced it will sign on to the Paris climate accord  --  leaving only Syria and the US outside it.   Read More About This

32.    Trump blocked a woman with stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma on Twitter. Laura Packard had tweeted Graham-Cassidy would jeopardize the lives of people like her who rely on Obamacare exchanges for coverage.   Read More About This

33.    AP reported lawmakers across the country introduced dozens of bills this year which would close or limit public access to a wide range of government records and meetings.   Read More About This

34.    The Trump regime has removed links to taxpayer-funded climate data on the U.S. Geological Survey website. A search for "Effects of Climate Change" had 2,825 items in December and today has zero items.   Read More About This

35.    WAPO reported that in a memo to Trump, Interior Sec Zinke is recommending modifying 10 national monuments created by Obama, including shrinking the boundaries of at least four.   Read More About This

36.    Justice Gorsuch campaigned for McConnell in a speech in McConnell's hometown on Thursday. In Week 21, McConnell passed the filibuster-ending "nuclear option" that allowed Gorsuch to get confirmed.   Read More About This

37.    WAPO reported Democrats are introducing The Hotel Act, legislation which would ban federal officials from using taxpayer fund for travel expenses at Trump-owned properties or locales.   Read More About This

38.    POLITICO reported HHS Sec Price used a private-jet for travel, breaking precedent. Price has been an outspoken critic of federal spending, and has developed a plan for department-wide savings at HHS.   Read More About This

39.    POLITICO also reported Price traveled by private by private plane at least 24 times since early May, costing taxpayers more than $300k. Many flights were to conferences, so dates were known well in advance.   Read More About This

40.    The most frequent justification for chartered flights is lack of comparable options. POLITICO found several commercial flight options at comparable times for five chartered flights Price took last week.   Read More About This

41.    WAPO reported according to a senior administration official, the WH did not approve Price's travel on chartered planes.   Read More About This

42.    On Friday, WAPO reported the HHS Inspector General is investigating Price's use of two dozen chartered flights in recent months.   Read More About This

43.    ABC reported Treasury Dept investigators are also looking into a charter flight Mnuchin took from NY to DC on August 15 at a cost to taxpayers of $25k. There are ample flight and rail alternatives available for this route.   Read More About This

44.    For a third time, Republicans in the Senate tried to pass healthcare without using regular order or trying for any bi-partisan support. McCain's vote against these tactics will likely cause Graham-Cassidy to fail.   Read More About This

45.    The Trump regime continued to sabotage Obamacare: HHS announced it will shut down the @HHSgov website for 12 hours during all but one Sunday in the remaining six weeks of open enrollment season.   Read More About This

46.    Jeff Mateer, Trump's nominee for a federal judgeship in Texas, in two 2015 speeches, described transgender children are evidence of "Satan's plan," and lamented that states were banning conversion therapy.   Read More About This

47.    WAPO reported the EPA has spent $833k on Pruitt's round-the-clock personal security detail over the past three months, doubling what was spent by his predecessors, and amid massive cost cutting for the agency.   Read More About This

48.    According to a copy of his schedule obtained by WAPO, Pruitt met regularly with executives from the auto, mining and fossil fuel industries  --  in some cases shortly before making decisions favorable to them.   Read More About This

49.    POLITICO reported a review of Trump's pick for USDA hires reveals the agency is full of campaign staff and volunteers, many of whom have little or no federal policy experience or knowledge about agriculture.   Read More About This

50.    Trump's picks are also being paid above their pay scale. One former truck driver is being paid the highest levels on the federal government's pay scale, a GS-12, earning $80k annually, although he has no college degree.   Read More About This

51.    Former Trump campaign adviser Michael Caputo said he will need to liquidate part of his children's college fund to pay for specialized legal representation in the Mueller Russia probe.   Read More About This

52.    Flynn's siblings launched a legal-defense fund to help defray the costs of the Russia probe. The family will not disclose the identity of donors, raising concerns from ethics experts.   Read More About This

53.    Reuters reported Trump is using money donated to his re-election campaign and the RNC to pay for his legal fees related to the Russia probe.   Read More About This

54.    CNN reported the RNC spent $231k in August to cover Trump's legal fees, paying personal attorneys Sekulow $131k and Dowd $100k.   Read More About This

55.    The RNC has also payed nearly $200k of Donald Jr.'s legal fees for the Russia probe in August.   Read More About This

56.    WSJ reported the Republican Party is funding Trump's legal defense in the Russia probe with help from a handful of wealthy individuals, including a Ukrainian-born American with close business ties to Russian oligarchs.   Read More About This

57.    NYT reported Donald Jr. has decided to forego his Secret Service protection, citing he wants more privacy.   Read More About This

58.    Jody Hunt, Sessions' chief-of-staff and Trump's pick to be assistant AG of the DOJ's Civil Division, was present at a key meeting between Sessions, Comey and Trump, at which Trump asked all but Comey to leave.   Read More About This

59.    Sessions' new chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, said Mueller's Russia probe is turning into a "witch hunt," and said Rosenstein should "order Mueller to limit the scope of his investigation."   Read More About This

60.    On Tuesday, Senate investigators canceled a meeting with Michael Cohen, saying he broke an agreement by releasing a statement and speaking to the media. NBC reports the committee will subpoena Cohen instead.   Read More About This

61.    Guardian reported on the eighth person at the June 9 Trump Tower meeting: Ikray "Ike" Kaveladze, saying he is an associate of some of Russia's richest and most powerful people.   Read More About This

62.    Kaveladze was involved in the 2013 takeover of Stillwater Mining by Norilsk Nickel, a Russian mining firm owned by an associate of Putin -- the first Russian company to take a majority stake in a US company. Kaveladze served on the new company's board.   Read More About This

63.    NYT reported on two Trump lawyers, Cobb and Dowd, overheard by NYT reporters while discussing over lunch a clash within Trump's legal team over how much to cooperate with Mueller.   Read More About This

64.    Per the overheard conversation, WH officials fear that colleagues are wearing wires for Mueller. NYT reported in the aftermath McGahn erupted at Cobb, and Kelly reprimanded him.   Read More About This

65.    CBS reported FBI surveillance of Manafort during 2016 picked up conversations between Manafort and Russians about the campaign, and may also include conversations between Manafort and Trump.   Read More About This

66.    WSJ reported Mueller's team interviewed deputy AG Rosenstein about Trump's firing of Comey in June or July. Mueller has independence on his investigation, but ultimately answers to Rosenstein.   Read More About This

67.    Rosenstein said Trump shrugged off any potential consequences for firing Comey. Rosenstein also turned over the May 8 memo from Trump which outlined his rationale for firing Comey, to Mueller's team.   Read More About This

68.    CNN reported Manafort was wiretapped by the US government. The wiretap was first authorized by the special court that handles FISA warrants in 2014 when Manafort was the subject of a FBI investigation.   Read More About This

69.    The surveillance was discontinued late last year for lack of evidence, then restarted by the FBI under a new FISA warrant for ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, which extended into early 2017.   Read More About This

70.    NYT reported on aggressive tactics being employed by Mueller's investigator against Manafort, including prosecutors telling him they planned to indict him as they searched his Virginia home.   Read More About This

71.    To get the search warrant, Mueller's team had to show probable cause that Manafort's home contained evidence of a crime. To pick the lock, prosecutors had to persuade a judge Manafort would destroy evidence.   Read More About This

72.    Also of note: Mueller's team first learned of the emails between Donald Jr. and Russians to set up the June 9 meeting through NYT reporting.   Read More About This

73.    WAPO reported Mueller has requested extensive records and email correspondence from the WH for 13 categories which investigators for the special counsel have identified as critical to their probe.   Read More About This

74.    Mueller's agents have zeroed in on Manafort and Flynn. Their past associates are being questioned on whether they tried to conceal consulting work that could have benefited foreign governments.   Read More About This

75.    NYT reported requests relate to the areas of Flynn's hiring and firing, the Comey firing, and Trump's Oval Office meeting with Lavrov and Kislyak at which he said the Comey firing has relieved "great pressure" on him.   Read More About This

76.    Documents are also sought for communications with Manafort, as well as Trump's campaign foreign policy team: Carter Page, J. D. Gordon, Keith Kellogg, George Papadopoulos, Walid Phares and Joseph E. Schmitz.   Read More About This

77.    Other areas include Flynn's conversations with Kislyak, Spicer's statements on Comey's firing, and the June 9 Trump Tower meeting and the WH response to that meeting.   Read More About This

78.    Axios reported Spicer's colleagues say he filled "notebook after notebook" at meetings during the campaign and then at the WH. Spicer was known for keeping copious notes.   Read More About This

79.    When Axios's Mike Allen texted Spicer for a comment, Spicer responded, "From a legal standpoint I want to be clear: Do not email or text me again. Should you do again I will report to the appropriate authorities."   Read More About This

80.    WAPO reported that less than two weeks before the RNC Convention, Manafort made an offer in an email through an intermediary to give Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska a private briefing.   Read More About This

81.    Manafort and Deripaska had a business relationship in which Manafort was paid as an investment consultant. Deripaska is one of Russia's richest men, and someone Putin turns to on a regular basis.   Read More About This

82.    Manafort emails indicate he may have been looking to get paid money owed by past clients using his role and influence as Trump's campaign manager. An email in April asked, "How do we use to get whole?"   Read More About This

83.    Also of note, Deripaska claimed Manafort siphoned off $19mm of funds intended for investments -- for which Deripaska sued in US court. It is possible Manafort was looking to wipe that debt away.   Read More About This

84.    Also in email, Manafort communicated with Konstantin Kilimnik, his long-time man in Kiev who attended Soviet military school, using code terms like "OVD" for Deripaska and "black caviar" for possible payments.   Read More About This

85.    NYT reported in order to help defray his legal expenses, Manafort is working for allies of the leader of Iraq's Kurdish region on a referendum on Kurdish independence from Iraq. The US opposes the referendum.   Read More About This

86.    As part of that work, Manafort may leave the country and return to the region in the coming days for the vote.   Read More About This

87.    NYT reported New York-based law firm Skadden, Arps has been asked by the DOJ for documentation related to work arranged by Manafort for Viktor Yanukovych, the Russia-aligned former PM of Ukraine.   Read More About This

88.    The work was part of an effort to shield Yanukovych from international condemnation for his government prosecuting and convicting the former Ukrainian PM Tymoshenko without evidence and for political reasons.   Read More About This

89.    Skadden, Arps has returned half the $1.1mm in fees the firm received. It is unclear if the document request relates to Mueller's Russia probe, and its focus on Manafort.   Read More About This

90.    Former Trump campaign manager Lewandowski, while defending Trump, said he hopes Manafort, Stone or any others on the campaign who colluded with Russia in 2016, "go to jail for the rest of their lives."   Read More About This

91.    Mueller brought in Stephen Kelly, fmr congressional affairs chief for the FBI, to act as a liaison to Capitol Hill. Kelly will be a point of contact and keep congressional investigators up to date on the special counsel's probe.   Read More About This

92.    Twitter will meet with the Senate Intel Comm next week relating to the committee's investigation into Russian interference in the US election.   Read More About This

93.    Bowing to pressure from lawmakers and the public, Facebook will release 3k ads bought by a Russian agency to congressional investigators. Facebook also vowed to be more "transparent."   Read More About This

94.    Daily Beast reported Russians used Facebook to organize more than a dozen pro-Trump rallies in Florida during the 2016 election. The page for one such group, "Being Patriotic," was closed by Facebook in August 2017.   Read More About This

95.    On Friday morning, Trump defended Russia from Facebook ads as being a "Russia hoax," while attacking Hillary, tweeting the greatest influence was "the Fake News Media "screaming" for Crooked Hillary Clinton."   Read More About This

96.    USA Today reported, according to the FBI, as many as 39 states had their election systems scanned or targeted by Russia. Several states are now considering switching back to paper ballots.   Read More About This

97.    On Friday, DHS contacted election officials in 21 states to notify them they had been targeted by Russian government hackers during the 2016 election. This was the first time government officials contacted the states.   Read More About This

98.    DHS did not make names of the 21 states public, citing privacy. BuzzFeedreported state officials are outraged, and wanting to know why it took DHS a year to inform them. Sen Warner called the delay "unacceptable."   Read More About This

99.    PA and WI, states with odd voting patterns which were the subject of recounts, were among the 21 disclosed as of Friday night. Officials in FL, another surprise on election night, said they were also a target of Russia.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

100.    On Friday night, former DNI Clapper said US Intel's findings on Russia's election interference "did serve to cast doubt on the legitimacy" of Trump's victory, and expressed concern that Russian interference will continue.   Read More About This

101.    On Friday night in Alabama, at what was supposed to be a campaign rally for Sen Luther Strange, Trump said of his support of Strange, "I'll be honest, I might have made a mistake."   Read More About This

102.    The campaign rally turned out to be a 90 minute rant, including Trump again deriding Kim Jong Un, calling him "little Rocket Man."   Read More About This

103.    Trump also said of Colin Kaepernick who took a knee in protest, NFL owners should respond by saying, "Get that son of a bitch off the field."   Read More About This

104.    The next morning, Trump tweeted about Stephen Curry, a member of the NBA Champion Warriors who had expressed reservations about going to the WH: "Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!"   Read More About This

105.    A WAPO opinion writer described how Trump is making Americans sick: including rising blood pressure, a surge in mouth-guards for night-time teeth clenching and grinding, and unusually busy psychotherapists.   Read More About This

106.    Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, decimating the island and leaving 3.5mm without electricity for months. On Friday, 70k were evacuated over concern of a failing dam. Trump did little to mention or address this crisis.   Read More About This

107.    The Trump regime plans to rollback Obama-era limitations on drone strikes and commando raids outside conventional battlefields.   Read More About This

Pic



Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-45-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-bf4226b63a4e

Top of Page


Buy Avon

0 Comments

WEEK 44: EXPERTS IN AUTHORITARIANISM ADVISE TO KEEP A LIST OF THINGS SUBTLY CHANGING AROUND YOU, SO YOU’LL REMEMBER.

9/17/2017

0 Comments

 
   
Week #44:  September 16, 2017

Front and center this week were reports on Russia's use of social media to influence the US election, possibly with help from the Trump regime. As well, a slew of reporting continued to build the evolving mosaic of connections and quid pro quo between members of the Trump regime and Putin allies.

Trump's short-lived pivot ended abruptly late in the week when he again evoked "both sides" on Charlottesville, then started an embarrassing tweet storm about a tragic bombing in London. An interview by Rachel Maddow of Hillary on her new book, provided a momentary pause and wake up call for how much our country has changed -- both our global standing and government competency -- under a leader who admires, and aspires to authoritarianism.
____________________________________________________________


1.    When asked about Hurricane Irma, Trump took the opportunity to compliment the Coast Guard's branding: "If you talk about branding? No brand has improved more than the United States Coast Guard."   Read More About This

2.    Axios reported according to an adviser, Trump finally realized: "People really f@&@ing hate me." The adviser noted Trump's need for affirmation may have led to his sudden embrace of Schumer and Pelosi.   Read More About This

3.    WH social media director Dan Scavino Jr. tweeted then deleted a video, which he incorrectly attributed to Miami Airport during Hurricane Irma.   Read More About This

4.    FP reported on growing concerns within the CIA that due to his personal beliefs, Trump ally Pompeo is rolling back the agency's diversity mandate.   Read More About This

5.    In June, senior CIA management abruptly canceled an event with the Matthew Shepard Foundation, in honor of their late gay son. Shepard's death led to some of the country's first federal hate crime laws.   Read More About This

6.    On Sunday, Trump announced his sixth wave of US Attorney nominations: 41 of the 42 were men.   Read More About This

7.    On Monday, Trump nominated six to become US attorneys. All six where white men.   Read More About This

8.    Trump's NASA nominee Bridenstine was quoted as saying the agency should be reorganized, and "expansion of human knowledge" about space and Earth should be removed from NASA's objectives.   Read More About This

9.    The UNC Board of Governors approved a ban on litigation which effectively ended the civil rights center work benefitting low-income and minority groups at UNC's law school.   Read More About This

10.    ICE arrested a 34 year-old father of two in Santa Fe, using his younger brother, who was in HHS custody, as bait.   Read More About This

11.    Phoenix New Times reviewed ICE arrest records and found that employees at two Motel 6 locations in predominantly Latino neighborhoods were alerting ICE on undocumented guests.   Read More About This

12.    After an outcry on social media, Motel 6 said it would stop sharing guest lists, but has yet to acknowledge if this was only done at the local level, and to explain why employees were collaborating with ICE.   Read More About This

13.    NYT reported the Trump regime is considering lowering the refugee quota to below 50k, the lowest level since 1980, and less than half the 110k admitted by Obama in 2016.   Read More About This

14.    An ABC News affiliate reported DACA recipients are being detained for hours at Texas border checkpoints, with no explanation as to why. Border Patrol claim it's new protocol.   Read More About This

15.    A federal judge in Chicago blocked DOJ's rules under Sessions which required sanctuary cities to cooperate with immigration agents in order to get public safety grants, like the COPS program in Week 43.   Read More About This

16.    In the wake of Charlottesville, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution condemning white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other hate groups. The resolution called Heyer's murder a "domestic terrorist act."   Read More About This

17.    The resolution urges Trump and his regime to speak out against hate groups, and called on the DOJ and federal agencies to use all resources to improve data on hate crimes, and address growth of hate groups.   Read More About This

18.    On Tuesday, the House unanimously approved the resolution, and on Wednesday, press secretary Sanders said Trump " looks forward" to signing the resolution.   Read More About This

19.    Instead, on Thursday, Trump claimed that both sides were to blame in Charlottesville, repeating his charge that those who resisted the neo-Nazis and white supremacists were as much to blame as the alt-right crowds.   Read More About This

20.    WAPO reported POLITICO's editors warned staff on topics like physical attacks on journalists and white supremacy: "Try to stay away from those things because some of them are partisan."   Read More About This

21.    Trump nominated Eric Dreiband to lead the DOJ's Civil Rights Division. Dreiband testified against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and represented UNC in banning transgender people from using the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity.   Read More About This

22.    In her book "Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History," reporter Katy Tur detailed an unwanted kiss from Trump while covering his campaign. Tur said she was "mortified."   Read More About This

23.    Axios reported that according to an internal memo, the CDC is cracking down on employees communications with the press. The memo says not to speak to reporters, "even for a simple data-related question."   Read More About This

24.    On Monday, Trump's DOJ said in a court filing that a judge should erase her finding that Arpaio violated a court order and was guilty of criminal contempt -- a symbol of vindication.   Read More About This

25.    Two legal advocacy groups filed challenges to Trump's pardon of Arpaio, saying it was unconstitutional because it undermines the power of the judicial branch.   Read More About This

26.    Salon reported Trump has formed at least 49 new businesses since he announced his run for presidency, and continuing since he took office. He has done almost nothing to separate himself from his businesses.   Read More About This

27.    McClatchy reported despite Trump's pledge not to work with foreign entities, a construction company owned by the Chinese government was hired to work on Trump's new golf club development in Dubai.   Read More About This

28.    BuzzFeed reported Trump International Beach Resort in Florida has asked the government for permission to hire more temporary foreign workers. Trump has sought more than 380 H-2 visas since June 2015.   Read More About This

29.    Florida AG Pam Bondi will start next week on Trump's commission to combat the opioid crisis. In April, an ethics commission cleared Bondi of accepting a $25k donation from Trump at the same time she received a complaint on Trump University for fraud, which her office dismissed.   Read More About This

30.    In a September report on executive branch agency waivers and authorizations, the OGE noted the WH has refused to provide information requested and to answer follow-up questions on secret WH waivers.   Read More About This

31.    The Secret Service released just 22 of the visitor names to Mar-a-Lago in response to an April FOIA filing by CREW and two other groups. All 22 names were all related to Japanese PM Abe's February visit   Read More About This

32.    The limited disclosure violated a Federal judge's order to turn over all visitor names from Jan 20  -  March 8, 2017. Trump has spent 25 days at Mar-a-Lago. CREW promised to head back to court.   Read More About This

33.    WAPO shared a receipt sent to "National Security Council" from Mar-a-Lago, showing taxpayers were billed the "rack rate" of $1,092 for a two-night stay. Mar-a-Lago is 99% owned by Trump's revocable trust.   Read More About This

34.    Derek Harvey, the controversial former Mideast chief for the NSC who was fired by McMaster, is going to work for Nunes.   Read More About This

35.    At Trump's behest, McConnell is considering making the blue slip, a way for individual senators to block a nominees from their home states, advisory instead when it comes to appeals court nominees.   Read More About This

36.    POLITICO reported, in a reversal of internal policy, OGE said WH staffers may accept anonymous donations from lobbyists to legal defense funds.   Read More About This

37.    Late Friday, after scrutiny from the POLITICO story, OGE clarified its rules, saying contributions to legal defense funds from anonymous donors, as well as those from lobbyists and foreign governments, are unacceptable.   Read More About This

38.    ABC reported Mnuchin requested use of a government jet to take him and his wife to their honeymoon in Europe, prompting an "inquiry" by the Treasury Dept's Office of Inspector General.   Read More About This

39.    CREW sued the Treasury Dept for documents relating to Mnuchin's use of a government plane to travel to Kentucky with his wife Louise Linton. The Treasury Dept failed to respond to a prior request for disclosure.   Read More About This

40.    Trump's Election Integrity Comm convened its second meeting in NH. Of note, the list of witnesses included no people of color or women, but instead allies of Kobach and tarnished academics.   Read More About This

41.    Gizmodo reported on a document obtained from the DOJ which shows Sessions was lobbied by Heritage Foundation to exclude Democrats, mainstream Republicans, and academics from Election Integrity Comm.   Read More About This

42.    The author of the letter from Heritage, Hans von Spakovsky, participated in Kobach's NH meeting, on a panel. Spakovsky has led the charge for strict voter ID laws for more than a decade.   Read More About This

43.    In a statement, Alan King, a Democratic judge from Alabama on Trump's Election Integrity Comm, criticized the commission for overzealous effortsto purge people from voter rolls in favor of more affluent voters.   Read More About This

44.    ProPublica investigated the Election Integrity Comm's use of emails and found no instructions or training has been given. Some commission members are using private email which violates federal law.   Read More About This

45.    On Monday, Mexico withdrew its offer of aid to help Hurricane Harvey victims, noting Trump failed to send condolences to Mexico for a magnitude 8.1 earthquake and hurricane.   Read More About This

46.    NYT reported that in a WH meeting, Kelly likened Mexico to Venezuela under the leadership of the Chávez regime, and suggested it was on the verge of a collapse which would have repercussions for the US.   Read More About This

47.    Despite an ongoing DOJ investigation into Malaysian PM Najib Razak for misappropriating billions of dollars from a government fund he controlled, Trump invited him to the WH for a friendly visit.   Read More About This

48.    Najib has also been criticized for human rights violations under his leadership. He and his entourage stayed at the Trump Hotel DC.   Read More About This

49.    Yahoo reported Russian news agency, Sputnik, is under investigation by the FBI into whether it is acting as an undeclared propaganda arm of the Kremlin in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).   Read More About This

50.    Andrew Feinberg, Sputnik's former WH correspondent, turned over emails to the FBI. Feinberg said supervisors regularly "would say, ‘Moscow wants this or Moscow wants that.'"   Read More About This

51.    Feinberg also told MSNBC many of the popular articles from right-wing media outlets like Breitbart, Infowars and Gateway Pundit and were prominently featured on Sputnik's website.   Read More About This

52.    RT, the Russian state-owned outlet, said it will be required by the FBI to register as a foreign agent in the US, signaling their content will be viewed as propaganda of Moscow.   Read More About This

53.    Russian journalist Latynina fled Russia with her family following a series of attacks. Latynina writes for an independent newspaper and Friday received a prize for defending human rights and freedom of the press.   Read More About This

54.    Priebus and McGahn both hired lawyer William Burck to represent them in the Mueller Russia probe.   Read More About This

55.    POLITICO reported lawyers for former and current Trump aides are advising clients not to lie for Trump. Lawyers are also warning clients that being connected to Trump won't protect them from criminal charges.   Read More About This

56.    WSJ reported some of Trump's lawyers concluded earlier this summer Kushner should step down. Among their concerns were undisclosed meeting with Russians, and mentioning Mueller probe to other WH staff.   Read More About This

57.    Also knowing the June 9 meeting was yet to come out publicly, lawyers had prepared talking points for Kushner's resignation, blaming the toxic political environment and him being used as a weapon against Trump.   Read More About This

58.    Russian politician Vyacheslav Nikonov, a member of the Duma, said on live TV that Russia stole the US presidency. The TV show focused on the US's diminishing power on the world stage.   Read More About This

59.    Daily Beast reported Russia used Facebook's event-management tool to remotely organize and promote political protests, including an August 2016 anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rally in Idaho.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

60.    The event was hosted by "SecuredBorders," outed as a Russian front in March. When their Facebook page was taken down last month, the group had 133k followers.   Read More About This

61.    Former FBI agent Clint Watts noted this group is an example of the next step in Russian influence: "The second part of behavior influence is when you can get people to physically do something."   Read More About This

62.    In the months leading up to the Idaho rally, there were dozens of stories on right-wing websites like Infowars and Breitbart implying immigrants were taking over Twin Falls.   Read More About This

63.    Business Insider reported on another Russian-link Facebook group: "Heart of Texas," which had over 225k followers, and was taken down by Facebook last week.   Read More About This

64.    The group started by posting anti-Hillary memes, then became shifted as Election Day neared. Starting in November, "Heart of Texas" organized a series of anti-immigrant, anti-Hillary rallies across Texas.   Read More About This

65.    ProPublica reported Facebook enabled advertisers to target ads towards users who expressed interest in categories like "Jew hater" and "How to burn jews." After ProPublica contact them, Facebook took these down.   Read More About This

66.    Bloomberg reported that Russia's effort to influence US voters through Facebook and other social media is a "red-hot" focus of Mueller, as well as possible links in that effort to the Trump campaign.   Read More About This

67.    WSJ reported Facebook has given Mueller more details on Russian ad buys, including copies of the ads and details about the accounts that bought them and the targeting criteria they used.   Read More About This

68.    While Congress has the power to subpoena Facebook for "basic subscriber records" and to call witnesses, Mueller's search warrant compels Facebook to disclose much more detailed information.   Read More About This

69.    Vanity Fair reported that Congressional investigators and Mueller are focused on whether any Americans helped Russia target social media to impact crucial swing districts and wavering voter demographics.   Read More About This

70.    In an interview with Forbes after the election, Kushner bragged about the Trump campaign's online efforts, and said he had a technology expert "give me a tutorial on how to use Facebook micro-targeting."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

71.    Questions also emerge about possible ties between Kushner and Parscale to data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica, whose major investor is Robert Mercer, a patron of Bannon.   Read More About This

72.    Senate Intel Comm ranking members Burr and Warner said they are likely to ask representatives from Facebook to publicly testify on Russia's activity on their platform during the 2016 election.   Read More About This

73.    Sen. Warner tweeted that groups linked to Russia which used Facebook to meddle in the 2016 election paid in Rubles.   Read More About This

74.    A campaign finance reform group, headed by the former chair of the FEC Trevor Potter, said Facebook was an "accomplice" in a Russian influence scheme, and called on the company to publicly release Russian ads.   Read More About This

75.    BuzzFeed obtained a proposal delivered by a Putin diplomat to Trump three months into office detailing a wholesale restoration of diplomatic, military, and intelligence channels between Russia and the US.   Read More About This

76.    Members of the WH and State Dept did not dispute the authenticity of the proposal. Delivering the proposal meant Russia believed Trump would not hold alleged 2016 election interference against them.   Read More About This

77.    The Daily Beast reported the Trump campaign has begun turning over documents to Mueller. The Mueller probe is broad, and it is treating the WH, transition team, and campaign as separate legal entities.   Read More About This

78.    At a press briefing Tuesday, Sanders said the DOJ "should certainly look at" prosecuting Comey, claiming he had leaked privileged information to the media and offered false testimony to Congress.   Read More About This

79.    On Wednesday, WH Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee-Sanders again said Comey, essentially a political opponent, should face criminal charges for leaking a memo to the NYT.   Read More About This

80.    Sanders also said ESPN reporter Jemele Hill should be fired for her Monday tweet referring to Trump as "a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists."   Read More About This

81.    NYT reported after Trump was told that Mueller was appointed, he berated Sessions in the Oval Office. Trump called Sessions an "idiot," and said picking him for AG was the "worst decisions he had made."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

82.    Trump blamed the Mueller appointment on Sessions's decision to recuse himself from the DOJ Russia investigation, and said Sessions should resign. Sessions said he would quit and sent a resignation letter.   Read More About This

83.    Sessions later told associates the way Trump publicly demeaned him was his most humiliating experience in his decades of public life.   Read More About This

84.    Flynn refused a new request to appear in front of the Senate Intel Comm. Flynn has offered to testify before both the Senate and House Intel Comms in exchange for immunity, but neither committee accepted the offer.   Read More About This

85.    Top Democrats on the House Intel and Foreign Affairs wrote in a letter that Flynn concealed more than a dozen foreign contacts and overseas tripsduring the process of renewing his security clearances in 2016.   Read More About This

86.    The foreign contact information came from three private companies advised by Flynn which were pursuing a joint venture with Russia in 2015 and 2016 to bring nuclear power to several Middle Eastern countries.   Read More About This

87.    WSJ reported Flynn continued promoting the project after he took the position of NSA in the Trump regime, even after NSC ethics advisers directed Flynn to remove himself from the project.   Read More About This

88.    Even after Flynn was fired by Trump, he continued to lobby the Trump regime on the project, including Cohn and Barrack, Jr. ahead of their May trip to Saudi Arabia.   Read More About This

89.    NBC reported Flynn's son, Michael G. Flynn is the subject of the federal investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The inquiry is based at least in part on his work with Flynn Intel Group.   Read More About This

90.    CNN reported the DOJ refused the Senate Judiciary Comm's request to interview two top FBI officials -- Carl Ghattas and James Rybicki - on the firing of Comey, citing Mueller's ongoing investigation.   Read More About This

91.    NYT reported Senate Judiciary Comm ranking members Grassley and Feinstein are considering subpoenaing members of the DOJ in their inquiry on Trump's firing of Comey.   Read More About This

92.    CNN reported Susan Rice privately told the House Intel Comm that she unmasked the identities of senior Trump officials to understand why the crown prince of the UAE came to New York late last year.   Read More About This

93.    The New York meeting (reported in Week 21) took place last December, and was attended by Flynn, Kushner and Bannon. In an unusual breach of protocol, the UAE did not advise the Obama administration in advance.

94.    Shortly after in January, Erik Prince, brother of Betsy DeVos, attended a secret meeting in Seychelles, arranged by the UAE, with a Russian close to Putin, allegedly to set up a back-channel for communications.   Read More About This

95.    WAPO reported DHS ordered all federal agencies to ban the use of a Kaspersky security software. Co-founder Eugene Kaspersky graduated from a KGB-supported school and worked in Russian military intelligence.   Read More About This

96.    The moves comes after the GSA removed the company from its approved vendor list, suggesting a vulnerability exists with Kaspersky that could give the Kremlin backdoor access to the systems the company protects.   Read More About This

97.    BuzzFeed reported that Flynn, Bannon and Kushner met with Jordan's King Abdullah II in NY days before Trump was inaugurated to push a deal which Flynn was advising on: nuclear power plants in the Middle East.   Read More About This

98.    An eye witness said at least half-a-dozen other people were with the trio at the Four Seasons bar. Flynn failed to disclose the meeting in security clearance forms, and Kushner disclosed it only in his amended forms.   Read More About This

99.    As part of the for-profit deal, reactors would be built by US companies and security would be provided by the Russian state-owned firm Rosoboron. Congressional approval would have been needed.   Read More About This

100.    In February, Abdullah visited the WH and met with Trump, Kelly and Mattis. A statement afterward underscored that the US "is committed to strengthening the security and economic partnership with Jordan."   Read More About This

101.    Bloomberg reported at the time Veselnitskaya met with Donald Jr. at Trump Tower, she also represented real-estate company Prevezon, which was under criminal investigation for a money laundering case.   Read More About This

102.    In 2013, Bharara filed a civil suit against Prevezon. Sessions abruptly settled the case three days before trial in May for just $5.9mm. There was no mention of the ongoing criminal investigation.   Read More About This

103.    Democratic lawmakers want to know if the Trump team members put pressure on Sessions to settle the case after Bharara was fired.   Read More About This

104.    Bloomberg said in the criminal case several countries and banks including Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, UBS and TD have supplied documents to the US to track more than $200mm that left Russia after a massive fraud.   Read More About This

105.    Business Insider reported that in the Prevezon criminal case, grand-jury testimonies are at a key stage. Prevezon is owned by the son of a powerful Russian government official.   Read More About This

106.    POLITICO reported Kyle Freeny, an attorney working on the DOJ's highest-profile money laundering case, is joining Mueller's team.   Read More About This

107.    Democrats flipped two very pro-Trump districts in special elections: there was a 28-point swing in NH, and a 31-point swing in OK.   Read More About This

108.    Benevity tracked a shift in donations made by Fortune 1000 US workers: ACLU went from #87 in 2015 to the top spot in 2017. SPLC went from #230 in 2015 to #17 in 2017.   Read More About This

109.    Early Friday morning, Trump took to Twitter after a bombing in London: "Another attack in London by a loser terrorist," and "Loser terrorists must be dealt with in a much tougher manner."   Read More About This

110.    UK PM May publicly alluded to Trump's tweet, saying she never thinks it's helpful to "speculate" on "an ongoing investigation." Friday, McMaster tried to clarify the tweets, saying Trump was speaking "generally."   Read More About This

111.    Bloomberg reported PM May complained directly to Trump, saying she was unhappy with his response when he called to offer condolences.   Read More About This

112.    Joining his classmates at Yale, 185 of Mnuchin's high school classmates from Riverdale Country School classmates called on him to resign.   Read More About This

113.    WSJ reported Rohrabacher contacted the WH trying to broker a "deal" that would end Assange's US legal troubles, in exchange for a computer drive or other data-storage device that he said would exonerate Russia.   Read More About This

114.    Kelly intercepted the call and advised Rohrabacher the deal "was best directed to the intelligence community." Kelly did not make Trump aware of Rohrabacher's message.   Read More About This

115.    AP reported that despite a pledge by the Trump inaugural committee to give leftover funds to charities, nothing has been donated. The group has helped pay for redecorating the WH and the Pence's residence in DC.   Read More About This

116.    Trump's inaugural committee raised $107mm, a record amount and double what Obama raised for his well-attended inauguration. The amount of times to close out the books is also unusual.   Read More About This

117.    VP Mike Pence's press secretary Marc Lotter resigned. It was unclear what his next move will be. Pence recently replaced his chief of staff.   Read More About This

118.    In an Atlantic article, "How Trump Is Ending the American Era," Eliot Cohen described the damage Trump has done, and continues to do to America's global standing.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

119.    On Friday, the Pentagon issued new guidance clarifying that transgender troops currently in the military can re-enlist in the next several months. This is yet another example in past weeks of Mattis going against Trump.   Read More About This

222.    [A Note From the Author, Amy Siskind: Thank you for all your generosity this week. Over 800 donors made contributions of $25 or less towards a new home for The Weekly List and associated tools, resources and videos. Thank you for being on this journey will me!]

Pic



Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-44-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-7fbc1a8d7e01

Top of Page


Buy Avon

0 Comments

WEEK 43: EXPERTS IN AUTHORITARIANISM ADVISE TO KEEP A LIST OF THINGS SUBTLY CHANGING AROUND YOU, SO YOU’LL REMEMBER.

9/9/2017

0 Comments

 
   
Week #43:  September 9, 2017

This week the Mueller probe edged towards engulfing Trump's entire inner-circle. Also of great import, Facebook finally admitted to the company's role in allowing Russian bots to infiltrate our election. Speculation grew that a foreign entity influenced our election, and that the Trump campaign was complicit.

This week the Trump regime continued its assault on marginalized communities and women, rescinding DACA and taking away protections for victims of campus sexual assault. A second major hurricane illuminated the extent to which the Trump regime has already deconstructed federal agencies like the EPA and State Department.
____________________________________________________________


1.    Late Saturday over Labor Day Weekend, the DOJ unceremoniously announced there is no evidence Obama wiretapped Trump Tower. Trump did not apologize to Obama for this frequently repeated, false claim.   Read More About This

2.    Trump visited Hurricane Harvey survivors in Houston seeking shelter at the NRG Center. While preparing to serve lunch, Trump said his hands were "too big" to fit in the plastic serving gloves.   Read More About This

3.    As he left the shelter, Trump told survivors, "have a good time everybody."   Read More About This

4.    The Pentagon miscalculated the number of troops deployed the Harvey: command said 6,300 were deployed, but the actual number was 1,638.   Read More About This

5.    On Saturday afternoon, AP reported that while many ultra-polluted Superfund sites in Houston were flooded, and there was concern about toxins spreading, the EPA was not on scene.   Read More About This

6.    The EPA responded with a statement on Sunday, in which the agency personally attacked the credibility of the AP reporter: "Michael Biesecker has a history of not letting the facts get in the way of his story."   Read More About This

7.    The EPA said the Superfund sites were inaccessible, but they had used aerial imaging in their assessments. AP reported its staff had used a boat, vehicles and gone on foot to reach seven of the sites.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

8.    WAPO reported the EPA has taken the unusual step of putting a Trump political operative, John Konkus, who has little environmental policy experience, in charge of dolling out hundreds of millions of EPA grants.   Read More About This

9.    The GAO will investigate hiring practices by the EPA. Agencies are not supposed to hire industry lobbyists for two years, but the EPA allegedly skirted those orders using a provision of the Safe Drinking Water Act.   Read More About This

10.    Trump nominated David Zatezalo, a former chief executive Rhino Resources, a company which repeatedly clashed with federal regulators over safety, to run the Mine Safety and Health Administration.   Read More About This

11.    Trump nominated Jim Bridenstine, a representative from Oklahoma who has denied climate change and has no science credentials, to lead NASA. This is the longest in its history that NASA has been without a leader.   Read More About This

12.    CNN reported ahead of his Senate confirmation, parts of Bridenstine's online presence were scrubbed, including radio and video interviews, and Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts belonging to his campaign.   Read More About This

13.    Following a nuclear test by N. Korea which unleashed a 6.3-magnitude tremor Saturday, on Sunday, Trump was openly critical of S. Korea, tweeting, "their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work."   Read More About This

14.    NYT reported Trump's antagonistic comments recently have made S. Korea question their alliance with the US, which stretches over 67 years.   Read More About This

15.    Later that day, Mattis addressed the press and said, "our commitments among the allies are iron-clad." Mattis repeated that commitment in a statement on Wednesday.   Read More About This

16.    This marked the third time in a week that Mattis's message has differed from Trump (see Week 42), in addition to his statement to troops in Week 42 about upholding American values in the era of Trump.   Read More About This

17.    WSJ reported that nearly 400 EPA employees have left in recent days, leaving the agency with its lowest staffing in almost 30 years.   Read More About This

18.    The Pentagon dramatically scaled back the number of reporters traveling with Mattis overseas to just six: one wire service, one newspaper, a radio pool reporter, and a three-person pool television crew.   Read More About This

19.    AP, the oldest and largest American wire service, which provides news to thousands of print and broadcast clients and has traveled with the defense secretary for decades, will not be included in all trips.   Read More About This

20.    The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals narrowed the scope of Trump's second Muslim Ban, ruling extended family members are exempt.   Read More About This

21.    The Trump regime filed papers with the Supreme Court in support of a Christian baker in Colorado, who a state court ruled against for refusing to make a wedding cake for a gay couple.   Read More About This

22.    The US Commission on Civil Rights issues a letter denouncing Trump's pardon of Arpaio, citing Arpaio's repeatedly violating the of civil rights of Latinos and defying a federal court order, amongst other violations.   Read More About This

23.    Trump's DHS planned a massive nationwide raids to target 8,400 undocumented immigrants, described as "the largest operation of its kind in the history of ICE" for later this month.   Read More About This

24.    NBC reported the "massive roundup" plan was canceled late Thursdaydue to Hurricane Irma and damage caused by Hurricane Harvey.   Read More About This

25.    Sessions announced nonsanctuary jurisdictions would get "priority consideration" in a grant program called COPS. While Obama had used to the program to promote trust between officers and community, Sessions and Trump are using it to crackdown on immigrants.   Read More About This

26.    On Thursday, at the same time as Donald Jr.'s Senate testimony, DeVos said she will roll back Obama-era directive on campus sexual assault at a speech at George Mason University. She did not take any questions.   Read More About This

27.    DeVos said she would develop a replacement that she said would do a better job of "balancing the rights of victims and the accused." Men's rights advocates applauded DeVos for listening to their side.   Read More About This

28.    On a call with survivor advocates Friday, Biden said DeVos "does not speak for the American people," and called on advocates to meet with college and university administrators and "demand they step up."   Read More About This

29.    CBC News reported on a spike in international undergraduate and graduate applications to Canadian universities in the wake of Trump.   Read More About This

30.    As part of the NAFTA negotiations, Canada demanded that the US end its "right to work" laws in place in some states. Canadian officials say these laws gut unions by starving them of money.   Read More About This

31.    ACLU reported ICE has asked the National Archives and Record Administration for permission to begin destroying 11 types of records, including those related to sexual assaults and solitary confinement.   Read More About This

32.    A Republican in the House referred to a female colleague challenging his amendment as "young lady" and said she "doesn't know a damn thing what she's talking about." He later apologized.   Read More About This

33.    The FBI will probe the brutal arrest by Utah cops of a nurse who followed hospital policy and refused to draw blood (Week 42).   Read More About This

34.    In Iowa, a photo of five high school boys in wearing KKK hoods and burning a cross circulated on social media. The boys were suspended.   Read More About This

35.    Rachel Maddow ran a segment on how Trump has given white nationalists like Bannon and the alt-right a path to power.   Read More About This

36.    An Atlantic piece, "Donald Trump is the First White President," spoke of Trump's white support, the undertones of racism successfully harnessed in his campaign, and his obsession with the negation of Obama's legacy.   Read More About This

37.    USA Today investigated membership in Trump's clubs and traced 4,500 members. For the first time in US history, wealthy people have close access to a president as a result of payments that enrich him personally.   Read More About This

38.    USA Today found membership includes 50+ executives whose companies hold federal contracts and 21 lobbyists and trade group officials. Two-thirds played on a Trump course one of the 58 days he was there.   Read More About This

39.    Republican leaders prevented a vote on a bill in the House which would have banned federal spending at Trump businesses.   Read More About This

40.    Rep. Pascrell's motion to demand Trump release his tax returns was voted down 21–14 in the House Way and Means Comm, helping Republicans avoid a more public vote in the full House. This breaks a 40-year precedent of presidents making their tax returns public.   Read More About This

41.    The GAO will investigate Zinke's threat to withhold support for Alaska over Murkowski's Obamacare repeal vote. In Week 42, the OIG closed its investigation after the two Alaska senators refused to participate.   Read More About This

42.    A lawsuit filed against Trump's Election Integrity Commission alleges that at least two members are using personal emails for office business.   Read More About This

43.    Kobach authored an article at Breitbart claiming out-of-state voters changed the outcome of the NH Senate race in 2016. This claim is false.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

44.    Kobach and the Election Integrity Comm will arrive in NH next week to discuss, among other things, "election integrity issues affecting public confidence."   Read More About This

45.    NH Senators Shaheen and Hassan issued a statement condemning Trump's Election Comm for misleading the public. They also called on NH's Secretary of State to resign from the commission.   Read More About This

46.    Heading back from summer recess, WSJ reported on the unusually strained relations between Trump and Republicans, saying Trump invited leaders to Bedminster, "but they were unable to coordinate schedules."   Read More About This

47.    NYT reported as late as an hour before the DACA decision was announced on Tuesday, administration officials expressed concern that Trump didn't fully grasp the details of rescinding DACA or its impact.   Read More About This

48.    Instead of facing the public, Trump sent Sessions to speak to the press on Tuesday to be the face of ending DACA. Sessions claimed DACA was "deemed illegal by, I think, just about every legal expert."   Read More About This

49.    Javier Palomares, the CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, resigned from Trump's National Diversity Coalition over Trump's decision to end DACA.   Read More About This

50.    A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll found just 15% believe DACA should be rescinded, while 76% believe Dreamers should be allowed to stay.   Read More About This

51.    On Tuesday, in a nighttime tweet, Trump signaled he may be open to changing his mind on DACA, saying if Congress can't pass something in six months, "I will revisit this issue!"   Read More About This

52.    The US Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement denouncingTrump's decision to end DACA.   Read More About This

53.    Bannon told CBS's "60 Minutes" he disagrees with Trump on ending DACA, but blasted the US Conference of Catholic Bishops saying they are opposed to DACA because "they need illegal aliens to fill the churches."   Read More About This

54.    VOX noted despite Trump's tweet, the government is already winding down DACA, as the Trump regime is no longer accepting new applications from young immigrants.   Read More About This

55.    On Thursday, Trump again tweeted his assurance to Dreamers, falsely claiming if you "are concerned about your status during the 6 month period, you have nothing to worry about -- No action!"   Read More About This

56.    CNN estimated 983 undocumented immigrants per day will lose protection they previously enjoyed under DACA, as the two-year tenure of their status expires.   Read More About This

57.    At an Oval Office meeting on Wednesday, after Republican leaders and Mnuchin advocated for a 18-month hike for the debt ceiling, Trump unexpectedly sided with "Chuck and Nancy" for a three-month hike.   Read More About This

58.    Later at a rally in North Dakota, Trump called Democratic senator Heitkamp, who is running for re-election, a "good woman," and said, "these are great people. They work hard. They're for you 100 percent."   Read More About This

59.    On Wednesday, after months of denying Russia had purchased advertisement there, Facebook issued a bland headline, "An Update On Information Operations On Facebook," admitting this wasn't true.   Read More About This

60.    Facebook told Congressional investigators Wednesday that the company sold $100k of advertisement to Internet Research Agency, a "troll farm" in St. Petersburg with a history of pushing pro-Kremlin propaganda.   Read More About This

61.    Facebook reported that roughly a quarter of the ads were "geographically targeted." The ads focus was to amplify divisive issues like LGBT matters, race issues, immigration and gun rights.   Read More About This

62.    Daily Beast calculated that $100k in Facebook ads could have reached as many as 70 million users if amplified in a sophisticated manner.   Read More About This

63.    NYT reported on the sophisticated ways "troll farms" manipulated and disseminated news on Facebook and Twitter during the 2016 election. Former FBI agent Clint Watts called it a "bot cancer eroding trust."   Read More About This

64.    NYT also found some of the most aggressive and misogynistic Bernie Sanders supporters were actually Russian bots and trolls   Read More About This

65.    A WAPO columnist speculated that Trump would not have won without the help of an organized Russia attack on Facebook. A NYT op-ed decreed: "Facebook Wins, Democracy Loses."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

66.    Reuters reported Facebook turned over data to Mueller about Russian involvement, including copies of advertisements and data about buyers. Mueller is probing whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

67.    Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intel Comm said Facebook's Russia disclosure is the "tip of the iceberg" on election interferencethrough social media.   Read More About This

68.    McClatchy reported Facebook, Twitter and other social media companies may be subpoenaed. A former prosecutor said Facebook ad buys suggest "numerous crimes, including conspiracy to defraud" the US.   Read More About This

69.    USA Today reported Russia has interfered in at least 27 European and North American countries' elections since 2004.   Read More About This

70.    Nunes, who had recused himself as House chair, lashed out at Sessions in a letter for not sharing FBI and DOJ documents related to the Steele dossier. Nunes also threatened Sessions and Wray with a public hearing.   Read More About This

71.    Vanity Fair reported Gowdy is also waging a war to discredit the Steele dossier. Gowdy claims subpoenas are necessary because the FBI and DOJ haven't supplied the documents underlying the dossier.   Read More About This

72.    Trump attorney Michael Carvin filed a brief asking a federal judge to toss out lawsuit that accuses the Trump campaign of conspiring with Russian operatives to publish stolen DNC information on WikiLeaks.   Read More About This

73.    In Week 23, the DOJ said it was preparing charges against Assange, with Sessions saying Assange's arrest is a priority. Strangely, this never happened and now the Trump regime is defending WikiLeaks.   Read More About This

74.    As a news conference in China, Putin said, Trump is "not my bride, and I am not his groom."   Read More About This

75.    On Thursday, Donald Jr. meet with the Senate Judiciary Comm behind closed doors. Only one Senate Republican attended the hearing, and stayed for only about five minutes.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

76.    Feinstein, the ranking Democrat, said Donald Jr. has agreed to public testimony, and if he doesn't follow through he will be subpoenaed. Grassley, who Trump offered federal support for the ethanol industry in Week 42, said no final decision has been made.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

77.    Donald Jr. claimed he took the meeting with Veselnitskaya and others because she might have damaging information "concerning the fitness, character or qualifications" of Hillary.   Read More About This

78.    NPR obtained a copy of Donald Jr.'s four-page statement in which he said Veselnitskaya "provided no meaningful information," and the meeting was "primarily focused on Russian adoptions" and the Magnitsky Act.   Read More About This

79.    Donald Jr. disclosed, for the first time, three phones calls with Agalarov before the June 9 meeting, the content of which he couldn't recall. He said he had no recollection of any documents left by Russian visitors.   Read More About This

80.    Donald Jr. also said he did "not collude with any foreign government and do not know of anyone who did," and that he hoped the interview had fully satisfied the Senate inquiry.   Read More About This

81.    Newsweek compiled a list of Donald Jr.'s rationales for taking the meeting. Thursday's testimony was his fifth version so far.   Read More About This

82.    After Donald Jr.'s testimony, Democratic senator Coons issued a memo citing statute 18 U.S.C. 1001(a) & ©(2), which outlines the punishments for lying to Congress.   Read More About This

83.    CNN reported Mueller will seek to interview the staff aboard Air Force One present as Trump helped craft the misleading statement issued by Donald Jr. about the June 9 meeting at Trump Tower.   Read More About This

84.    Mueller wants to know how the statement was put together, whether information was intentionally left out, and who was involved. Mueller considers the aides who helped craft the statement to be witnesses.   Read More About This

85.    In Donald Jr.'s Senate testimony, he claimed he was not aware of what role, if any, his father might have played in drafting the statement.   Read More About This

86.    WAPO reported Mueller has alerted the WH that his team will seek to speak with six Trump insiders, including Hicks, Priebus, Spicer, McGahn, and one of McGahn's deputies, Burnham.   Read More About This

87.    Mueller also expects to question Josh Raffel, a WH spokesperson who works closely with Kushner, as well as possibly Trump family members, including Kushner.   Read More About This

88.    Each of the six was privy to internal discussions in areas being investigated by Mueller including the Comey firing, Trump's inaction on Flynn, and possible coordination with Russia.   Read More About This

89.    Daily Beast reported Mueller wants to speak with Hicks about what happened on Air Force One as Trump crafted Donald Jr.'s statement.   Read More About This

90.    Daily Beast also reported efforts are underway to organize a legal defense fund for WH staffers. Legal fees related to the Mueller probe are expected to be high with lawyers likely billing $500–1k per hour.   Read More About This

91.    Late Friday, POLITICO reported Hicks hired Robert Trout, a highly regarded attorney, to represent her in the Mueller probe.   Read More About This

92.    CNN obtained the 17-page Trump Tower Moscow letter of intent, signed by Trump in October 2015, the day of a Republican primary debate. The property would be named Trump World Tower Moscow.   Read More About This

93.    The deal would have given Trump perks including a $4 million upfront fee, no upfront costs, a percentage of the sales, and the opportunity to name the hotel spa after his daughter Ivanka.   Read More About This

94.    During the campaign, Trump said he had "nothing to do with Russia."   Read More About This

95.    On Friday, Trump hosted Russia's new US ambassador Anatoly Antonov in DC. Russia media reported that Antonov describe the meeting as "warm." US media was not informed of the meeting.   Read More About This

96.    Antonov said Russia did not interfere in the US election. Two years ago, the EU put Antonov on its list of officials subject to sanctions, citing his involvement in supporting the deployment of Russian troops to Ukraine.   Read More About This

97.    Dmitry Firtash, a Ukrainian industrialist and top-tier Russian mob associate with ties to Manafort is fighting US prosecutors' efforts to bring him to Chicago for a bribery trial. He remains in Vienna on $174mm bail.   Read More About This

98.    Asked for comment on the second major hurricane in two weeks, Pruitt said Hurricane Irma isn't the right time to talk about climate change.   Read More About This

99.    On Thursday, by a 31–0 vote the Senate Appropriations Comm allocated $51bn for the State Depart and foreign operations, nearly $11bn morethan requested by the Trump regime.   Read More About This

100.    On Friday, the committee blasted the Trump regime in its report saying its approach to foreign policy weakens US standing in the world.   Read More About This

101.    On Friday, the State Dept was criticized for its response to Hurricane Irma which had already affected thousands of Americans in the Caribbean Islands. A task force was set up Friday, after the storm hit.   Read More About This

102.    State Dept employees point out there is currently no Under Secretary of State for Management, who would typically be in charge of State's response to a storm of Irma's magnitude.   Read More About This

103.    In another move towards what Bannon had called the "deconstruction of the administrative state," the OMB issued a memo directing "a net reduction in total incremental regulatory costs" for agencies.   Read More About This

104.    WSJ reported Trump is unlikely to nominate Cohn to Fed Chair when Yellen's term comes up in February, citing Cohn's criticism of Trump's Charlottesville response in a FT interview (Week 41).   Read More About This

105.    NYT reported Kelly is trying to be welcoming to Cohn, but WH aides say Trump is freezing Cohn out by employing a familiar tactic: refusing to make eye contact with him.   Read More About This

106.    Bannon told CBS's "60 Minutes" Christie didn't get a position in Trump's cabinet because Christie wasn't loyal after the "Access Hollywood" tapes.   Read More About This

107.    Bloomberg reported key Trump aide's said Trump is rattled by the pending departure of longtime bodyguard Schiller. Aides described Schiller as the "emotional anchor" for Trump in the WH turmoil.   Read More About This

Pic



Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-43-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-d1621f9224f8

Top of Page


Buy Avon

0 Comments

WEEK 42: EXPERTS IN AUTHORITARIANISM ADVISE TO KEEP A LIST OF THINGS SUBTLY CHANGING AROUND YOU, SO YOU’LL REMEMBER.

9/2/2017

0 Comments

 
   
Week #42:  September 2, 2017

Despite being a summer week heading into Labor Day weekend, Week 42 is the longest list so far, with the most items relating to Trump-Russia. News reports indicate the Mueller probe in moving ahead on many fronts, and uncovering damaging evidence about the Trump regime.

This week Trump was unable to control the narrative. Media accounts paint a disturbing picture of a leader who is stormy, depressed, angry, unsteady and increasingly isolated. Resignations and firings continue en masse, as Trump's WH continues to be filled with drama and showcase his inability to work with others and hire talent.

Stories less covered continue to detail bigotry towards, and stripping away rights and protections of, marginalized communities and women. Another continuing theme is the dismantling of government programs and initiatives, alongside instituting authoritarian measures.
____________________________________________________________


1.    WAPO reported before Trump pardoned Apraio, he had asked Sessions to have the Justice Dept drop their case.   Read More About This

2.    Ten days before Hurricane Harvey, Trump revoked Federal Flood Risk Management Standard, an Obama-era set of regulations designed to make federally funded infrastructure less vulnerable to flooding.   Read More About This

3.    On Sunday morning, as Houston was flooding, Trump promoted a book by Sheriff David Clarke on Twitter: "great book by a great guy, highly recommended!   Read More About This

4.    Former OGE director Shaub noted it is a government ethics violation to use public office to endorse any product, service or enterprise.   Read More About This

5.    Clarke, who has been the subject of repeated allegations of mistreating inmates in his jails, abruptly resigned as Sheriff on Thursday. Speculation grew that he would be taking a position in the Trump regime.   Read More About This

6.    On Sunday, when asked by Chris Wallace about Charlottesville, Tillerson said, "I don't believe anyone doubts the American people's values," -- and when asked on Trump's response, "The President speaks for himself."   Read More About This

7.    Also on Sunday, a video emerged on Facebook of Mattis telling troops, "You just hold the line until our country gets back to understanding and respecting each other and showing it."   Read More About This

8.    On Tuesday, again going against Trump, Mattis announced transgender troops will be allowed to remain in the military pending the results of a study by experts.   Read More About This

9.    On Wednesday, shortly after Trump tweeted on N. Korea: "Talking is not the answer!" -- Mattis contradicted Trump's statement and told reporters, "We're never out of diplomatic solutions."   Read More About This

10.    Buzzfeed reported ICE left 50 immigrant women and children stranded at a bus station in San Antonio as Hurricane Harvey approached.   Read More About This

11.    On Monday, Trump reversed an Obama-era policy, allowing police to receive surplus military gear.   Read More About This

12.    Buried in a bill that Trump signed into law is a provision which allows police warrantless searches in parts of VA, MD and DC. Amidst the chaos, there was almost no media coverage.   Read More About This

13.    In Salt Lake City, a nurse was forcibly arrested after she followed hospital protocol and refused to let the police draw blood from an unconscious patient who was not a suspect and faced no charges.   Read More About This

14.    Televangelist Jim Bakker said Christians would start a civil war if Trump is impeached. Roger Stone expressed a similar sentiment in Week 41.   Read More About This

15.    A group of evangelical leaders in Tennessee released the "Nashville Statement," which denounced gay marriage and condemned acceptanceof "homosexual immorality or transgenderism."   Read More About This

16.    Reuters reported that Confederate flag sales have boomed since Charlottesville. One company said their orders quadrupled.   Read More About This

17.    A federal judge in San Antonio temporarily blocked a Texas ban on sanctuary cities from going into effect on Friday.   Read More About This

18.    Trump's HHS cut the advertising budget for Obamacare by 90%. Lowering enrollment is a way to compromise the ACA.   Read More About This

19.    The ACLU said it is deeply concerned about reports of abuse and retaliation by ICE of their clients who are participating in a class action suit to stop the immediate deportation of any Iraqi nationals.   Read More About This

20.    A decorated marine, George Ybarra, who served in the Persian Gulf War was transferred to an immigration center in AZ. Although a federal judge ruled Ybarra is a citizen, ICE continues to work to deport him to Mexico.   Read More About This

21.    The Trump regime said women's right will not be part of their demands in negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan.   Read More About This

22.    Mnuchin said the Treasury Dept may scrap plans finalized under Obama to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill to replace Andrew Jackson.   Read More About This

23.    The Trump WH removed a list of 250+ schools under investigation by the Obama administration for violating Title 9 by mishandling campus sexual assault, signaling an end of enforcement and accountability.   Read More About This

24.    Trump ended an Obama-era rule which required companies to collect pay data for workers of different genders, races and ethnic groups.   Read More About This

25.    The Trump regime's Transportation Dept abandoned an Obama-era plan of local-hiring for public workers. The program was meant to help offset longstanding racial and gender imbalances in the construction industry.   Read More About This

26.    Sessions's DOJ will retry the woman who prosecutors say disrupted Session's Senate confirmation hearing by laughing.   Read More About This

27.    USA Today reported anti-protester bills are gaining traction in Republican controlled statehouses. So far, twenty states have proposed bills with restrictions on right to assemble and protest, and six have approved bills.   Read More About This

28.    The Interior Dept's watchdog group dropped its investigation of the threat by Zinke to Murkowski over her vote to repeal Obamacare, after the two senators from Alaska declined to be interviewed.   Read More About This

29.    The GSA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) is undertaking a formal review of how the agency has handled the Trump hotel DC lease.   Read More About This

30.    Trump's Election Integrity Comm apologized after being chastised by a district judge their failure to disclose documents publicly as required.   Read More About This

31.    In addition to his position as vice chair of Trump's Election Integrity Commission, Kobach will become a regular columnist at Breitbart.   Read More About This

32.    On Monday, in a press conference with Finnish President Niinistö, Trump defended his decision to pardon Arpaio. When asked the timing, Trump said, "In the middle of a hurricane, even though it was Friday evening, I assumed the ratings would be far higher than they would be normally."   Read More About This

33.    Trump confused two Finnish women journalists with dirty-blond hair of being the same person, saying "Again. You're going to give her -- the same one?" Niinistö responded, "No, they are not the same lady,"   Read More About This

34.    Trump also falsely claimed Finland is buying Boeing fighter jets. Niinistö pushed back in a tweet Monday, calling this "ankka," which translates to a falsehood or fake news.   Read More About This

35.    On Tuesday, Trump visited Austin. He did not tour areas heavily hit by Hurricane Harvey or meet with any victims. By Tuesday, Harvey had dumped more rain than any storm in history in parts of Texas.   Read More About This

36.    Trump praised FEMA administrator Brock Long, saying he "has really become very famous on television over the last couple of days."   Read More About This

37.    Trump acknowledged the crowd, "What a crowd, what a turnout!"  --  but failed to mention or acknowledge the 15 casualties, tens of thousands of displaced, or irreversible damage caused by Harvey.   Read More About This

38.    Trump wore a USA hat during the visit with a 45 on the side. This merchandise is for sale on Trump's website for $40.   Read More About This

39.    Ari Fleischer, press secretary for W. Bush, said of the visit, there was "something missing" and that was "empathy for the people who suffer."   Read More About This

40.    As Hurricane Harvey continued to devastate, AP reported the Republicans are considering cutting $1bn from disaster accounts to help finance Trump's wall.   Read More About This

41.    NYT reported on voting irregularities in the 2016 election: voters being told they were ineligible to vote, or turned away from polls, or sent to other polling place in several blue counties in swing states.   Read More About This

42.    Little digital forensic investigation has been done to examine the impact in at least 21 states whose election systems were targeted by Russia.   Read More About This

43.    Academic and private election security experts warn future elections, including next year's midterms, could be subject to hacking since nothing has been done to improve or build an effective defense.   Read More About This

44.    Moyers & Company reported pro-Russian bots have been taking up right-wing causes after Charlottesville. A case study was done their impact on the narrative around Berkeley.   Read More About This

45.    Bloomberg reported on the growing sophistication of pro-Russian bots, which are already taking a role in sowing seeds of discord in the US, and taking on Trump critics like McCain.   Read More About This

46.    Experts say the Russian bots never left after the 2016 election, and are sharpening their attacks for upcoming elections in 2018 and 2020. The bots are learning to mimic human behavior.   Read More About This

47.    WAPO reported during his run for president, in late 2015 to early 2016, Trump was seeking a deal for a Trump Tower in Moscow. Michael Cohentook the lead for Trump. The deal was never publicly disclosed.   Read More About This

48.    Felix Sater urged Trump to come to Moscow, and said he could get Putin to say, "great things" about Trump. In late 2015, Trump started to publicly praise Putin. Shortly after, Putin offered praise of Trump in return.   Read More About This

49.    Sater said, at Trump's request, he traveled to Russia with Ivanka and Donald Jr. A lawyer for the Trump Organization said they happened to be there at the same time.   Read More About This

50.    NYT reported on emails between Cohen and Sater which were turned over Monday to the House Intel Comm. Sater emailed Cohen, "Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it."   Read More About This

51.    Sater said he lined up financing for Trump for the Trump Tower in Moscow through VTB Bank, a bank under US sanctions for its involvement in Russia's efforts to undermine democracy in Ukraine.   Read More About This

52.    VTB is also majority-owned by the Russian government, as are other banks in The Weekly Lists including VEB, Alfa Bank and Sberbank  -- all of which have ties to Trump and his aides.   Read More About This

53.    In an email, Sater bragged about his Russia connections, saying, "I arranged for Ivanka to sit in Putin's private chair at his desk."   Read More About This

54.    Ivanka told WAPO she did not recall sitting in Putin's chair. She also said she was not involved with Cohen's discussion on the project, except to recommend architects.   Read More About This

55.    ABC reported in October 2015, four months into his presidential campaign, Trump signed a letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow.   Read More About This

56.    Rachel Maddow noted the day Trump signed the term sheet was the same day as the third Republican primary debate. Trump seemed off and had a poor performance that night.   Read More About This

57.    WAPO reported in mid-January 2016, Cohen emailed Putin lieutenant Dmitry Peskov to ask for his assistance with the stalled Moscow project and to arrange "meetings with the appropriate individuals."   Read More About This

58.    The email is the first known direct outreach by a senior Trump aide to a senior member of Putin's government. Cohen told Congressional investigators that he did not receive a response.   Read More About This

59.    Peskov confirmed Wednesday that he received Cohen's email asking for his help in getting the stalled Trump Tower Moscow project moving again, but said he did not respond or share it with Putin.   Read More About This

60.    In Week 15, Sater and Cohen were involved in a back-channel plan to get US sanctions against Russia lifted. In Week 17, Alex Orono, a Russian working with them on this plan, died suddenly.   Read More About This

61.    Sater has cooperated with US authorities in the past, signing a plea deal with Andrew Weissmann, who is now part of Mueller's special counsel.   Read More About This

62.    Yahoo reported Swalwell, a Democrat on the House Intel Comm said the panel may call Trump to testify on the Trump Tower Moscow deal to clear up past conflicting statement.   Read More About This

63.    Trump has publicly said of Sater, if he was sitting in the same room, "I really wouldn't know what he looked like." It is believed Sater was conducting business for Trump through 2016.   Read More About This

64.    NYT reported on an eight page letter from Cohen's attorney to the House Intel Comm giving a point-by-point rebuttal to the Steele dossier and "vehemently" denying Russian collusion.   Read More About This

65.    CNN reported the "WV" referenced in Week 41 was Rick Clay of West Virginia, who tried through Trump aide Dearborn to make contact with Russians, allegedly to discuss their "shared Christian values."   Read More About This

66.    NBC reported Mueller's team is investigating Trump's role in crafting Donald Jr.'s response to the June 9 meeting, and whether Trump knew about the meeting and tried to conceal its purposes.   Read More About This

67.    FT reported Akhmetshin gave testimony under oath for several hours on August 11, another sign Mueller is looking closely at the June 9 meeting.   Read More About This

68.    Guardian reported after news that the Senate Judiciary Comm would interview Donald Jr. on the June 9 meeting, Trump called the committee chair Grassley to offer Iowa federal support for the ethanol industry.   Read More About This

69.    Grassley tweeted about Trump's phone call offering support. Also of note from Week 41, the Senate Judiciary Branch will shortly vote on whether to make the Fusion GPS testimony on the Steele dossier public.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

70.    CNN reported Mueller's special counsel has issued subpoenas for Manafort's former attorney, Melissa Laurenza of Akin Gump, and to his current spokesperson, Jason Maloni.   Read More About This

71.    POLITICO reported Mueller is teaming up with NYAG Schneiderman on its investigation into Manafort and his financial transactions. The two teams have shared evidence and talked frequently in recent weeks.   Read More About This

72.    Mueller's and Schneiderman's team has pressured Manafort by approaching his family and former business partners. Several people and firms who have worked with Manafort have been subpoenaed.   Read More About This

73.    Trump has privately discussed his pardon powers with aides. State and federal investigators believe potential of a pardon has influenced Manafort's decision on cooperating. Trump cannot pardon state crimes.   Read More About This

74.    WSJ reported on Manafort's close relationship with Russian oligarch Deripaska. The two worked together from 2004–2015 in counties with Russian political interests including Ukraine, Georgia and Montenegro.   Read More About This

75.    As per Week 28, Deripaska has offered to give testimony to Congressional investigators in exchange for immunity. That offer is still being rejected, for not wanting to interfere with Mueller's probe.   Read More About This

76.    NBC reported Manafort turned over notes taken during the June 9 meeting to Congressional investigators and Mueller. The words "donor" and "RNC" appear in close proximity. It is illegal for foreigners to donate to American elections.   Read More About This

77.    Daily Beast reported Mueller enlisted help from the IRS's Criminal Investigations unit, an elite investigative entity that focus exclusively on financial crime, including tax evasion and money laundering.   Read More About This

78.    One of Mueller's top deputies, Andy Weissmann, has worked with the CI unit extensively. The CI unit would have access to Trump's tax returns.   Read More About This

79.    Bloomberg detailed the massive debt Kushner has outstanding against his family's real estate investment in 666 Fifth Avenue. To pay off looming debt, the family has sold off properties and forgone new deals.   Read More About This

80.    Kushner Cos. bought the building near a market high and has tried to get China and sovereign funds to buy the property or refinance part of the debt. These efforts may be influencing US foreign policy as per Week 35.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

81.    Speculation is Kushner's outreach to VEB and Kislyak could have been related to real estate financing.   Read More About This

82.    WSJ reported lawyers for Trump have met with Mueller and submitted memos arguing Trump didn't obstruct justice by firing Comey. They also claim Comey is not a reliable witness. Experts say this is highly unusual.   Read More About This

83.    Axios reported Russian diplomats continue to die unexpectedly. Russia's ambassador to Sudan was the seventh diplomat to die since November.   Read More About This

84.    Rep. DeSantis floated an amendment to end the Mueller probe and stop Mueller from looking into activities prior to June 2015. DeSantis is a Trump loyalist and is considering running for governor of Florida in 2018.   Read More About This

85.    WAPO reported on Trump's WH during a "summer of crisis," citing Trump's "dark mood." Trump is fighting with Kelly, Tillerson and Cohn, and friends say, "He's turning on people that are very close to him."   Read More About This

86.    WAPO reported Kelly refused to join Trump on stage in Phoenix after Trump prompted, "Where's General Kelly? Get him out here. He's great."   Read More About This

87.    WAPO also reported Trump continues to call friends and outside advisers, including Bannon, from his personal phone when Kelly isn't around.   Read More About This

88.    POLITICO reported on the shrinking West Wing, citing three factors: 1) Kelly's careful review process, 2) five open-ended Russia investigations making it hard to hire, and 3) Trump's dark mood over the summer.   Read More About This

89.    Eight of the 28 members of the Nat'l Infrastructure Advisory Council resigned. In a letter, the cyber-security experts said Trump "threatened the security of the homeland," citing Charlottesville and withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.   Read More About This

90.    Trump lashed out at, then fired longtime aide George Gigicos because of the small crowd size at this Phoenix rally last week.   Read More About This

91.    Responding to criticism about unfilled key roles in the executive branch, Trump tweeted to @foxandfriends: "We are not looking to fill all of those positions. Don't need many of them -- reduce size of government."   Read More About This

92.    ProPublica reported while Trump continues to leave key executive branch positions which require Senate confirmation unfilled, he has quietly installed more than 1k political staffers.   Read More About This

93.    Many of these hires are regulating industries they used to work in. Most names are kept secret. These employees working in the shadows face must less scrutiny, and answer to no one but the WH.   Read More About This

94.    The RNC chief of staff, Sara Armstrong resigned. Armstrong is the sixth RNC staffer to leave in the past month.   Read More About This

95.    FP reported two top State Dept officials resigned in what was called "Black Friday." One State Dept official said "Dissatisfaction is a big factor" for why diplomats continues to take early retirement or new jobs.   Read More About This

96.    Longtime Trump aide Keith Schiller, best known for hand delivering the letter to Comey about his firing, is leaving the WH.   Read More About This

97.    Indictments were issued for 15 security guards of Turkey's Erdogan, who in Week 31 had attacked protested outside the Turkish embassy in DC.   Read More About This

98.    The UN Human Rights Chief Zeid Ra‘ad al-Hussein slammed Trump's attacks on the media, warning Trump's rhetoric could provoke violence: "ultimately the sequence is a dangerous one."   Read More About This

99.    Zeid also raised concern about Trump's "worrying remarks" about women, Mexicans and Muslims, and issue like immigration.   Read More About This

100.    NBC reported on a focus group in Pittsburgh, where voters including those who voted for Trump expressed "abject disappointment" in his tone and leadership. Also noted was Trump's lack of empathy.   Read More About This

101.    A Pew Research poll found just 16% of Americans like the way Trump conducts himself. The poll also noted a deterioration in Republican support: a third agree with Trump on only a few or no issues.   Read More About This

102.    At Gallup daily tracker, Trump matched his biggest net disapproval of -27 (approve 34, disapprove 61), with the trend continuing lower.   Read More About This

103.    A Fox News poll found voter satisfaction with the direction of the country declined to just 35%, and 56% think Trump is tearing the country apart.   Read More About This

104.    On Friday, NYT reported Mueller has obtained an early draft of a letter giving Trump's reasons for firing Comey.   Read More About This

105.    WSJ reported an excerpt from the draft. Paraphrasing, Trump wanted to convey: "You've told me three times I'm not under investigation but you won't tell the world, and it's hampering the country."   Read More About This

106.    POLITICO reported the decision to fire Comey was made in Bedminster, where Trump huddled with Kushner and Miller. McGahn, Priebus and Bannon warned Trump against it, saying it would trigger a firestorm.   Read More About This

107.    NYT reported Trump was supposed to golf that weekend, but it rained, so instead he stewed inside about Comey and the Russia investigation. Trump ordered Miller to draft the letter.   Read More About This

108.    After returning from Bedminster Monday, May 8, Trump handed copies of the letter to senior officials including McGahn and Pence in the Oval office. McGahn was alarmed and tried to stop the letter.   Read More About This

109.    On May 8, Rosenstein got a copy of the letter, and agreed to write a separate memo. May 9, the letter was replaced with a simpler rationale for firing Comey: his handling of the Clinton email investigation.   Read More About This

110.    In an op-ed, McCain blasted Trump, saying Congress doesn't answer to him despite his recent attacks, "We must, where we can, cooperate with him. But we are not his subordinates."   Read More About This

111.    On Thursday, Sanders said Trump promised to donate $1mm of his "personal money" to Hurricane Harvey victims. On Friday, when pressed on where the money was coming from, Sanders said she wasn't sure.   Read More About This

112.    At a signing ceremony in the Oval office Friday, religious leaders took turns praising and thanking Trump for his response to Hurricane Harvey.   Read More About This

113.    NYT reported on Kelly's unhappiness serving under Trump, telling an associate it was "by far the hardest job he had ever had." Trump likes to surround himself with former military men from "central casting."   Read More About This

114.    Trump berated Kelly after the Phoenix campaign rally. Kelly told WH staff members "he had never been spoken to like that during 35 years of serving his country," and he would not let it happen again.   Read More About This

115.    Kelly has not been able to get Trump to stop binge-watching Fox News, Trump's primary source of information. Trump does not have web browser on his phone, despite his frequent retweets of story links.   Read More About This

116.    In a radio interview, Eric Trump said the negative media coverage was impacting his father: "It important to keep in context. Otherwise, quite frankly, you'd probably end up killing yourself out of depression."   Read More About This

117.    On Friday, a day after Trump ordered Russia to close three US outposts, a fire was reported at the DC diplomatic annex, and smoke was coming out of the chimney at the consulate in San Francisco on a 100 degree day.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

Pic



Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-42-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-a1fbe96c91ca

Top of Page


Buy Avon

0 Comments

WEEK 41: EXPERTS IN AUTHORITARIANISM ADVISE TO KEEP A LIST OF THINGS SUBTLY CHANGING AROUND YOU, SO YOU’LL REMEMBER.

8/26/2017

0 Comments

 
   
Week #41:  August 26, 2017

Week 41 is full of content about Trump-Russia, and indications that the Mueller probe is closing in on Trump and his regime. News stories indicate that despite Trump’s public indifference and belittlement of the probe, he is privately consumed by it, and acting in ways which could well be construed as, and lead to charges for, obstruction of justice.

In the two weeks since Charlottesville, our country is consumed in flames of hate, and Trump is fanning those flames. As well, he continues his unimpeded march to authoritarian power, neutralizing the judicial branch with an unethical pardon, and attacking members of his own party in an effort to silence them. So far, the latter is largely working, and as this week comes to a close, remaining checks and balances to save our democracy are eroding, and Trump appears to feel fully in power.
____________________________________________________________


1.    Following the counter-protest march of over 40k in Boston, Trump tweeted the country needs "to heel." Trump used the misspelled word four times in two consecutive deleted tweets, before correcting it to heal.   Read More About This

2.    Rev. Bernard, pastor of a megachurch in Brooklyn, became the first member of Trump's Evangelical Advisory Board to resign over Charlottesville.   Read More About This

3.    No WH officials were made available for Sunday political talk shows.   Read More About This

4.    On CNN Sunday, Carl Bernstein urged reporters to interview Republicans on or off the record about whether Trump is mentally fit to lead.   Read More About This

5.    A NBC News/Marist poll found Trump's approval in three key battleground states has eroded: Michigan 36 approve/55 disapprove, Pennsylvania 35/54, and Wisconsin 34/56.   Read More About This

6.    NPR reported some Liberty University graduates are returning their diplomas to protest school President Jerry Falwell Jr.'s ongoing support of Trump, even after Trump's remarks on Charlottesville.   Read More About This

7.    Former HHS secretaries from both parties urged Republicans to move quickly and stabilize Obamacare as Trump threatened to continue withholding key payments to insurers.   Read More About This

8.    Sunday night, when asked by reporters for his reaction to five sailors injured and 10 missing after the USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant ship, Trump responded, "That's too bad."   Read More About This

9.    USA Today reported Secret Service agents have already hit the federally mandated pay caps meant to last the entire year for protecting Trump. Under the Trump regime, an unprecedented 42 people have protection.   Read More About This

10.    Secret Service cited Trump's frequent weekend trips to his properties, and his family's extensive business and vacation travel. Secret Service spent $60k on golf carts, revenues which go to the Trump Organization.   Read More About This

11.    Trump disbanded a federal advisory panel for the National Climate Assessment which helped policymakers and private-sector officials incorporate the government's climate analysis into long-term planning.   Read More About This

12.    Since being established in 1990, the National Climate Assessment is supposed to release reports every four years. The next assessment would have been due in 2018.   Read More About This

13.    Trump's Interior Dept ordered the National Academy of Sciences to halt its study of health risks and harm caused by mountaintop coal mining in Appalachia.   Read More About This

14.    New Yorker reported on the dismantling of HUD under a thoroughly uninformed Sec Carson. There are still no nominees for major parts of HUD, including the Federal Housing Administration and many others.   Read More About This

15.    Carson's team removed online training materials meant to help homeless shelters provide equal access to transgender people, and pulled back a survey to reduce LGBT homelessness.   Read More About This

16.    Interior's Inspector General confirmed in a letter it is investigating Sec Zinke's pressure on Sen. Murkowski to vote yes on the Obamacare repeal.   Read More About This

17.    An ABC News/Washington Post poll found 9% of Americans say it's acceptable to hold neo-Nazi or white supremacist views. This meshes with the 10% who say they support the alt-right movement.   Read More About This

18.    The Anne Frank Center tweeted in alarm, "1 in 10 adults in U.S. say neo-Nazi views acceptable -- 22 million Americans. Evil epidemic of hatred."   Read More About This

19.    The poll also found that 3 in 10 Trump supporters accept or are indifferent to white supremacists.   Read More About This

20.    Singer Billy Joel wore a Star of David during the encore of his sold-out show in NYC.   Read More About This

21.    Brandeis University was closed and evacuated Wednesday after the school received an email with a bomb threat.   Read More About This

22.    HuffPost reported a spike in anti-Semitism in the two weeks since Charlottesville. ADL provided a list of more than two dozen incidents involving swastikas, broken glass and neo-Nazi propaganda.   Read More About This

23.    A coalition of major rabbinical groups canceled their annual High Holidays call, saying Trump's "words have given succor to those who advocate anti-Semitism."   Read More About This

24.    The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination urged the US government to reject racial hatred and violence. The statement was released online after Trump's mixed messages on Charlottesville.   Read More About This

25.    The Girl Scouts' CEO wrote a letter to families with resources to talk to girls about what they are hearing in the news, and hate and violence, adding lying about what really happened can "undermine her trust."   Read More About This

26.    Twenty organizations have pulled their charity events from Mar-A-Lago in response to his comments on Charlottesville.   Read More About This

27.    Daniel Kammer, the State Dept Science Envoy, resigned in an open letter citing Trump's "attacks on core values of the United States." The first letter of the seven paragraphs spell the word, IMPEACH.   Read More About This

28.    On his radio show, Trump's nominee for Department of Agriculture Sam Clovis said "LGBT behavior" is a choice, and that legalizing gay marriage could lead to the legalization of pedophilia.   Read More About This

29.    Liz MacKean, the BBC journalist who broke the news of the torture of gay men in Russia, died of a stroke at the age of 52.   Read More About This

30.    Trump signaled he is likely to end DACA, the Obama program which allows young people who came to the US illegally as children to remainhere. As many as 1 million immigrants could be affected.   Read More About This

31.    The DHS announced it will require holders of employment-based visas to be interviewed in order to update their status. More than 100k visa holders could be impacted.   Read More About This

32.    The Brennan Center and Protect Democracy Project filed a lawsuit for info on communication between government agencies and the Election Integrity Comm. The agencies did not respond to a FOIA request.   Read More About This

33.    On Tuesday, the DOJ modified its warrant, dropping its request for IP addresses from DreamHost for an anti-Trump site, disruptj20.org.   Read More About This

34.    On Thursday, a court ordered DreamHost to turn over the data requested. The court asked the DOJ to disclose its method for searching the data to minimizing data on innocent third-party visitors to the site.   Read More About This

35.    In a WAPO op-ed, activist Melissa Byrne described being grabbed, cuffed and questioned, and her banner confiscated, by the Secret Service without having been read her rights at a Starbucks in Trump Tower.   Read More About This

36.    On Monday, Trump delivered his second address to the nation. Reading from the teleprompter he asked the American people to trust him in sending thousands more troops to Afghanistan.   Read More About This

37.    Trump opened the speech with a call for unity. Historian Michael Beschloss noted this was the first time a leader "had to start a speech on war and peace by vowing that he opposed bigotry and prejudice."   Read More About This

38.    Trump's speech was full of his typical bellicose terms, like "overwhelming force," but offered little in the way of strategy and substance.   Read More About This

39.    Of note, three generals now seem to have Trump's ear: Kelly, McMaster and Mattis. As recently as Week 38, Trump had scoffed at adding troops. He also compared Afghanistan to a 21 Club renovation.   Read More About This

40.    There is not yet a confirmed US ambassador to Afghanistan.   Read More About This

41.    24 hours after his address to the nation, Trump headed to a campaign rally in Phoenix, despite pleas from the Mayor of Phoenix in an op-edand on air that it was not a good time for Trump to visit.   Read More About This

42.    Despite his calls for unity Monday, Trump delivered a 72-minute dystopian speech in which he repeatedly attacked the media and "others"  --  again targeting marginalized communities.   Read More About This

43.    Trump referred to the media as the enemy of the American people, saying "They don't like our country." After the speech, many in the media expressed concern about their safety.   Read More About This

44.    Trump also threatened to shut down the government in the fall if Congress did not approve funding for his Wall.   Read More About This

45.    Despite his advance promises not to, Trump attacked McCain and Flake, the two senators of Arizona, in his speech without using their names.   Read More About This

46.    Also, despite promising not to do so, Trump insinuated he would pardon Sheriff Joe Arpaio, citing the legal system not treating him fairly.   Read More About This

47.    Trump did not mention the accident involving the USS John. S McCain, or the continuing search for missing sailors during his speech.   Read More About This

48.    WAPO reported as Trump ranted and rambled, "hundreds left early." The room was only partially filled as Trump began to speak.   Read More About This

49.    Police used tear gas to disperse crowds of thousands of protestors after Trump's speech. Police helicopters circled downtown Phoenix.   Read More About This

50.    In a likely violation of the Hatch Act, Ben Carson appeared on stage in Phoenix, after being introduced as the Secretary of HUD.   Read More About This

51.    NPR fact-checked Trump's speech, and found numerous false and misleading statements.   Read More About This

52.    Ahead of the rally Tuesday, Trump met with potential Republican challengers to primary Sen. Flake in 2018. During the brief meeting, Trump referred to the senator as "the flake."   Read More About This

53.    After Trump's Phoenix speech, former director of National Intelligence Clapper told CNN he questioned Trump's "fitness to be  --  in this office." "   Read More About This

54.    Clapper said understanding the levers of power available to a president, he found the speech "downright scary and disturbing."   Read More About This

55.    Clapper also said Trump could be a threat to national security. He worries about Trump's access to nuclear codes, noting it a fit of pique, "there's actually very little to stop him."   Read More About This

56.    Trump tweeted asking if Clapper "who famously got caught lying to Congress," would share "his beautiful letter to me?" Clapper said he had handwritten almost identical notes to both candidates for Election Day.   Read More About This

57.    CNN reported Wednesday that the WH was preparing paperwork and talking points for surrogates ahead of Trump pardoning Arpaio.   Read More About This

58.    On Monday, in a later-deleted Instagram post, Mnuchin's wife, Louise Linton bragged about traveling on a chartered government plane, and about the lavish fashion brands she was wearing.   Read More About This

59.    On Wednesday, CREW requested information on authorization of the chartered airplane. Typically, secretaries fly on commercial flights for domestic travel.   Read More About This

60.    Ethics groups also filed requests to learn if the trip to Fort Knox, KY was planned so Mnuchin and his wife could view the solar eclipse near the path of totality.   Read More About This

61.    On a sudden, unannounced trip to the Middle East, Kushner was snubbed by the Egyptian foreign minister who canceled their meeting without officially citing a reason. The meeting did later take place.   Read More About This

62.    NPR reported Trump's approval with women is at a historically low 29%. Trump's approval with men is much higher (43%).   Read More About This

63.    NYT reported on a brewing war between Trump and McConnell, as the two haven't spoken for weeks. McConnell questioned whether Trump can salvage his presidency.   Read More About This

64.    McConnell also questioned Trump's understanding of the presidency, and claimed Trump was "entirely unwilling to learn the basics of governing".   Read More About This

65.    NYT also reported on an August 9 call with McConnell, which Trump initiated, Trump brought up healthcare, but was "even more animated" about McConnell's refusal to protect him from the Russia investigation.   Read More About This

66.    After the NYT story broke, another Republican senator called the reporter to say Trump is "consumed with Russia."   Read More About This

67.    POLITICO reported on more clashes between Trump and Republican senators over Russia. In additional to Trump public admonishments of McConnell, McCain and Flake, Trump also targeted Corker and Tillis.   Read More About This

68.    Trump tried to convince Corker the Russian sanctions bill wasn't good policy, saying it was unconstitutional and would damage him. Trump berated Tillis for his bi-partisan bill to protect Mueller from being fired.   Read More About This

69.    Including these contacts, WAPO counted seven times so far Trump has attempted to influence actions related to the Russia investigation.   Read More About This

70.    On Tuesday, Glenn Simpson, founder of private research firm Fusion GPS who hired Steele to produce the dossier, testified for 10 hours in front of the Senate Judiciary Comm. He also provided 40k pages of documents.   Read More About This

71.    The Senate Judiciary Comm will vote on releasing the testimony to the public. Rachel Maddow said Simpson's lawyer has given the okay to release the testimony and documents publicly.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

72.    WAPO reported CIA director Pompeo, Trump's close ally, required the Counterintelligence Mission Center, which investigates possible collusion between Trump and Russia, to report directly to him.   Read More About This

73.    Current and former agent Mike Pompeo expressed apprehension about conflict of interests. There is "real concern for interference and politicization," and that Pompeo may bring newly discovered information to the WH.   Read More About This

74.    Pompeo spends more time at the WH than his predecessors. He also defended Trump's comments on Charlottesville, saying Trump's condemnation of bigotry was "frankly pretty unambiguous."   Read More About This

75.    Pompeo has also shown a willingness to handle political assignments for the WH: for example calling news agencies, speaking on condition of anonymity, at the WH's behest to dispute a NYT article on Trump-Russia.   Read More About This

76.    In an internal CIA memo released under the FOIA, former CIA director Brennan wrote some in Congress don't get the "gravity" of Russia election meddling.   Read More About This

77.    Kushner Cos., the real estate company 0f Kushner's family, switched to a public relations firm with crisis management expertise.   Read More About This

78.    NYT reported on Rinat Akhmetshin, one of the attendees of the June 9 meeting at Trump Tower, and his extensive and deep ties to Russian intelligence, government and oligarchs.   Read More About This

79.    Akhmetshin has worked on behalf of several Russian oligarchs to hack adversaries' emails and documents in order to buffer their case. Mueller is interested in why Akhmetshin attended the June 9 meeting.   Read More About This

80.    CNN reported Congressional investigators unearthed an email from Rick Dearborn, a top campaign aide who is now Trump's deputy chief of staff, about an individual seeking to connect top Trump officials with Putin.   Read More About This

81.    WSJ reported Mueller is looking into Flynn's role in seeking Hillary's emails from Russian hackers, along with now deceased GOP operative Peter W. Smith.   Read More About This

82.    Investigators have examined intel reports which detail Russian hackers discussing how to obtain emails from Hillary's server, and then transmit them to Flynn via an intermediary.   Read More About This

83.    NBC reported Mueller issued the first grand jury subpoenas to executives who worked on an international campaign organized by Manafort, a significant step in the inquiry which also focuses on Trump and Kushner.   Read More About This

84.    Mueller's team is examining lobbying done by Manafort for a Russia-backed Ukrainian political party from 2012–2014. According to recent financial disclosures, Manafort was paid $17mm between 2013 and 2014.   Read More About This

85.    USA Today reported on a Russian propaganda Twitter network aimed at American audiences which consistently spreads links from alt-rightmedia including Breitbart, True Pundit and Gateway Pundit.   Read More About This

86.    Roger Stone told TMZ if Trump is impeached the country would break out into civil war, saying "You will have a spasm of violence in this country, and insurrection, like you've never seen."   Read More About This

87.    NYT reported on Trump Hotel DC, the now highly profitable meeting place for Trump family members and surrogates, lobbyists and journalist. Trump continues to profit from the hotel operations.   Read More About This

88.    The hotel is also described as a "safe zone for Trump supporters." Richard Spencer stayed at Trump Hotel DC, and met with white nationalist Evan McClare, as he planned the Charlottesville rally.   Read More About This

89.    WAPO fact checker reported Trump's list of false and misleading claims had topped 1,000 items early in the week. By week's end, the list approached 1,100 items, one of the busiest weeks of lying yet.   Read More About This

90.    After Icahn resigned in Week 40 ahead of a story on his influencing regulations to his financial benefit, the Trump regime stated unlike a government employee, Icahn had "no official role or duties."   Read More About This

91.    Icahn financially benefitted from his 82% stake in CVR Energy. The company had accumulated a large short position in biofuels blending credits, called RINs, the price of which fell when Icahn's proposal on the biofuels regulation was reported in February, netting him a huge return.   Read More About This

92.    On Friday, Trump attacked another Republican, saying Corker is constantly asking if he should run in 2018, and "Tennessee not happy!" Corker had questioned Trump's fitness to serve in Week 40.   Read More About This

93.    In an interview with FT, Cohn was openly critical of Trump's Charlottesville response, saying Trump "must do better" in condemning neo-Nazi and white supremacists."   Read More About This

94.    Fed Chair Yellen spoke out openly against the Trump regime's efforts to roll back banking regulations enacted after the 2008 financial crisis, saying these regulations have made the banking system safer.   Read More About This

95.    Changing course, Bloomberg reported the WH no longer plans to work with Congress to produce a joint tax plan, instead relying on the House and Senate to hash it out. Trump said he will rally the public instead.   Read More About This

96.    The WH rapid response director, Andy Hemming is leaving. Hemming had worked from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. every weekday blasting out stories favorable to the Trump regime.   Read More About This

97.    The RNC passed a resolution to condemn neo-Nazis, the KKK and white supremacists, despite pushback from several Republican members. The resolution did not, however, mention Trump.   Read More About This

98.    A Quinnipiac poll found that 62% of Americans believe Trump is dividing the country.   Read More About This

99.    As Trump left the WH Friday afternoon, a reporter asked, "do you have a message for the people of Texas?" Trump responded, "Good luck to everybody."   Read More About This

100.    Hours before Hurricane Harvey, thought to be the worst hurricane in 12 years, hit landfall in Texas, with the country anxiously watching, Trump issued a directive and a pardon.   Read More About This

101.    Late Friday, Trump signed a directive that precludes transgender individuals from joining the military. Mattis has six months to develop a plan to implement the order, and discretion over those already serving.   Read More About This

102.    Trump's directive also bans DoD from paying for medical treatment regimens for transgender individuals currently serving in the military.   Read More About This

103.    Late Friday, Trump pardoned Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an elected official who defied a federal court's order to stop violating people's constitutional rights. Arpaio had been found in contempt of court in his ongoing case.   Read More About This

104.    The NYT Editorial Board had noted with a pardon of Arpaio, Trump would show "his contempt for the American court system," and also send a "message to other officials that they may flout court orders also."   Read More About This

105.    Questions arose about whether Trump's pardon of Arpaio was testing the waters and sending a signal to those under investigation by Mueller.   Read More About This

106.    Late Friday, Trump adviser Gorka left his post as deputy assistant in the WH. In a letter, Gorka said he resigned. Trump aides said he was fired.   Read More About This

107.    Shortly after 11 pm EST, Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 storm. The National Hurricane Center said it expects "catastrophic and life-threatening" flash flooding and dump 15–30 inches of rain.   Read More About This

108.    The Trump regime imposed sanctions on Venezuela; however, Citgo was exempted. As cited in Week 25, Citgo donated $500k to Trump's inauguration, and that money may have come indirectly from Russia.   Read More About This

Pic



Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-41-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-13247a760fd8

Top of Page


Buy Avon

0 Comments

WEEK 40: EXPERTS IN AUTHORITARIANISM ADVISE TO KEEP A LIST OF THINGS SUBTLY CHANGING AROUND YOU, SO YOU’LL REMEMBER.

8/19/2017

0 Comments

 
   
Week #40:  August 19, 2017

This week's list is not the longest, but it is certainly the most heartbreaking. Trump's comments on Charlottesville legitimized the worst of us, and spawned a watershed moment for our country. His remarks were met with widespread condemnation and reactions, and precipitated a mass exodus of corporate CEOs, wiping away any lingering doubts that Trump's goals were ever truly linked to job creation. For the first time, real questions about fitness for office were raised out loud by both sides.

This week in Trump's shrinking, chaotic regime it became even clearer that Trump answers to no one but himself. He continues to attack and attempt to intimidate Republicans into submission, as part of his continuing efforts to consolidate power.
____________________________________________________________


1.    In an impromptu news conference on Charlottesville late Saturday afternoon, Trump said, "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides."   Read More About This

2.    White supremacists and neo-Nazi leaders cheered Trump's "on many sides" comments, taking his words as a defense, or even as a tacit approval, of their action.   Read More About This

3.    On Sunday, the WH issued a statement to "clarify" Trump's Saturday comments, saying Trump condemns all forms of "violence, bigotry and hatred" while naming white supremacists, KKK, and neo-Nazis.   Read More About This

4.    32 year-old Heather Heyer was killed Saturday after a car driven by James Fields rammed into a crowd of counter-protestors in Charlottesville. Nineteen others were injured.   Read More About This

5.    Daily Caller and Fox News deleted a post titled, "Here's A Reel Of Cars Plowing Through Protesters Trying To Block The Road," which included a video encouraging people to drive through protests.   Read More About This

6.    Two state troopers, Lieutenant Cullen and Trooper Bates, who were keeping watch on the demonstrations in Charlottesville, were killed when their helicopter went down.   Read More About This

7.    On Sunday, a candlelight vigil planned for Heather Heyer in Charlottesville was cancelled due to a "credible threat from white supremacists."   Read More About This

8.    Neo-Nazis disparaged Heyer, and the KKK celebrated her death. Neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer was taken down after activists, led by my Sunday tweet, contacted domain hosts Go Daddy, Google, etc.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

9.    After US hosting companies refused to host The Daily Stormer, the website briefly relocated to Russia, for which they thanked Trump, before being kicked off there too. China rebuffed them too.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

10.    In the wake of Charlottesville, numerous tech companies including Facebook, Google, Spotify, Uber, Squarespace and many others took action to curb use of their services and platforms by alt-right groups.   Read More About This

11.    A Unite the Right organizer was disavowed by his family. Several marchers who were identified on social media lost their jobs. Others were asked to denounce their activities or were expelled by colleges.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

12.    On Sunday, Trump's popularity hit a new low at Gallup with 34% approving and 61% disapproving (-27).   Read More About This

13.    On Monday, Sessions said the car ramming into Heather Heyer and 19 others "does meet the definition of domestic terrorism" under US law.   Read More About This

14.    On Monday morning, Merck's CEO resigned from Trump's American Manufacturing Council saying as a "matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism."   Read More About This

15.    Later Monday, Trump tweeted @Merck is a leader in "higher & higher drug prices," and "taking jobs out of the U.S."   Read More About This

16.    Later Monday and Tuesday, four more CEOs resigned from Trump's American Manufacturing Council over his handling of Charlottesville.   Read More About This

17.    Trump countered, "I have many to take their place. Grandstanders should not have gone on." Trump offered no new names publicly.   Read More About This

18.    On Wednesday, NYT reported the CEOs on Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum held a morning conference call to discuss whether to disband the policy forum. The Manufacturing Council planned a call that afternoon.   Read More About This

19.    Before the policy forum, and possible manufacturing council could formally disband, midday Wednesday Trump tweeted "rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople," he was ending both.   Read More About This

20.    On Thursday, the WH announced the Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure, which was still being formed, would not move forward.   Read More About This

21.    On Monday, Trump said he is "seriously considering" a pardon for ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio, saying, "He's a great American patriot."   Read More About This

22.    In the aftermath of Charlottesville, the Phoenix mayor called on Trump to delay his planned rally next week, saying Trump's plan to pardon Arpaio could "enflame emotions and further divide our nation."   Read More About This

23.    Minutes after the Phoenix mayor's statement, Trump tweeted a link for tickets to his Phoenix event.   Read More About This

24.    Advocates said there has been a spike in reports of anti-LGBTQ violence since Trump took office. As of August, there are already more hate-related homicides than in all of 2016, excluding Pulse.   Read More About This

25.    A Virginia high school sent a letter to parents saying selection for AP and Honors classes would at least partly based on race.   Read More About This

26.    On Monday, the Holocaust memorial in Boston was vandalized for the second time this summer.   Read More About This

27.    On Monday, reading from a teleprompter, Trump gave his third version of comments on Charlottesville, calling the KKK, neo-Nazis and white supremacists "repugnant" and saying, "racism is evil."   Read More About This

28.    On Tuesday morning, Trump tweeted then deleted an image of a train running over a CNN reporter.   Read More About This

29.    On Tuesday at Trump Tower, with Mnuchin, Chao and Cohn by this side, Trump turned what was supposed to be remarks about his infrastructure plan into an "off-the-rails" news conference on Charlottesville.   Read More About This

30.    Reversing himself for the fourth time in four days, Trump said "I think there's blame on both sides" -- insinuating that the "alt-left" was just as much to blame as white supremacists and neo-Nazis.   Read More About This

31.    Trump claimed not all the white supremacists and neo-Nazis were bad people, "you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides."   Read More About This

32.    When asked about Bannon, Trump said "He's a good man. He's not a racist," and that the press treats him, "frankly, very unfairly."   Read More About This

33.    Trump claimed alt-right protestors had a permit, but counter-protesters "came charging in without a permit" and "were very, very violent." WAPOgave the claim that counter-protestors had no permit 4 Pinocchios.   Read More About This

34.    Trump equated taking down the statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville to taking down statues of Washington ("George Washington was a slave owner") and Jefferson ("Because he was a major slave owner").   Read More About This

35.    Trump's staff, expecting brief remarks on infrastructure, were stunned by his action. One senior WH official told NBC, Trump "went rogue."   Read More About This

36.    POLITICO reported Trump was "in good spirits" Tuesday night, and felt the "new conference went much better" than his Monday speech.   Read More About This

37.    Alt-right leaders praised Trump's Tuesday comments. Richard Spencer said he was "really proud of him," and David Duke tweeted, "Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth."   Read More About This

38.    Axios reported within the Trump WH, Bannon unapologetically supported Trump's instinct to blame "both sides," and that he and Trump "instinctively searched for "their" people in that group of protesters."   Read More About This

39.    Mnuchin's Yale classmates wrote an open letter calling on him to resign immediately, saying Trump "declared himself a sympathizer with groups" whose values are antithetical to Yale and decent human beings.   Read More About This

40.    In a Republican primary in Alabama Tuesday, Trump's chosen candidate Luther Strange, who he very publicly supported, came in second.   Read More About This

41.    On Wednesday, Pence cut his international trip to Central and South America short to come home. The stated reason was to join a national security meeting on Friday, although rumors flew with other theories.   Read More About This

42.    On Wednesday, Fox News' Shep Smith said his show "reached out to Republicans of all stripes across the country today" and couldn't find a single one willing to come on and discuss Trump's Tuesday comments.   Read More About This

43.    In a letter, fmr CIA director Brennan told CNN's Blitzer Trump's comments on Charlottesville were "despicable," and that Trump "is putting our national security and our collective futures at grave risk."   Read More About This

44.    On Wednesday, the Generals of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and National Guard tweeted to condemn the racist violence in Charlottesville, declaring the nation's armed forces unequivocally against hatred.   Read More About This

45.    Sen. Corker, one of Trump's first senate supporters who was also under consideration for VP, said Trump "has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence" to be a successful leader.   Read More About This

46.    European leaders, including Merkel and May, denounced Trump's comments on Charlottesville. Martin Schulz of German said Trump "is betraying our Western value."   Read More About This

47.    Rep. Steve Cohen of TN, a ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, introduced articles of impeachment in response to Trump's comments on Charlottesville.   Read More About This

48.    On Wednesday, Sessions told NBC News that the Charlottesville car attack may be considered a "hate crime."   Read More About This

49.    USA Today Editorial Board called on Congress to censure Trump for his "shocking equivocations about the white-supremacist," challenging Republicans to "stand up for American values" or be Trump enablers.   Read More About This

50.    On Thursday, the Cleveland Clinic pulled their 2018 Florida gala from Mar-A-Lago. Cleveland Clinic had held their event there for eight years.   Read More About This

51.    By Friday evening, 16 charities had pulled their events from Mar-A-Lago, costing the Trump Organization hundreds of thousands, or possibly millions in lost revenues.   Read More About This

52.    Citing violence at Charlottesville, Texas A&M and the University of Florida cancelled scheduled speaking appearances by white supremacist Richard Spencer, both citing safety concerns.   Read More About This

53.    On Thursday, Michigan State University denied a request by Spencer to rent space on the campus for a September event.   Read More About This

54.    Students and graduates of Lehigh University students petitioned trustees to revoke Trump's honorary degree, citing Trump's "both sides" remarks.   Read More About This

55.    Thousands gathered at UVA on Wednesday night for an unannounced candlelight vigil. They chanted "love wins," and sang "We Shall Overcome" and "Amazing Grace."   Read More About This

56.    At a funeral service for Heather Heyer her mother, Susan Bro said, "They tried to kill my child to shut her up. Well, guess what? You just magnified her." Bro told NBC Thursday she has received death threats from hate groups.   Read More About This

57.    Bro said she will not meet with Trump after he blamed "both sides" for violence in Charlottesville. She also has not picked up his phone calls.   Read More About This

58.    Trump continued to tweet about Confederate statues after his news conference, "can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson -- who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!"   Read More About This

59.    The great-great grandchildren of Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson called for Confederate statues to be removed. They also condemned the white supremacist and violence in Charlottesville.   Read More About This

60.    They also suggested statues be moved to museums. Bertram Hayes-Davis, great-great-grandson of Jefferson Davis suggested, "In a public place, if it is offensive and people are taking issue with it, let's move it."   Read More About This

61.    In the days following the Charlottesville alt-right rally, 13 US cities and Duke University said they would remove Confederate monuments. Several other cities are considering same.   Read More About This

62.    After a terrorist attack in Spain, Trump tweeted about what General Pershing did when terrorist were caught: "There was no more Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years!" Politifact rated Trump's claim, Pants on Fire.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

63.    Trump continued to do battle with Republicans, targeting Flake who he called "toxic" and "WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate," and Graham who he said "can't forget his election trouncing."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

64.    Countering Trump, McConnell offered his "full support" for Flake.   Read More About This

65.    James Murdoch donated $1mm to the Anti-Defamation League in the wake of Charlottesville. As many of social media noted, Fox News played a major role in stoking the hate of far-right extremists.   Read More About This

66.    According to government documents published by one of Murdoch's newspapers Tuesday, Australian authorities denied a bid by Trump to build a casino in 1988 due to his ties to the mafia and organized crime.   Read More About This

67.    HuffPost reported on Trump aide Katharine Gorka's role in helping to pull DHS funding for Life After Hate, a group dedicated to countering neo-Nazis and white supremacists, as noted in Week 33. Of note: also in Week 33, the State Dept's anti-Semitism monitoring office was shuttered.   Read More About This

68.    In an interview Thursday, former VP Gore said if he could give Trump one piece of advice, it would be to resign.   Read More About This

69.    On Friday, the 17 remaining members of Trump's presidential arts and humanities panel resigned Friday in protest over his Charlottesville comments.   Read More About This

70.    Trump's WH responded late Friday, saying Trump was going to disband the arts and humanities panel anyway.   Read More About This

71.    Trump and Melania said they will not attend this year's Kennedy Center Honors in December. According to Huckabee Sanders, the decision is meant to allow "honorees to celebrate without any political distraction."   Read More About This

72.    The decision was made after numerous honorees announced their intentions to skip or protest if Trump attended. After Trump's cancelation, event organizers said, "We are grateful for this gesture."   Read More About This

73.    NBC called this week Trump's "worst week yet," and said he was more isolated than ever.   Read More About This

74.    Hope Hicks took over as the interim WH communications director, as Trump continued his search to replace Scaramucci. Hicks is the fourth person in that role.   Read More About This

75.    Trump's personal lawyer John Dowd forwarded an email with secessionist Civil War propaganda. The email also stated the group Black Lives Matter "has been totally infiltrated by terrorist groups."   Read More About This

76.    Trump's DOJ issued a warrant to DreamHost demanding the company turn over all IP addresses related to DisruptJ20.org, a website used in planning actions to interrupt Trump's inauguration.   Read More About This

77.    A week after the inauguration, the DOJ had asked for information such as people's physical and email addresses and DreamHost had complied. DreamHost's lawyers called the latest request a "complete overreach."   Read More About This

78.    NYT reported Mueller, for the first time, is seeking to interview past and current members of Trump's WH beyond Manafort, including members of the communications team.   Read More About This

79.    Mueller is interested in interviewing Priebus about what occurred during the campaign and in the WH, especially as it relates to the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting and the Comey firing.   Read More About This

80.    During a press conference on his visit to Columbia, Pence told reporters he "never witnessed" any evidence of Russian collusion with the Trump campaign, and that he was "not aware" of it ever having occurred.   Read More About This

81.    WAPO reported Trump aid George Papadopoulos, starting in March 2016 with an email headed, "Meeting with Russian Leadership  --  Including Putin," repeatedly tried to get Trump aides to meet with Russians.   Read More About This

82.    Experts on Russian intelligence speculated his email chain offers further evidence that Russians were looking for entry points into the Trump campaign. Papalopoulos said he was acting as a Russian intermediary.   Read More About This

83.    NYT reported on an investigation by Ukrainian investigators and the FBI of a Ukrainian malware expert named "Profexer," for his part in a network of hackers allegedly engaged by Russia to hack the US election.   Read More About This

84.    Also under investigation is a Russian government hacking group, Advanced Persistent Threat 28 or Fancy Bear, believed to be involved in the DNC hacking. Much of the work was outsourced to private vendors.   Read More About This

85.    In the first know hitch, Mueller's special counsel lost a top FBI investigator, Peter Strzok. It is unclear why Strzok stepped away.   Read More About This

86.    A US District court judge ruled that as part of a libel suit brought by Webzilla CEO Aleksej Gubarev against Buzzfeed, Steele could be questioned about the funding and sourcing of the dossier.   Read More About This

87.    Rep. Rohrabacher, an advocate for the Kremlin, said he plans to brief Trump on his meeting with Assange. Assange told Rohrabacher that he was not behind the DNC hack, and that the Russians were not involved.   Read More About This

88.    Assange is trying to strike a deal so he can stop living in asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. In Week 23, Sessions said the DOJ was preparing charges against Assange whose "arrest is a priority."   Read More About This

89.    The National Parks Service reversed a ban on plastic water bottles at national parks. The move came after confirmation of Trump's Deputy Interior Secretary, who previously represented Deer Park Water.   Read More About This

90.    In a tweet, the Trump Organization featured a photo with the caption, "From our Presidential ballroom to intimate historic room," to advertise meeting and event space.   Read More About This

91.    Raising ethical concerns, Justice Gorsuch is scheduled to address conservative groups at Trump Hotel DC in September, less than two weeks before the court will hear arguments on Trump's Muslim Ban.   Read More About This

92.    Mattis' Department of Defense parted ways with senior media adviser, Steve Warren. Pentagon reporters have complained about lack of access to Mattis, and some recently being kicked off Mattis's Middle East trip last minute.   Read More About This

93.    On Friday, Trump friend and ally Carl Icahn resigned as a special adviser to Trump, although Icahn had done nothing in that role. The WH said Icahn had been fired on Monday.   Read More About This

94.    Icahn resigned hours before The New Yorker published a piece on his conflicts of interest (see Week 20). The head of a watchdog group said, "This kind of self-enrichment and influence" was "unprecedented."   Read More About This

95.    Trump tweeted photos from Camp David of him signing the Global War on Terrorism War Memorial Act. Of the 14 people at the signing, there was only one woman and not a single person of color.   Read More About This

96.    In an interview with The American Prospect on Wednesday, a venting Bannon referred to white supremacists as "clowns" and "losers."   Read More About This

97.    Contradicting Trump, Bannon said on N. Korea, "there's no military solution here, they got us," and added, "it's just a sideshow."   Read More About This

98.    In new interviews, Bannon said he viewed the post-Charlotte racial strife and turmoil as a political winner for Trump.   Read More About This

99.    On Friday, Trump fired Bannon. According to Bannon allies, he submitted his intention to leave the WH on August 7.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

100.    Axios reported Bannon met with the billionaire Mercer family for five hours Friday in New York and "together they will be a well-funded force on the outside."   Read More About This

101.    Bannon told Bloomberg that he would be returning to run Breitbart, and that he would be "going to war for Trump against his opponents -- on Capitol Hill, in the media, and in corporate America."   Read More About This

102.    Bannon told the Weekly Standard, "The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over," saying Trump will not achieve his campaign promises. Bannon vowed to continue the fight from the outside.   Read More About This

103.    In an op-ed titled, "I Voted for Trump, And I Sorely Regret It," past avid supporter Julius Krein wrote of his disillusionment with Trump, and the realization that Trump would not achieve his stated goals.   Read More About This

104.    Right-wing radio host Limbaugh backed white nationalists and told his 26 million listeners that America is on the "cusp of a second civil war," blaming international financiers who are trying to bring down America.   Read More About This

105.    On Saturday, Boston hosted a Free Speech Rally organized by conservatives and libertarians at Boston Commons. Friday, Mayor Walsh said 500 police officers would be there, and urged people to stay away.   Read More About This

106.    Thousands of counter-protestors marched through downtown Boston to condemn white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Police estimated 15k peacefully marched.   Read More About This

Pic



Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-40-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-eb3a830375a9

Top of Page


Buy Avon

0 Comments

WEEK 39: EXPERTS IN AUTHORITARIANISM ADVISE TO KEEP A LIST OF THINGS SUBTLY CHANGING AROUND YOU, SO YOU’LL REMEMBER.

8/12/2017

0 Comments

 
   
Week #39:  August 12, 2017

Despite Congress being out of session and Trump on vacation, this was one of the most alarming weeks so far. Without provocation, Trump made aggressive statements towards three countries, and escalated the possibility of nuclear war with N. Korea. The country continued to burn in hate as violence surrounding a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville led to a state of emergency in Virginia.

Other troubling trends continued this week including: an increase of media controlled by Trump and his allies, an unstaffed and unprepared executive branch, and steps taken to suppress the vote in future elections. Even with his new chief of staff, it is apparent Trump is consolidating power and answering to no one. He is also stepping up his attacks on the legislative branch.
____________________________________________________________


1.    Reminiscent of state-owned propaganda, Trump launched the first broadcast of "real" Trump TV featuring Kayleigh McEnany, formerly a commentator on CNN.   Read More About This

2.    The RNC named McEnany to be its national spokesperson, meaning she will get paid by the RNC for her Trump TV work.   Read More About This

3.    Lara Trump will run Trump TV as part of her job with consulting group Giles-Parscale. Per Week 31, Parscale has been called by Congressional investigators to testify on his role in the Trump campaign and Russia.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

4.    Trump's FCC chair, Ajit Pai, revived a regulatory loophole allowing Sinclair Broadcasting to vastly exceed federal limits on media ownership. When a pending deal closes, Sinclair will reach 72% of US households.   Read More About This

5.    VOX analyzed 17 months of Fox & Friends transcripts and found a symbiotic relationship between Trump and the show. Since the election, data reveals the show's primary goal is talk to Trump, not their audience.   Read More About This

6.    On Fox News Sunday, Rosenstein said he has not been directed by Trump to investigate Hillary's email, as suggested by Trump. Rosenstein added, "That wouldn't be right. That's not the way we operate."   Read More About This

7.    Rosenstein dismissed that the Russia probe is a "total fabrication" -- the reference by Trump. He also said Mueller can investigate any crimes he discovers within the scope of his probe.   Read More About This

8.    Conway suggested White House staffers may be required to take lie-detector testsas part of the regime's efforts to find leakers.   Read More About This

9.    WAPO Editorial Board wrote Trump's DOJ is joining the GOP's crusade to suppress voting, citing an Ohio case of culling voters before the SCOTUS. The Obama administration found this unlawful, Trump's does not.   Read More About This

10.    Indiana NCAAP and Priorities USA are suing the state over a law which results in closing voting precincts in black and Latino areas.   Read More About This

11.    Poll: Half of Republicans would back postponing 2020 election if Trump proposed it   Read More About This

12.    AP reported Ivy League schools are bracing for scrutiny from the Trump regime for their efforts to make their campuses diverse.   Read More About This

13.    A bomb was tossed through the window of a Mosque in Bloomington, MN. Minnesota's governor declared the bombing "an act of terrorism."   Read More About This

14.    Trump did not acknowledge the bombing of a bomb that was tossed through the window of a Mosque in Bloomington, MN. Gorka said the WH would "wait and see" in case the blast turned out to be a hoax. By week end, Trump still had no comment.   Read More About This

15.    Trump tweeted out a Fox News story about a vehicle ramming into soldiers in France, which the news agency insinuated, without having evidence yet, was carried out by Islamic terrorists.   Read More About This

16.    The NAACP Legal Defense Fund will appeal a federal judge's ruling allowing a white Alabama town to secede from a racially-mixed county school district and start its own system.   Read More About This

17.    CNN fired conservative pundit Jeffrey Lord after he tweeted the Nazi salute, "Sieg Heil!" at a prominent liberal activist.   Read More About This

18.    A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found Trump's moves to undermine Obamacare have already triggered double-digit premium increases on individual health insurance policies in many states.   Read More About This

19.    NYT reported government scientists are concerned that a report by scientists in 13 federal agencies, which finds a drastic impact of climate change in the US, will be suppressed by Trump.   Read More About This

20.    In a series of emails obtained by The Guardian, the Trump regime advised staff at the USDA not to use certain terms like "climate change"and "climate change adaption."   Read More About This

21.    Karina Brown, an Asian American woman who attended a Bon Jovi concert in Columbus, OH was told by a fellow concert-goer, "You don't belong in this country."   Read More About This

22.    Five transgender troops sued Trump over his tweet to instate a transgender military ban.   Read More About This

23.    The Canadian military is building a refugee camp in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle near Plattsburgh, NY to house up to 500 US asylum seekers. This is in addition to a shelter at Montreal Olympic Stadium in Week 38.   Read More About This

24.    CNN reported Sam Clovis, Trump's nominee to be chief scientist at the USDA, had on his conservative radio show stoked the birther conspiracy, called Eric Holder a "a racist black," and Tom Perez "a racist Latino."   Read More About This

25.    More than 75 consumer, health and advocacy groups came together to stop the Trump regime from stripping nursing home residents and their families of rights to take facilities to court over alleged abuse or neglect.   Read More About This

26.    As the Trump Organization tweeted about the launch of The Trump Estates and golf in Dubai, concerns continued to surface about ways US foreign policy has been impacted by the Trump family's investments.   Read More About This

27.    WAPO reported on how Trump hotel DC has become a center of influence, where members of industry and others seeking access meet with Trump regime members. And Trump financially benefits.   Read More About This

28.    Trump Hotel DC turned a $2mm profit for the first four months of 2017, far exceeding the Trump Organization's projected loss of $2.1mm. Driving profits were sky-high room prices and spending on food and beverages.   Read More About This

29.    WSJ reported rooms at Trump Hotel DC's average daily room rate was $660 compared with $496 for comparable hotels. The room rates are 60% higher than the hotel's original budget.   Read More About This

30.    The 18 Democrats on the House Oversight Comm sent letters to 15 cabinet departments and nine executive branch agencies requesting information on their spending at Trump Organization businesses.   Read More About This

31.    POLITICO reported Trump's slow pace in filling vacancies at FERC has caused $13bn of infrastructure projects, expected to create 23k new jobs, to be indefinitely delayed.   Read More About This

32.    NYT and ProPublica continued to track Trump appointees put in charge of dismantling government regulations. 85 appointees have been identified, many with industry or legal ties, or other conflicts of interest.   Read More About This

33.    A US District Court judge in NY will hear arguments in the Trump foreign emoluments lawsuit starting on October 18.   Read More About This

34.    According to a letter to the Senate, the OGE has rejected retroactive waivers for the Trump regime.   Read More About This

35.    Trump ally Robert Mercer donated $300k to Flake's Republican primary challenger after Flake spoke out against Trump. Among other benefits, the Mercers' hedge fund has avoided $6.8bn of back taxes under Trump.   Read More About This

36.    AP reported Trump companies applied to a casino trademark in Macau, the world's largest gambling market. Past applications by Trump had been rejected. Trump had pledged no new foreign deals while in office.   Read More About This

37.    Two top aides for UN ambassador Haley  --  her chief of staff and communications director  --  resigned. Haley said on Twitter it was because of "family concerns."   Read More About This

38.    Four top cybersecurity officials resigned from their posts, including the chief information security officer for the EPA and the CIO for the DHS, both of whom had been in their jobs for just a few months.   Read More About This

39.    FORTUNE reported vegetable prices may be going up soon as Trump's immigration policies have led to a farmworker shortage, and crops are rotting in the fields.   Read More About This

40.    The Toronto Star reported Trump has made 500 false claims in his first 200 days in office.   Read More About This

41.    A CNN poll taken at 200 days found just 24% of Americans trust most of what they hear from the WH.   Read More About This

42.    In another sign of Trump's waning popularity, Democrat Phil Miller won a special election (+10) in a Iowa district Trump had won by 22 in 2016.   Read More About This

43.    AP reported Pence has been quietly carving out his own political foot-print, noting Republicans privately admit Trump could be the first president since Nixon to leave office or not to seek re-election.   Read More About This

44.    After Sen. Blumenthal appeared on CNN to discuss the Russian probe, Trump attacked him on Twitter for 2 days, calling him a "phony Vietnam con artist," and saying he "should take a nice long vacation in Vietnam."   Read More About This

45.    Trump tweeted, "Thank you Nicole!" to an account @ProTrump45. The account, under the name Nicole Mincey, was deleted and appears to have been a bot, part of the Russia-backed disinformation campaign.   Read More About This

46.    VICE reported that since taking office, Trump receives a folder full of positive news about himself twice a day. Some in the WH refer to the folder as "the propaganda document."   Read More About This

47.    Bloomberg reported Manafort and Donald Jr. turned over thousands of documents in August to the Senate Judiciary Comm in the Russia probe.   Read More About This

48.    Trump campaign turns over 20K pages of documents to Senate investigators   Read More About This

49.    Bloomberg also reported Fusion GPS, a company linked to the dossier, and its CEO have yet to turn over requested documents. Senate Judiciary Comm chair Grassley wants to know if Russians paid for the dossier.   Read More About This

50.    Page Six reported Trump's story about a renovation at the 21 Club, which Trump told the generals while berating them about losing in Afghanistan (Week 38), was "completely wrong in every detail."   Read More About This

51.    WAPO reported the FBI conducted a predawn raid on Manafort's home in Alexandria, VA, seizing documents and other materials related to Mueller's Russia probe.   Read More About This

52.    The raid on his home occurred on July 26, the day Manafort was scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Comm and a day after he met with the Senate Intel Comm.   Read More About This

53.    The FBI search warrant was for documents relating to tax, banking and other matters. Sources said the FBI agents left with a "trove of material."   Read More About This

54.    ABC reported Manafort was awoken in the predawn hours by a group of armed FBI agents knocking on his bedroom door.   Read More About This

55.    On July 26 Trump called for acting FBI director McCabe to be fired. Also, that morning he inexplicably tweeted his transgender military ban without notifying the DoD or having a strategy in place.   Read More About This

56.    Bloomberg reported Manafort alerted Congressional investigators about the June 9 Trump Tower meeting three months ago.   Read More About This

57.    Trump ally the National Enquirer posted a story, "Trump Advisor Sex Scandal  --  Paul Manafort's Sick Affair," shortly after the WAPO article hit.   Read More About This

58.    POLITICO reported Federal investigators sought cooperation from Jeffrey Yohai, Manafort's son-in-law, early in the summer, in an effort to increase pressure on Manafort.   Read More About This

59.    On Thursday, Manafort fired WilmerHale and switched to Miller and Chevalier, a boutique firm in Washington that specializes in complicated financial crimes.   Read More About This

60.    A story in The New Yorker noted that with Manafort's sophistication and links to Russia oligarchs, he was in a good position to "understand what Vladimir Putin wanted from the Trump campaign."   Read More About This

61.    ABC reported Congressional investigators want to question Rhona Graff, Trump's assistant for 30 years, on the email exchange and meeting at Trump Tower on June 9 with Russians.   Read More About This

62.    The bipartisan Sen. Judiciary Comm asked the White House to respond to questions about changes to Kushner's security clearance forms related to undisclosed meetings with Russians. The deadline to reply was July 6.   Read More About This

63.    WAPO reported that analysis by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) concluded N. Korea has passed the key threshold of producing missile-ready nuclear weapons.   Read More About This

64.    From his golf course in Bedminster, Trump warned N. Korea against threatening US cities, saying threats "will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."   Read More About This

65.    In reaction to Trump's 'red line' of N. Korea threatening US cities, Kim Jong-un's regime said it may strike Guam.   Read More About This

66.    Trump's "fire and fury" comments broke the Dow's 10-day winning streak.   Read More About This

67.    Trump's comments were condemned by Democrats, Republicans and nuclear weapons experts, saying his incendiary rhetoric would make things worse.   Read More About This

68.    The Toronto Star reported on the numerous time Trump has used varieties of the hyperbolic phrase, "like the world has never seen," to make a point, including while a businessman and running for office.   Read More About This

69.    Wednesday, NYT reported Trump's "fire and fury" threat to N. Korea was improvised. The sheet of paper in front of him was about the opioid crisis, and he ad-libbed without input from his team on wording.   Read More About This

70.    As the North Korea crisis unfolds, Trump has yet to appoint an ambassador to S. Korea. As per Week 38, 22 of 24 assistant secretary positions in the State Dept are either unfilled or staffed by Obama holdovers.   Read More About This

71.    Blumenthal told MSNBC the Senate Armed Services Comm has been informed as N. Koreans moved from milestone to milestone, indicating Trump also should have known progress and not been alarmist.   Read More About This

72.    A 30-foot inflatable chicken with Trump-like hair floated next to the WH on Wednesday. The balloon was set up by documentary filmmaker Taran Singh Brar to protest Trump "being a weak and ineffective leader."   Read More About This

73.    Foreign Policy reported on a 7-page memo written by Rich Higgins about the "deep state" targeting Trump, thought to be behind the recent NSC shake-up, including McMaster firing Higgins.   Read More About This

74.    On Thursday, Trump escalated the rhetoric on N. Korea further, saying his "fire and fury" comment may not have been "tough enough." Asked how he could of been tougher, Trump replied, "You'll see. You'll see."   Read More About This

75.    Shortly after, flanked by Pence and McMaster in Bedminster, Trump did a 20 minute lie-ridden press conference. A historian described Trump's bizarre outpouring as "he was a dam that had suddenly burst free."   Read More About This

76.    Trump called it a "disgrace" that the Senate didn't pass a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, placing blame on McConnell and saying he wants him to get back to work and get it done.   Read More About This

77.    Trump also twice tweeted about McConnell's failure to repeal and replace Obamacare, and retweeted a Fox & Friends story Friday saying Trump was leaving the door open on whether McConnell should step down.   Read More About This

78.    On the other hand, Trump said he was "very thankful" to Putin for expelling hundreds of US diplomats "because now we have a smaller payroll." This is a false statement: diplomats remain on the payroll.   Read More About This

79.    Reuters reported the State Dept was "horrified and rattled," by Trump's remarks on expelling diplomats. The third ranking State member under W. Bush called the remarks, "grotesque."   Read More About This

80.    Also at the press conference, in contrast to what his regime said days earlier, Trump seemingly impromptu declared the opioids a federal emergency: "I'm saying officially, right now, it is an emergency."   Read More About This

81.    Also, on the transgender military ban, Trump said "I think I'm doing the military a great favor." and on the transgender community: "I think I have great support…I got a lot of votes."   Read More About This

82.    On Kim Jong-un, Trump said, "He got away with it for a long time…He's not getting away with it. This is a whole new ballgame." Adding, "And nobody, including N. Korea, is going to be threatening us with anything."   Read More About This

83.    Also at the press conference, Trump said "I don't think Iran is in compliance," on the 2015 deal to curtail nuclear weapons.   Read More About This

84.    Trump also said there was "no collusion between us and Russia. In fact, the opposite. Russia spent a lot of money on fighting me."   Read More About This

85.    Gordon Humphrey, a former GOP senator, suggested Congress should use the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office, saying of Trump "He is sick of mind, impetuous, arrogant, belligerent and dangerous."   Read More About This

86.    Tillerson sought calm on North Korea, saying Wednesday "Americans should sleep well at night." Gorka told BBC radio, "the idea that Secretary Tillerson is going to discuss military matters is simply nonsensical."   Read More About This

87.    On Friday, Trump escalated tensions further, tweeting the US military is "locked and loaded" should N. Korea "act unwisely."   Read More About This

88.    As tensions rose, US allies and adversaries urged caution. Germany PM Merkel said, "verbal escalation will not contribute to a resolution," and Russia foreign minister Lavrov said rhetoric was "over the top."   Read More About This

89.    In a phone call Friday night, China's President Xi Jinping also urged Trump to exercise restraint according to Chinese state media.   Read More About This

90.    As tensions heightened with N Korea, former Defense Secretary Panetta told CNN "we're dealing with probably the most serious crisis involving a potential nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis."   Read More About This

91.    In Hawaii, emergency management officials are working on reinstating alarm sirens to warn of a nuclear attack, last used during the Cold War.   Read More About This

92.    On Friday evening, Trump spoke to reporters with Tillerson, McMaster and Haley by his side. Speculation was this was to assure Americans that diplomacy was also being used with N. Korea.   Read More About This

93.    Instead, Trump escalated the rhetoric yet again, saying Jong-un "will not get away with" what he's doing, and if he attacks Guam, or American territory or ally, "he will truly regret it and he will regret it fast."   Read More About This

94.    When asked about Venezuela, Trump said we have many options, "including a possible military option if necessary."   Read More About This

95.    His threat played into Maduro's hands. Venezuelan officials have long said the US is planning an invasion. Maduro requested a phone call with Trump on Friday, which was rejected.   Read More About This

96.    A Deptment of Defense spokesperson said Friday evening the US is not planning to invade Venezuela, and "any insinuations by the Maduro regime that we are planning an invasion are baseless."   Read More About This

97.    Trump called the governor of Guam Friday night to reassure him of US protection. He also joked that Governor Calvo has become "extremely famous," and offered, "your tourism [is] going to go up like tenfold."   Read More About This

98.    On Friday night, hundreds of white supremacists marched on University of Virginia's campus carrying torches and chanting "White lives matter," and "You will not replace us," and "Jew will not replace us."   Read More About This

99.    On Saturday morning, white supremacists in Charlottesville to attend the Unite the Right rally carried Confederate flags and flag with the Nazi Swastikas. Militia groups carrying guns also attended.   Read More About This

100.    Violent clashes between white supremacists and protestors broke out. Local police declared a state of emergency.   Read More About This

101.    Later Saturday, the Virginia Governor, Terry McAuliffe, declared a state of emergency in response to the Unite the Right white nationalist rally. White supremacists were ordered to vacate the park before the rally.   Read More About This

102.    Trump addressed Charlottesville hours later, but failed to condemn white supremacists, many of whom were wearing Trump gear, instead tweeting, "We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for."   Read More About This

Pic



Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-39-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-1b911b954f30

Top of Page


Buy Avon

0 Comments

WEEK 38: EXPERTS IN AUTHORITARIANISM ADVISE TO KEEP A LIST OF THINGS SUBTLY CHANGING AROUND YOU, SO YOU’LL REMEMBER.

8/5/2017

0 Comments

 
   
Week #38:  August 5, 2017

This week, as his popularity hit new lows, Trump and his regime's white nationalist push became more conspicuous and aggressive. Trump continues to irreverently lie -- one such false statement on Donald Jr.'s June 9 meeting could directly implicate him in covering up the Russia scandal, which entered a new phase as Mueller impaneled a grand jury in Washington DC.

As a continuation of a theme over the past two weeks, the Republicans are finally pushing back on Trump, as Congress took steps to keep him in check. Trump seems prepared to fight Congress, along with battles he is already waging against the judicial branch and the media.
____________________________________________________________


1.    On a Fox News interview, Conway advised White House staffers not to address Trump by his first name, and to treat him with "deference and humility."   Read More About This

2.    On his Sunday show, Fareed Zakaria cautioned with Trump in power, the US faces something worse than being feared or derided -- the US is "becoming irrelevant."   Read More About This

3.    On Sunday, Putin ordered the US diplomatic missions in Russia to reduce their staff by 755 personnel, the single largest forced reduction, comparable only to the months after the Communist revolution in 1917.   Read More About This

4.    The Trump regime had no response to Putin's order on Sunday, or for the entire week.

5.    ProPublica reported Customs and Border Protection is set to jumpstart Trump's wall in a Texas national wildlife refuge. The agency will use money allotted by Congress for other purposes.   Read More About This

6.    A spokesperson for Pruitt's EPA told WAPO the agency will make changes to the EPA Museum. For example, the exhibit on Obama's Clean Power Plan will be removed, and coal may be added.   Read More About This

7.    CBN News reported nearly all of Trump's cabinet officials attend Bible lessons with a pastor who compares Trump to biblical heroes.   Read More About This

8.    In a statement released Tuesday, 56 retired generals and admirals came out against Trump's transgender military ban, arguing it would be disruptive and degrade military readiness.   Read More About This

9.    CBC News reported Montreal's Olympic Stadium is being used to house a surge in asylum seekers crossing from the US. More than 1k crossed from the US into Quebec in July alone.   Read More About This

10.    The NAACP issued its first-ever travel advisory for a state. NAACP cited Missouri legislation making discrimination cases harder to win, recent racist incidents, and racial disparities in traffic enforcement.   Read More About This

11.    Kobach appealed an order requiring him to answer question under oath about two documents containing plans for changes to US election law.   Read More About This

12.    A top EPA official, Elizabeth Sutherland, resigned after 30 years at the agency. In a scathing letter, she wrote, "The environmental field is suffering from the temporary triumph of myth over truth."   Read More About This

13.    The Trump regime will redirect resources of the DOJ toward investigating and suing universities over affirmative action admissions policies, which the regime claim discriminate against white applicants.   Read More About This

14.    ProPublica reported Candice Jackson, DeVos's pick to head the Civil Rights Office, said she faced discrimination for being white while at Stanford because of a help section reserved for minority students.   Read More About This

15.    WAPO reported Lizandro Claros Saravia, a standout soccer player who had a scholarship to play college soccer, was deported to El Salvador along with his brother after going to ICE to report he got into college.   Read More About This

16.    Documents released to the Daily Beast under the FOIA show high-level DHS officials ordered staff to stiff-arm members of Congress and treat lawyers with deep suspicion in the first hours of Trump's Muslim Ban.   Read More About This

17.    In an ICE press release, the agency admitted in Kelly's final sweep as DHS head, designed to catch Central Americans who had come to the US as family unit, 70% of those captured were not people being targeted.   Read More About This

18.    Tillerson's State Dept is considering eliminating the promotion of democracy from its mission statement.   Read More About This

19.    Amateur hackers at the DefCon conference in Las Vegas were able to exploit vulnerabilities in five voting machine types within 24 hours.   Read More About This

20.    POLITICO reported that by firing of Priebus, Trump severed one of his few remaining ties to the Republican Party.   Read More About This

21.    In a bombshell story, WAPO reported Trump dictated Donald Jr.'s misleading statement claiming Russian adoption was the rationale for the June 9 meeting, while flying back from the G20.   Read More About This

22.    Trump dictated son's misleading statement on meeting with Russian lawyer   Read More About This

23.    WAPO further reported Kushner's lawyers first learned about the June 9 email trail while researching their response to Congressional investigators weeks prior. Advisers and lawyers for Trump, Donald Jr. and Kushner had mapped out a strategy for disclosing the information.   Read More About This

24.    WAPO further reported that with this misleading statement, Trump is now directly implicated in trying to cover up Russia scandal.   Read More About This

25.    The day after reports that Trump crafted Donald Jr.'s statement, CBS reported Congressional investigators requested Donald Jr.'s phone records around the time of the June 9 meeting.   Read More About This

26.    Trump ally former Sheriff Joe Arpaio was found guilty of criminal contempt of court for defying a court order to stop detaining suspected undocumented immigrants.   Read More About This

27.    Phoenix New Times reported Arpaio was a no-show for his pre-sentencing hearing on Thursday.   Read More About This

28.    Ahead of his first cabinet meeting with Kelly as chief of staff, Trump referred to the Cabinet Room as a "board room."   Read More About This

29.    Sec of Interior Zinke told GQ in an interview that Rick Perry was didn't understand what his position is about, "I think he thought his department was more about energy than…science. Mostly, it's science."   Read More About This

30.    WAPO reported lobbyists are taking credit in the Trump era for writing bills to protect their industry that are passed in Congress with minimal input from the public, and little of no discussion in Congress.   Read More About This

31.    NYT reported Lewandowski has a new "advisory" business, which again is testing the ethical boundaries of Trump giving significant access and power to friends and loyalists not on the government payroll.   Read More About This

32.    WAPO reported Secret Service vacated its command post inside Trump Tower following a dispute over terms of the lease for the space. The post has been relocated to a trailer on the sidewalk.   Read More About This

33.    Six months after leaving office, Pence handed over state-related emailstransmitted from his personal AOL account. Some requests for Pence's emails are more than a year old.   Read More About This

34.    Pence's attorney, also a top fundraiser for Trump and Pence, determined which emails to release, raising concerns from watchdog groups.   Read More About This

35.    A US Court of Appeals ruled that 17 states and DC could pursue the Trump regime for their efforts to sabotage Obamacare.   Read More About This

36.    Ivanka said, "We are committed to supporting the American worker," as 100% of her companies' goods are manufactured overseas, and the Trump Organization and Eric's winery seek to bring in foreign workers.   Read More About This

37.    WSJ reported the US attorney issued subpoenas to Kushner Cos. Employees and Kushner family members have allegedly been offering green cards in exchange for $500k investments in their properties.   Read More About This

38.    Kelly asserted his authority as chief of staff on Monday, firing Scaramucci immediately.   Read More About This

39.    Kelly's first priority will be to gain control of the information that reaches Trump, with a goal of cutting out backchannels and bad information.   Read More About This

40.    Chief of Staff General Kelly reportedly called AG Jeff Sessions to tell him his job is safe.   Read More About This

41.    CNN reported Kelly was so upset about the handling of Comey's firing, Kelly called Comey afterward and said he was considering resigning.   Read More About This

42.    Bowing to criticism on transparency, Tillerson held his first press briefing, saying he is not "very happy" with Congress' vote to sanction Russia.   Read More About This

43.    Tillerson acknowledged the understaffed State Dept: 22 of 24 assistant secretary slots are either unfilled or staffed by Obama holdovers.   Read More About This

44.    Greg Andres, a former DOJ official, became the 16th member of Mueller's team. Andres has vast experience with white-collar crime, including fraud and illegal foreign bribery.   Read More About This

45.    A story on Golf.com recounted a scene at Trump's Bedminster golf club, in which he tells members the reason he stays away from Washington is because the White House is a "real dump."   Read More About This

46.    Trump tweeted, "I love the White House, one of the most beautiful buildings (homes) I have ever seen," and referred to Golf.com as "Fake News."   Read More About This

47.    Golf.com responded with a podcast about the story, saying at least 8 people heard Trump call the White House a dump.   Read More About This

48.    At a tense July 19 meeting with generals, Trump complained about the options in Afghanistan, saying, "We are losing." Trump also compared US efforts to the renovation of the 21 Club, infuriating the generals.   Read More About This

49.    Trump complained the US wasn't getting a piece of Afghan's mineral wealth, and said he was considering firing Gen. Nicholson.   Read More About This

50.    As Kelly established an organizational structure, McMaster fired two Bannon loyalists from the NSC: Rich Higgins and Ezra Cohen-Watnick.   Read More About This

51.    As the turf battle heated up between McMaster and Bannon, rumors circulated that Trump may send McMaster off to Afghanistan to replace Nicholson.   Read More About This

52.    McMaster cleared Susan Rice and said she will keep her top-secret security clearance. Circa reported Trump was not aware of McMaster's decision.   Read More About This

53.    Conservative media turned on McMaster, calling him a "sycophant" and "deeply hostile to Israel and Trump." A new app that tracks Russian troll activity also found "firemcmaster" as the most tweeted item.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

54.    NPR reported on a lawsuit that alleges Fox News and Ed Butowsky, a wealthy Trump supporter, with the knowledge of the WH, created a fake story about murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich leaking DNC emails to WikiLeaks to help Trump deflect from Russian involvement.   Read More About This

55.    The story started May 10, the day after the Comey firing. A few days later, Butowsky texted Wheeler, the expert suing for being inaccurately cited in the story, that Trump "wants the article out immediately."   Read More About This

56.    ABC reported Spicer met with two Fox News contributors about the Seth Rich story at the WH, and asked to be "kept abreast of developments."   Read More About This

57.    Yahoo reported the lawyer who is suing Fox News on behalf of Wheeler will seek to depose Trump and Spicer.   Read More About This

58.    Reporter Andrew Feinberg, who worked at Sputnik, said he was pushed to cover the Seth Rich story: "It's really telling that the White House is pushing the same narrative as a state-run Russian propaganda outlet."   Read More About This

59.    Newsweek reported Russia is using LinkedIn to target critics by damaging their reputations and chances for employment, and possible exposing them to physical harm beyond social media.   Read More About This

60.    Flanked by senators Cotton and Perdue, Trump introduced a bill to slash immigration levels in half over the next decade.   Read More About This

61.    Trump said the bill, named the RAISE Act, will favor green card applicants who speak English, financially support themselves, and contribute to the economy.   Read More About This

62.    AP fact checked Trump's speech and found it was full of false statements.   Read More About This

63.    The bill was sharply rebuked by Democrats and Republicans. Catholic Bishops issued a strong statement against RAISE, saying it will weaken family bonds and impact ability to respond to those in crisis.   Read More About This

64.    At a contentious press briefing after the RAISE Act announcement, Stephen Miller said the 1883 "huddled masses" poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty doesn't matter since it was "added later."   Read More About This

65.    Miller also acted aggressively towards a NYT and CNN reporters. Miller said CNN's Jim Acosta, son of Cuban immigrants who did not speak English, had a "Cosmopolitan bias."   Read More About This

66.    'Cosmopolitan' is an anti-Semitic term used by 20th century authoritarian regimes.   Read More About This

67.    The Anne Frank Center tweeted that Nazis found Anne Frank on August 4, 1944, after her family was denied entrance to the US in 1941, for "Reasons refugees hear now."   Read More About This

68.    Trump told the WSJ the head of the boy scouts called him to say his jamboree speech was "the greatest speech that was ever made to them." The Boy Scouts denied any call from national leadership was made.   Read More About This

69.    Trump also told the WSJ that Mexican president Peña Nieto called him and told him fewer people were crossing the border. This is also a lie.   Read More About This

70.    WH press secretary Sanders revised Trump's statements to say an individual Boy Scout leader called Trump, and the statement from Peña Nieto took place in a conversation at the G20.   Read More About This

71.    Trump signed the Russia sanctions bill behind closed doors and with no press coverage. Trump criticized Congress, but said nothing of Russia interference or the 755 US embassy members removed.   Read More About This

72.    In a statement, Trump called the measure "significantly flawed." Trump also said it "encroaches on the executive branch's authority to negotiate," adding, "I built a truly great company worth many billions of dollars."   Read More About This

73.    Trump again attacked Congress, tweeting, "Our relationship with Russia is at an all-time & very dangerous low," and you can thank "the same people that can't even give us HCare!"   Read More About This

74.    McCain responded, "You can thank Putin for attacking our democracy, invading neighbors & threatening our allies" for the dangerous low.   Read More About This

75.    Russia PM Medvedev said the Trump regime "has demonstrated full impotence." He also tweeted the Trump regime has shown its "total weakness" in handing power to Congress "in the most humiliating way."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

76.    Trump approval dropped to new lows: Rasmussen (38 approve), Gallup (36–60) and Quinnipiac (33–61). Trump used to cite Rasmussen as his favorite when his approval there reached high 50s.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

77.    Quinnipiac also found American voters say 54–26 that they are embarrassed to have Trump as a leader.   Read More About This

78.    Two bipartisan pairs of senators (Graham/Booker, Tillis/Coons) released legislation to block Trump from firing Mueller without good reason.   Read More About This

79.    Buzzfeed reported the RNC has instructed staff not to delete or modify any documents related to last year's campaign, given "the potentially expansive scope of the inquiries and investigations."   Read More About This

80.    WSJ reported Mueller impaneled a grand jury in Washington to investigate Russia's interference in the 2016 election, a sign his inquiry is growing in intensity. Trump's special counsel Cobb, was not aware.   Read More About This

81.    A grand jury is already impaneled in Alexandria, VA to investigate Flynn. The second grand jury and recent hires shows the investigation has entered a new phase. The location gives Mueller's team easy proximity.   Read More About This

82.    Reuters reported grand jury subpoenas have been issued in connection to the June 9 meeting between Donald Jr., Veselnitskaya and others.   Read More About This

83.    Trump held a campaign rally in WV in which he called the Russia investigation a "hoax," and presided over cheers of "Lock her up!"as he called for an investigation into Hillary's deleted emails.   Read More About This

84.    Also of note at the rally, the supporters standing behind Trump as he spoke, a group typically carefully selected by staffers, was 100% white.   Read More About This

85.    As the Senate adjourned for the summer, WAPO reported this is a historically unproductive period of governance as Republicans had no major legislative achievements despite controlling Congress and the WH.   Read More About This

86.    The Senate unanimously agreed to a "pro forma" sessions before leaving for break, meaning Trump cannot make recess appointments. Murkowski, attacked by Trump in Week 37, did the wrap-up.   Read More About This

87.    The Interior Dept's Office of the Inspector General launched a preliminary investigation of Zinke's threats to the Alaska senators in an apparent effort to sway Murkowski to vote for the Obamacare repeal.   Read More About This

88.    NBC reported SCL Group, a private British behavioral research company related to Cambridge Analytica, was awarded several contracts by the State Dept.   Read More About This

89.    On their website, SCL Group advertised "our methodology has been approved by" with the State Dept and NATO logos. After NBC's report, NATO and the State Dept asked that their logos be removed.   Read More About This

90.    AP reported Flynn will file an amended public financial filing to show he entered into a consulting agreement with SCL Group, a subsidiary of Cambridge Analytica.   Read More About This

91.    After Trump, "big data" firm Cambridge Analytica is now working in Kenya   Read More About This

92.    Flynn's amended filing will also include $28k from the Trump transition team, and $5k as a consultant for an aborted Middle East nuclear power deal. Per Week 32, that Middle East deal was a venture with Russia.   Read More About This

93.    CNN reported that one year into the FBI's Russia investigation, now headed by Mueller, the probe has expanded to focus on possible financial crimes, some of which are not connected to the 2016 elections.   Read More About This

94.    Investigators are looking into whether financial laws were broken, and whether Trump dealings could put members of the regime in a compromising position with Russia.   Read More About This

95.    Further, the FBI noticed a spate of curious communications between the Trump campaign and Russian intelligence in the summer of 2016, including contact with Manafort on information damaging to Hillary.   Read More About This

96.    Carter Page has been under a FISA warrant since 2014.   Read More About This

97.    VOX reported that as many as 10 or more senior intelligence officials, including Comey and McCabe, are likely to be interviewed as part of Mueller's obstruction of justice investigation.   Read More About This

98.    WAPO released the transcripts of Trump's phone calls with Mexican President Peña Nieto and Australian PM Turnbull during Trump's first week in office.   Read More About This

99.    When Peña Nieto said Mexico would not pay for the wall, Trump responded, "You cannot say that to the press," acknowledging talk about the wall was more about image management than economic policy.   Read More About This

100.    Trump told Peña Nieto he won New Hampshire (a lie) because the state is "a drug-infested den."   Read More About This

101.    Despite Trump claiming early on that reports of him berating Turnbull on the call were "fake news," the transcript does confirm this. Trump told Turnbull he had a more pleasant call earlier with Putin.   Read More About This

102.    Trump balked at taking refugees from Australia as required in a deal struck by Obama, saying he hates taking these people, and they could "become the Boston bomber in five years."   Read More About This

103.    As Trump departed for a three-week vacation at this golf course in Bedminster, GQ labelled him "the laziest president in American history."   Read More About This

104.    Likewise, the cover of Newsweek referred to Trump as "Lazy Boy" and pictures him a chair watching television and eating junk food. The accompanying article refers to him as "America's boy king."   Read More About This

105.    Staffers of Republicans on the House Intel Comm traveled to London to track down Steele, author of the dossier. POLITICO reported growing tensions as Democrats on the House Intel Comm, Sen. Intel Comm members, and Mueller were not notified.   Read More About This

106.    In a press conference Friday, Sessions threatened the DOJ may prosecute journalists over suspected leaks. Sessions also said he is reviewing the DOJ's policies affecting media subpoenas.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

107.    NYT reported Mueller's special counsel made its first formal request to the White House to hand over documents. Mueller seeks information on the financial dealing of Flynn related his company's work for Turkey.   Read More About This

108.    Flynn was paid $530k. Investigators (Mueller) want to know if the Turkish government was behind the payments, and if Flynn Intel Group made kickbacks to Ekim Alptekin, for concealing the source of the money.   Read More About This

109.    Flynn's now third version of financial disclosure forms list $1.8mm in income, $400k more than in his prior forms.   Read More About This

110.    Failing to register as a foreign agent is a felony, and trying to hide to source of money by routing it through a private company, and using kickbacks to a middle man, could lead to criminal charges.   Read More About This

Pic


Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-38-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-4730486b719a

Top of Page


Buy Avon

0 Comments

Week 37: Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you’ll remember.

7/29/2017

0 Comments

 
   
Week #37:  June 30, 2017

This was a week of complete disarray within the Trump regime: firings, resignations, withdrawals. Trump distracted and played to his remaining base all week by targeting marginalized groups, and ramping up hateful rhetoric.

Also of note, and a continuation from Week 36: Republicans are turning on Trump -- this week, not just in words this week, but in actions. And in response, by firing Priebus and replacing him with a general, Trump seems to be preparing for an aggressive approach towards the legislative branch.
____________________________________________________________


1.    On Sunday, Trump's comm director Scaramucci told State of the Union Trump is still not sure if Russia interfered in our election. This, just after Pompei, Coats and Dunford confirmed Russia meddled (Week 36).   Read More About This

2.    As Trump floated the idea of firing Mueller, Former CIA director Brennan said elected officials need to "stand up" if this happens.   Read More About This

3.    After Trump said, "we'll let Obamacare fail," Trump has taken several steps to sabotage ACA, and make that a reality.   Read More About This

4.    Since taking office, Trump has spent nearly 1 in 3 days at a Trump property, and 1 in 5 days at a Trump golf property.   Read More About This

5.    CNBC reported investors have dumped the majority of 'Trump trades.' Investors are no longer confident tax reform, deregulation and fiscal stimulus will happen.   Read More About This

6.    New Yorker interviewed a veteran ICE agent, disillusioned under Trump. The agent said they are explicitly encouraged to pursue undocumented as aggressively as possible, adding "We're going to get sued."   Read More About This

7.    He also noted agents no longer look at the "totality of the circumstances," and that it's not just the person being removed, but "their entire family."   Read More About This

8.    Several people were arrested by ICE at the Houston INS office when they went for their marriage interviews for green cards.   Read More About This

9.    Pew Research found that 75% of Muslim Americans believe there is a lot of discrimination against Muslims in the US, and 74% believe Trump is unfriendly towards them.   Read More About This

10.    Thousands marched in Warsaw to protest their right-wing government's attempted control of the Supreme Court and judiciary. Trump chose Poland en route to the G20 to deliver a nationalistic speech (Week 34).   Read More About This

11.    On Monday, Trump continued to signal the possibility of firing Sessions, referring to him in a tweet as "our beleaguered A.G."   Read More About This

12.    Trump floated the idea of Rudy Giuliani as a replacement for Sessions. WAPO reported replacing Sessions is viewed by some Trump associates as part of a possible strategy to fire Mueller.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

13.    Trump continued to target Sessions on Tuesday, tweeting he "has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes," and asking on a phone call with an associate, "What would happen if I fired Sessions?"   Read More About This;  Click here, also

14.    Trump continued attacking Sessions on Twitter Wednesday, questioning why he hadn't fired acting FBI director McCabe.   Read More About This

15.    WAPO reported Trump spoke privately with confidants and advisers about the possibility of replacing Sessions with a recess appointment.   Read More About This

16.    Grassley responded tweeting the agenda for the Senate Judiciary Comm is set for the rest of 2017, and would not have time for an AG nomination. Democrats threatened to block recess appointments.   Read More About This

17.    Breaking their typical silence, several Senate Republicans spoke out against Trump's treatment of their former colleague, Sessions. Sen. Roberts (KS) said, "It's very difficult, it's disconcerting, it's inexplicable."   Read More About This

18.    Sessions told Fox News that Trump's attacks are "kind of hurtful," but that he intended to stay on and serve as long as Trump will let him.   Read More About This

19.    In an op-ed, Yates warned Trump is trying to "dismantle the rule of law, destroy the time-honored independence" of the DOJ, and if we're not careful, "our justice system may be broken beyond recognition."   Read More About This

20.    Yates cited as examples Trump's efforts to bully Sessions into resigning, his goading Sessions to re-opening an investigation on a former political rival, and his efforts to get Comey to back off from Flynn then firing him.   Read More About This

21.    NYT reported David Apol, Trump's choice to replace Shaub, has clashed with OGE employees over his efforts to roll back or loosen ethics requirements on federal employees, including those in the WH.   Read More About This

22.    The Center for Public Integrity reported Bannon is potentially violating the Antideficiency Act, by using an outside shadow press office not employed by the Trump regime, and providing services for free.   Read More About This

23.    In another blow to the credibility of Trump's Election Integrity Comm, a federal judge upheld a fine against Kobach, citing a "pattern" of "misleading the Court" in voter-ID cases.   Read More About This

24.    A lawyer in West Palm Beach filed a lawsuit with a federal judge in FL, saying Trump is violating the Constitution by making money from renting rooms in his hotels or other buildings to federal agencies.   Read More About This

25.    According to Gallup, Trump's approval in underwater in 11 of the states he won in November, including NC (-11), MI (-10), WI (-9) and PA (-9).   Read More About This

26.    Trump's Boy Scouts jamboree speech turned into a political rally, as Trump led the crowd to boo Hillary and Obama, chided the "fake news" and Washington "cesspool," and promised to bring back Christmas.   Read More About This

27.    Boy Scouts of America faced a backlash after Trump's speech, which some compared to Hitler's Youth. Former scouts called for a public denouncement, and called the speech "a disgrace."   Read More About This

28.    Randall Stephenson, the national president of the Boy Scouts of America is also CEO of AT&T, whose pending merger with Time Warner requires government approval. In Week 34, the Trump regime discussed using this pending merger as leverage over CNN's reporting and president.   Read More About This

29.    The day after reporting on Stephenson's role as CEO of AT&T, the Chief Scout Executive for the Boy Scouts of America issued an apology.   Read More About This

30.    After the State Dept's Cyber Coordinator resigned (Week 36), Tillerson plans to shutter the State's Office for the Coordination of Cyber Issues.   Read More About This

31.    The State Dept's head of diplomatic security bureau, Bill Miller, resigned. Miller is one of a long list of senior State Dept officials who have resigned since Trump took office.   Read More About This

32.    CNN reported Tillerson is considering resigning, citing his frustration and doubt that "the tug-of-war" with the White House would subside. Tillerson is also upset about Trump's unprofessional treatment of Sessions.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

33.    Many of State Dept's typical responsibilities have been re-assigned to the White House in a consolidation of power, including Kushner taking the Middle East, and in Week 36, the White House taking over Iran compliance certification.   Read More About This

34.    On Tuesday, Tillerson said he would taking time off. The State Dept refused to comment on if he is happy.   Read More About This

35.    Longtime chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell criticized the lack of transparency from and access to Trump's State Dept.   Read More About This

36.    Speculation grew that McMaster may resign. POLITICO reported on a meeting on Afghan policy, described as a "s*** show." Axios reported McMaster is frustrated by the "disorganization and indiscipline."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

37.    Scaramucci threatened mass firings, saying he will purge aides who are not loyal to Trump or leak. His first firing happened Tuesday: assistant press secretary Michael Short, who is close to Priebus and Spicer.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

38.    Trump's nominee to lead the DOJ's criminal division, Brian Benczkowski, disclosed to Congress that he previously represented Alfa Bank, one of Russia's largest banks, whose owners have close ties to Putin.   Read More About This

39.    The FBI is investigating data transmission between Alfa Bank and the Trump Organization's servers during the election, which may indicate back-channel communications.   Read More About This

40.    Benczkowski took on representing Alfa Bank after serving as part of Trump's transition team. He continued despite reports of the FBI investigation (Week 21), and continued until his nomination in June.   Read More About This

41.    A complaint filed by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control alleges Trump ally Rohrbacher violated the Magnitsky Act by trying to get Russia's deputy general prosecutor removed from the US sanctions list.   Read More About This

42.    Ahead of his Monday, closed-door testimony to the Senate Intel Comm, Kushner publicly released the full text of his testimony in which he denied participating in, or knowledge about, collusion with Russia.   Read More About This

43.    After his Senate testimony, the White House set up a podium with the White House seal for Kushner to make his statement to the media.   Read More About This

44.    Kushner stood at the podium and said, "I did not collude," nor did he know anyone in the campaign who did. He said his actions were "proper and occurred in the normal course of events of a very unique campaign."   Read More About This

45.    On the June 9 Trump Tower meeting with Russians, Kushner claimed he was unaware of the promise of damaging information, despite the email subject line: "Re: Russia -- Clinton -- private and confidential."   Read More About This

46.    Kushner claimed he met with four Russians but did not discuss specific policies, including US sanctions against Russia.   Read More About This

47.    Kushner also said, "I have not relied on Russian funds for my businesses." 'Relied' seemed a carefully chosen term for its possibility to obfuscate.   Read More About This

48.    Guardian reported Kushner bought part of the old New York Times building from a Russian oligarch, Lev Leviev, known as the "king of diamonds," for $295mm in 2015.   Read More About This

49.    Kushner's recently disclosed $285mm loan from Deutsche Bank was used to refinance this deal. The purchase is part of Mueller's investigation of Trump-Russia ties.   Read More About This

50.    Leviev also sold properties to Prevezon, the Russian company represented by Veselnitskaya: apartments at 20 Pine Street in NYC. The property was subject to a money laundering case.   Read More About This

51.    The Prevezon money laundering case, originally brought by Bharara for $230mm before he was fired, was settled by Sessions two days before trial for $6mm. The 20 Pine Street apartments were also released.   Read More About This

52.    Mother Jones reported on Monday, former senator Carl Levin sent a letter to Mueller about his 2000 investigation of Kaveladze, who he described as a "poster child" for Russian money laundering.   Read More About This

53.    Levin said Kaveladze circulated more than $1.4bn through US bank accounts. Kaveladze was Aras Agalarov's representative at Donald Jr.'s June 9 Trump Tower meeting.   Read More About This

54.    Ivanka hired a defense lawyer to represent her in the Russia investigation. Donald Jr. hired an additional lawyer with congressional experience to his legal team.   Read More About This

55.    On Tuesday, Manafort testified in front of the Senate Intel Comm on the June 9 meeting at Trump Tower. Tuesday, he was also subpoenaed by the Senate Judiciary Comm to appear.   Read More About This

56.    On Tuesday, Kushner testified behind closed doors for the House Intel Comm. Democratic leader Schiff said Kushner had agreed to come back.   Read More About This

57.    On Thursday, Bill Browder, founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management which was looted by Russian kleptocrats in a case that gave rise to the Magnitsky Act, testified in front of the Sen. Judiciary Comm.   Read More About This

58.    Browder testified he believed there was more than one meeting between Veselnitskaya and Donald Jr., Kushner and Manafort, and that Veselnitskaya's goal would be to repeal the Magnitsky Act.   Read More About This

59.    Browder also testified that Russian intelligence knew about the June 9 meeting in advance, and that he believes Fusion GPS  --  the firm behind the Russian dossier to get dirt on Trump  --  was hired by the Russians.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

60.    On Tuesday, by a vote of 419–3, the House passed a Russian sanctions bill, punishing Russia for election interference, and curbing Trump's power to roll back sanctions.   Read More About This

61.    Russia warned of a "painful" response if Trump backed the sanction bill, calling it "anti-Russian hysteria."   Read More About This

62.    Weekly Standard reported their interview with Vladimir Kara-Mirza, a Russian journalist, politician and filmmaker, started late because he was in the hospital being treated for poison, again.   Read More About This

63.    Buzzfeed filed a lawsuit to compel the release of information on the death of Putin's former media czar, Mikhail Lesin, who was brutally murdered in DC the night before a planned meeting with DOJ in November 2015.   Read More About This

64.    The Senate passed a motion to proceed on healthcare Tuesday with no input, no debate, no CBO score, and without knowing what they would be voting on once the motion passed. 13% support Obamacare repeal.   Read More About This

65.    The vote was 50–50, with Pence casting the tie-breaking vote. After the passage, uncharacteristic chants erupted on the Senate floor of "kill the bill," and "shame, shame, shame."   Read More About This

66.    Ahead of the vote, reporters were blocked from the Senate halls where protestors were being arrested. Reporters were told, "no photos. Delete your photos."   Read More About This

67.    A hot mic in the Senate captured a conversation between senators Reed and Collins, with Reed saying of Trump, "I think -- I think he's crazy," and Collins responding, "I'm worried."   Read More About This

68.    Trump's s actions have galvanized many who care about health care, climate change and research funding to run for office. A PAC called "314 ACT" (named for pi) was set up to recruit and assist scientists to run.   Read More About This

69.    At a rally in Ohio Tuesday, Trump said he could act more presidential than any other president except, "the late, great Abraham Lincoln." He also joked he should be on Mount Rushmore.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

70.    Trump also told a graphic tale about illegal immigrants slicing up beautiful teenage girls with knives, "They don't want to use guns because it's too fast and it's not painful enough." The story is a lie.   Read More About This

71.    WAPO reported between the Ohio and Boy Scout rally, Trump made 29 false or misleading statements.   Read More About This

72.    On Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted the US government would "will not accept or allow…Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military."   Read More About This

73.    The Pentagon was not informed of Trump's announcement ahead of time, and was left scrambling with no plan in place for implementation, including how to deal with transgender individuals now serving.   Read More About This

74.    The House and Senate Armed Services Committees were also not notified. The committees were awaiting results from a 6 month review of potential impact ordered by Mattis in Week 33.   Read More About This

75.    On Thursday, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff instructed the military policy on who is allowed to serve would not change until the White House sends DoD new rules and the secretary of defense issues new guidelines.   Read More About This

76.    Mattis was on vacation when Trump tweeted. According to the NYT, he was given only one day's notice about the decision, and per people close to him, was appalled that Trump used Twitter for the announcement.   Read More About This

77.    Even Republicans spoke out against Trump's plan to ban transgender individuals. Conservative Sen. Hatch said, "Transgender people are people, and deserve the best we can do for them."   Read More About This

78.    Trump's candidate for a senior position at the DHS, John Fluharty, withdrew from consideration because of Trump's transgender ban.   Read More About This

79.    Wednesday, in a second attack on the LGBTQ community, Sessions's DOJ filed a brief saying that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not cover employment discrimination "based on sexual orientation."   Read More About This

80.    Rep. Farenthold said of "some female senators from the Northeast" who were against an Obamacare repeal, if they were a guy from south Texas, "I might ask him to step outside and settle this Aaron Burr-style."   Read More About This

81.    Wednesday, Trump chastised Sen. Murkowski tweeting she had let the Republicans and country down by not voting to repeal Obamacare.   Read More About This

82.    Later that afternoon, Interior Sec Ryan Zinke called both of Alaska's senators, saying Murkowski's vote would impact the Trump's administrations view on issues that are a priority for Alaska.   Read More About This

83.    Of note, all during the week, Republican men insulted and threatened their female colleagues for not supporting their healthcare bills. Male senators not in support did not face the same harassment.   Read More About This

84.    Graham said Thursday, "there will be holy hell to pay" if Trump fires Sessions, and said if Trump fires Mueller without good reason, it would be "the beginning of the end" of Trump's presidency.   Read More About This

85.    Later that day, Graham and Booker said they will introduce a bi-partisan bill next week that will limit Trump's ability to fire Mueller.   Read More About This

86.    On Wednesday night, Scaramucci accused Priebus of leaking his financial disclosure information, and said he would be contacting the FBI. Shortly after POLITICO indicated the information is public, he deleted the tweet.   Read More About This

87.    Scaramucci gave an interview to The New Yorker Thursday, saying of his colleagues, "Reince is a fucking paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac," and "I'm not Steve Bannon, I'm not trying to suck my own cock."   Read More About This

88.    Scaramucci also threatened leakers, saying, "What I want to do is I want to fucking kill all the leakers."   Read More About This

89.    Later that evening, Scaramucci tried to shift the blame to the reporter, tweeting, "I made a mistake in trusting in a reporter," but Lizza shot back saying he had a recording of the call which was "100% on the record."   Read More About This

90.    On Thursday, the Senate passed a new sanction bill by a 98–2 vote, which would sharply limit Mr. Trump's ability to suspend or lift sanctions on Russia. With House and Senate passage, the bill now goes to Trump.   Read More About This

91.    On Friday, Russia retaliated, expelling a large number of US diplomats and seizing US diplomatic properties.   Read More About This

92.    Late Friday, the White House announced Trump plans to sign the bill.   Read More About This

93.    Trump encouraged officers to be rough with suspects in a speech to police Friday on Long Island, addressing the gang MS-13.   Read More About This

94.    Trump also used the speech to encourage Congress to find money to pay for 10k more ICE officers "so that we can eliminate MS-13."   Read More About This

95.    After the speech, the Suffolk County PD tweeted, "As a department, we do not and will not tolerate roughing up of prisoners."   Read More About This

96.    Later that evening, a second police department, Gainevilles Police (FL), also rejected Trump's remarks, citing "The @POTUS made remarks today that endorsed and condoned police brutality."   Read More About This

97.    The International Association of Chiefs of Police issued a statement Friday night countering Trump, saying officers are trained to treat all individuals "with dignity and respect."   Read More About This

98.    After all other versions of Senate healthcare bills failed, late Friday, the Senate voted on the "Skinny Repeal." An 8-page copy of the bill was provided to Democrats at 10 pm Friday night, ahead of a midnight vote.   Read More About This

99.    The night prior, GOP senators Johnson, Graham and Cassidy announced they would only vote for the "Skinny Repeal" if House Republicans assured them that it would never become law. Still the vote proceeded.   Read More About This

100.    Ahead of the vote, Enzi filibustered the Senate floor for an hour. Democrats tried to interrupt and ask questions. Enzi told Murray, "Perhaps your time might be better spent taking a look at the bill.'   Read More About This

101.    At 1:30 am Friday morning, after over an hour spent by Pence and other Republicans to change McCain's mind, the Skinny Repeal bill was voted down 49–51: Collins, Murkowski and McCain voted with Democrats.   Read More About This

102.    After the failed vote, at 2:25 am, Trump tweeted, "let ObamaCare implode, then deal. Watch!"   Read More About This

103.    Trump also again pushed for the Republicans to end the legislative filibuster, a long-time norm in the Senate, so bills can pass with 51 votes.   Read More About This

104.    Trump unceremoniously fired Priebus, informing press and staff shortly after Air Force One landed in DC. WSJ reported that part of Trump's rationale was that Priebus did not fire back at Scaramucci.   Read More About This

105.    Priebus served the shortest time of any chief of staff in a president's first term since WW2.   Read More About This

106.    The WSJ Editorial Board excoriated Trump over the Priebus firing, writing "this shuffling of the staff furniture won't matter unless Mr. Trump accepts that the White House problem isn't Mr. Priebus. It's him."   Read More About This

107.    WAPO tracked the Trump regime's unusually long list of firings, resignations, and withdrawals from consideration. Trump also has far less appointed and confirmed candidates for key executive roles.   Read More About This

108.    Trump appointed General John Kelly, current Secretary of DHS. Kelly little political and legislative experience. One Ryan-Priebus ally said the next phase of Trump presidency will be warfare against GOP Congress.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

109.    On Saturday morning, Trump tweeted attacks Republicans, saying they "look like fools" and that Democrats "are laughing at R's."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

110.    Trump also commanded Republicans to change norms: "Republican Senate must get rid of 60 vote NOW!" and he threatened if healthcare did not pass, he would end "BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

Pic


Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-37-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-95953670b72a

Top of Page


Buy Avon

0 Comments

WEEK 36: EXPERTS IN AUTHORITARIANISM ADVISE TO KEEP A LIST OF THINGS SUBTLY CHANGING AROUND YOU, SO YOU’LL REMEMBER.

7/23/2017

0 Comments

 
   
Week #36:  July 23, 2017

This week Trump's ties to Russia came increasingly front and center, as news of a second, clandestine meeting between Trump and Putin at the G20 surfaced, and Trump moved forward with actions that seemed oddly pro-Moscow. Trump also caused alarm on both sides by raising the specter of firing Mueller and the possibility of pardoning himself and members of his regime.

For the first time this week there was bi-partisan reaction: there were resignations, and pushback from national security officials who called out Russia for election meddling. Also of major importance, Congress agreed on an outline for a bi-partisan bill to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia -- a direct repudiation of Trump.
____________________________________________________________


1.    According to a FEC filing, Trump's re-election campaign paid $50k to Donald Jr.'s attorney on June 27, six days after Kushner updated his security clearance form to include the meeting with Veselnitskaya.   Read More About This

2.    WIRED reported that according to FEC filings, Trump re-election campaign has already paid out $600k to Trump-owned properties.   Read More About This

3.    Trump lawyer, Jay Sekulow, was the sole face for the Trump regime on all five of the Sunday shows.   Read More About This

4.    Sekulow suggested that US Secret Service would have vetted Donald Jr.'s meetings. The USSS issued a statement denying they screened anyone: "Donald Trump, Jr. was not a protected of the USSS in June, 2016."   Read More About This

5.    The US Women's Open, hosted at a Trump golf course, posted its lowest final round rating in at least 30 years. Trump had tweeted about attending the event.   Read More About This

6.    WSJ reported there were nearly 150k attempts to penetrate South Carolina's voter-registration system on Election Day, even though SC was not a competitive state. So far, there is evidence 21 states were targeted.   Read More About This

7.    TIME reported on a previously undisclosed 15-page plan produced by Obama's cybersecurity officials which shows how concerned the administration was about Russian hacking.   Read More About This

8.    The concern was so grave, on November 1, the Obama administration did a war-game, practice attack. Obama's NSC ran a fictional attack and rehearsed how federal agencies would communicate and respond.   Read More About This

9.    TIME reported concern was born over a California primary in which some voters were prevented from voting because their registrations had been altered. Russia was suspected of the hacking.   Read More About This

10.    A WAPO/ABC poll showed Trump approval rating has fallen to 36% from 42% in April. His net approval fell from -11 to -22. Trump's support from Independents has fallen to 32%.   Read More About This

11.    A Monmouth Poll found that 41% of Americans support impeaching Trump, significantly higher than Nixon at the start of Watergate (24%).   Read More About This

12.    A PPP poll found 45% support impeaching Trump, and 43% are opposed.   Read More About This

13.    CNN tracked highlights of Trump's first six months: he passed no major legislation, held just one press conference, sent 991 tweets, golfed 40 times, and spent 21 of 26 weekends at Trump properties.   Read More About This

14.    Criticism of Kobach and the Election Integrity Commission continued from all sides as their first public meeting took place, with many calling it a veiled attempt at voter suppression and purging.   Read More About This

15.    Kobach responded to MSNBC when asked if Hillary won the popular vote, "We will probably never know the answer to that question."   Read More About This

16.    Daily Beast reported that civilian casualties have skyrocketed under Trump from the U.S.-led war against ISIS. Trump's air war has already killed more than 2k civilians.   Read More About This

17.    CREW won a legal battle to compel Trump to turn over the Mar-A-Lago visitor logs by September 8. CREW said they will make the information available to the public, when and if they receive it.   Read More About This

18.    Outgoing OGE chair Shaub told NYT that actions by Trump and his regime have created a historic ethics crisis. On the world stage, this has rendered US "close to the laughingstock," and it "affects our credibility."   Read More About This

19.    DHS announced a one-time increase of 15k H-2B visas, a reversal from Trump's rhetoric as he launched Made in America Week. The change came after lobbying by industries that rely on temporary foreign workers.   Read More About This

20.    AP reported the Trump Organization has asked the federal government togrant dozens of special visas to allow foreign nationals to work at two of Trump's private clubs in Florida.   Read More About This

21.    Of note, this occurred during Trump's 'Made in America' week. Also of note, none of Ivanka's products are produced in the US.   Read More About This

22.    In a vote along party lines, the Senate confirmed political blogger John Bush, Trump's most controversial nominee yet, to the federal courts of appeal in Kentucky. Bush's blog posts disparage gays, women and people of color, and contain conspiracy theories and false information.   Read More About This

23.    Poland, the country chosen by Trump for a major speech en route to the G20, may be stripped of EU voting rights for the rightwing government's plan to abolish the independence of the country's judiciary.   Read More About This

24.    Former diplomats and national security officials urged Tillerson not to eliminate the State Dept's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), citing "profound and negative implications" of doing so.   Read More About This

25.    FP reported Tillerson is set to also shutter the State Dept's War Crimes Office, the office that for two decades held war criminals accountable.   Read More About This

26.    Christopher Painter, the top cyber diplomat, will leave his State Depart job at the end of the month. Painter has led the American delegations to international cyber meetings since 2011.   Read More About This

27.    US Treasury fined Exxon-Mobil $2mm, saying the company showed "reckless disregard" for Russian sanctions while Tillerson was CEO.   Read More About This

28.    House Republicans will seek to defund the Election Assistance Commission, the only federal agency that exclusively works to ensure the voting process is secure.   Read More About This

29.    The defunding comes as the Election Assistance Commission is working with the FBI to examine an attack late last year on the agency's computer systems by a Russian hacker.   Read More About This

30.    Manafort filed reports with the DOJ showing his firm received nearly $17mm for two years of work for a Ukrainian political party with links to the Kremlin -- more than the party's operations reported spending.   Read More About This

31.    Manhattan's DA office subpoenaed Federal Savings Bank, a Chicago bank run by Steve Calk, for records on a $16mm in loans made to Manafort in November and January. At the time, Manafort was underwater on loans to a Brooklyn townhouse and a family investment in CA properties.   Read More About This

32.    The loans to Manafort represent 24% of the bank's reported $67 million of equity capital. Calk was a member of Trump's economic advisory panel, and had expressed interest in becoming Army Secretary.   Read More About This

33.    On Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Rybakov said the Russian government is "almost" at a deal to get their seized compounds returned.   Read More About This

34.    On Tuesday, Trump again tweeted his demand that the Senate must change its rules to make repealing Obamacare easier.   Read More About This

35.    In a memo sent to station news directors, Sinclair's VP of News defended the company from charges of being biased. In Week 35, Sinclair has mandated segments by Trump ally Epshteyn.   Read More About This

36.    Sessions said he would be issuing a new directive aimed at increasing police seizures of cash and property.   Read More About This

37.    Sen. Paul called on Sessions to stop, tweeting, "Asset forfeiture is an unconstitutional taking of property without trial."   Read More About This

38.    After Republicans failed in their repeal and replace, and then failed again at repeal, Trump said Republicans should "let Obamacare fail," adding, "I'm not going to own it."   Read More About This

39.    CNN reported Trump aides could face scrutiny by Mueller over their role in strategizing with Trump to craft the initial statement issued by Donald Jr. as the NYT story broke about the June 9 meeting.   Read More About This

40.    AP reported that according to Akhmetshin, Veselnitskaya brought a plastic folder with printed-out documents thought to be damaging to Clinton to the meeting with Donald Jr., Kushner and Manafort.   Read More About This

41.    WAPO reported the eighth person in the Donald Jr./Veselnitskaya meeting was Ike Kaveladze, who attended as a representative of Aras and Emin Agalarov.   Read More About This

42.    Kaveladze's attorney said he had received a phone call over the weekend from a representative of Mueller, asking to set up an interview.   Read More About This

43.    Kaveladze was once the focus of a Congressional money laundering probe involving Russian oligarchs.   Read More About This

44.    On an interview with Charlie Rose, Ian Bremmer said Trump and Putin had a second hour-long private meeting on sidelines of the G20.   Read More About This

45.    Trump's White House was forced to confirm the meeting Tuesday, as reports surfaced that some guests had been surprised that it occurred.   Read More About This

46.    Trump's White House sought to minimize the disclosure, claiming in a statement the private meeting was "just a brief conversation at the end of dinner." Spicer said of the meeting, "It was pleasantries and small talk."   Read More About This

47.    Daily Beast reported that after being sent a secret document by officials in Moscow in April 2016, GOP Rep. Rohrabacher, a long-time Russia advocate, aimed to alter the Magnitsky Act.   Read More About This

48.    Without stated rationale, Trump ended a covert CIA program to train and arm moderate Syrian rebels battling al-Assad, a victory for Russia.   Read More About This

49.    The day after a shocking announcing he had been diagnosed with brain cancer, McCain issued a statement condemning the Trump's action in Syria, saying this is, "playing right into the hands of Vladimir Putin."   Read More About This

50.    Reuters reported that Russia says it is in talk with the US to create a cyber security working group.   Read More About This

51.    Trump gave a bizarre, wide-ranging interview to the NYT, which made it apparent he believes he is accountable to no one, and has full control over who occupies positions of power.   Read More About This

52.    Trump said he would never have hired Sessions if he knew he would recuse himself from the Trump-Russia probe. Expectations for Sessions resignation followed, but Sessions said he would stay on.   Read More About This

53.    Trump started to diminish Deputy AG Rosenstein for appointing a special prosecutor, saying, "There are very few Republicans in Baltimore, if any. So, he's from Baltimore."   Read More About This

54.    On the topic of his private conversation with Putin at the G20, Trump repeated Donald Jr. initial false claim: "We talked about Russian adoption. Yeah. I always found that interesting."   Read More About This

55.    Trump also claimed he spoke to Putin because he was seated next to the First Lady of Japan, and didn't have a Japanese language interpreter.Videos surfaced of Akie Abe speaking fluent English.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

56.    Trump also opened the door for firing Mueller, saying the special prosecutor would cross a red line if investigations delve into Trump family finances unrelated to Russia.   Read More About This

57.    Bloomberg reported Mueller has expanded the probe into Trump's businesses ties to Russia, including Russian purchases of apartments in Trump buildings, Trump SoHo, the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow, and Trump's sale of a Florida mansion to a Russian oligarch.   Read More About This

58.    Mueller's team is also absorbing the money laundering probe of Manafort, started by federal prosecutors in New York.   Read More About This

59.    WSJ reported the Senate and House Intel Comm are also investigating Manafort for possible money laundering. The Senate committee received reports by the Treasury Depart's FinCen unit which track Russian ties.   Read More About This

60.    Manafort has borrowed and spent tens of millions of dollars over the past decade to finance real estate purchases in Brooklyn, NY and CA.   Read More About This

61.    NYT reported Deutsche Bank is under investigation by regulators for their lending relationship with Trump. The bank is also likely to have to provide information to Mueller as part of the Trump-Russia probe.   Read More About This

62.    As per Week 19, Deutsche Bank recently paid a $630mm settlement over charges of laundering $10bn for Russia from the bank's Moscow office.   Read More About This

63.    In the past six years, Deutsche's private wealth area financed three Trump deals, lending $300mm.   Read More About This

64.    The commercial real estate area, which would typically lend for such transactions, would not finance the deals. It is also highly unusual for a private wealth area to lend such a high dollar amount.   Read More About This

65.    NYT also reported that Deutsche Bank was the referenced European financial institution that had partnered with Russia's Prevezon, the massive money laundering tax fraud mentioned in Week 35.   Read More About This

66.    Prevezon's case was settled by Sessions's DOJ two days before trial.   Read More About This

67.    AP reported Trump repeated overtures towards Russia are increasingly putting him at odds with his national security and foreign policy advisers. The second meeting with Putin at the G20 exacerbated the rift.   Read More About This

68.    AP reported it was highly unusual for only Tillerson, but not McMaster to have attended the meeting with Putin at the G20. McMaster has been warning Trump that Putin is not to be trusted.   Read More About This

69.    The legal team defending Trump in the Russia probe had a shake-up on Thursday, with long-time personal attorney Kasowitz leaving. Mark Corrallo, a spokesperson for Trump's legal team also resigned.   Read More About This

70.    Spicer resigned Friday after Trump appointed New York financier Anthony Scaramucci to communications director. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was named his replacement.   Read More About This

71.    Senators Cardin and Warren have pushed for an investigation into whether Scaramucci's company, SkyBridge Capital, violated sanctions against Russia.   Read More About This

72.    On Friday following Spicer's resignation, Sanders held an on-camera press briefing, the first one since June 29 (22 days ago).   Read More About This

73.    Breaking from Trump, CIA Director Pompeo, Homeland Security Secretary Kelly, and White House Homeland and Counterterrorism adviser Bossert said they believe Russia meddled in our election.   Read More About This

74.    Reuters reported Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who met with Donald Jr., had Russian spy agency FSB as a client.   Read More About This

75.    After interviewing Susan Rice as part of the Senate Intel Comm, Republican chairman Burr commented, "The unmasking thing was all created by Devin Nunes."   Read More About This

76.    Michael Flynn opened a new consulting firm, Resilient Patriot, LLC. Flynn's new firm will advise private equity firms.   Read More About This

77.    Trump named a temporary director, Apol, to replace Shaub as head of the OGE as he seeks a permanent director. Watchdogs groups expressed concern that Trump bypassed Shaub's designated successor, Finlayson.   Read More About This

78.    WAPO reported some of Trump's lawyers are exploring ways to limit or undercut Mueller's Trump-Russia probe, building a case around alleged conflicts of interest of Mueller and his staff.   Read More About This

79.    Sekulow said Mueller investigating Trump's business dealings, including transactions like a Russian oligarch's purchase of Trump's Palm Beach mansion, "is far outside the scope of a legitimate investigation."   Read More About This

80.    WAPO also reported Trump has asked his advisers about his power to pardon aides, family members and himself.   Read More About This

81.    Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intel Comm, warned Trump that pardoning targets of the Russia probe would be "crossing a fundamental line."   Read More About This

82.    Trump loyalist Newt Gingrich told FoxNews Friday, "The Mueller investigation has so many conflicts of interests, it's almost an absurdity."   Read More About This

83.    A New Republic op-ed titled, "We're on the Brink of an Authoritarian Crisis, cited Trump's NYT interview, information on efforts to attack Mueller and questions about issuing pardons, as cause for concern.   Read More About This

84.    WAPO reported Kislyak told his superiors he discussed campaign-related matters, including policy issues important to Moscow, with Sessions. The conversations were intercepted by US spy agencies.   Read More About This

85.    In March, Sessions had said he never had meetings with Russian operatives or intermediaries about the Trump campaign. He also lied under oath during the Senate confirmation hearings about the meetings.   Read More About This

86.    WAPO reported Sessions had three meetings with Kislyak including at his Senate office in September, at the Republican National Convention in July, and at the Mayflower Hotel in April.   Read More About This

87.    Kushner agreed to testify in front of the Senate Intel Comm next Monday, and the House Intel Comm on Tuesday.   Read More About This

88.    Bypassing Tillerson and the State Dept after a contentious meeting, Trump assigned a White House team of loyalists to review the Iran Nuclear Deal and give him the option to say Tehran was not in compliance.   Read More About This

89.    WAPO reported late Friday that Kushner filed a revised financial disclosure form, showing he had failed to disclose dozens of financial holdings that he was required to declare when he joined the WH.   Read More About This

90.    Of note, Kushner had failed to disclose a $285mm loan that his company received from Deutsche Bank one month before the election.   Read More About This

91.    A separate form filed Friday showed Ivanka has personally profited by as much as $5mm since Trump took office from her outside businesses, despite a promise to distance herself from her private holdings.   Read More About This

92.    Also late Friday, a deal between Donald Jr., Manafort and the Senate Judiciary Comm was announced, in which the two will provide records and be interviewed in a closed-door session to avoid being subpoenaed.   Read More About This

93.    On Saturday morning, starting at 6:30 a.m EST, Trump sent a bizarre litany of tweets on topics ranging from his usual trashing of the media, Hillary and Comey, to the topic of pardons and Mueller.   Read More About This

94.    Trump continued to tweet, despite a new ABC/WAPO poll that showed 67% of Americans disapprove of his using Twitter, including 68% saying his tweets were inappropriate, and half said his tweets were dangerous.   Read More About This

95.    Saturday, in a repudiation of Trump, Congress reached a deal on sweeping sanctions to punish Russia for election-meddling. The legislation will limit Trump's ability to suspend or terminate sanctions.   Read More About This

Pic


Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-36-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-5f21d774631e

Top of Page


Buy Avon

0 Comments

WEEK 35: EXPERTS IN AUTHORITARIANISM ADVISE TO KEEP A LIST OF THINGS SUBTLY CHANGING AROUND YOU, SO YOU’LL REMEMBER.

7/16/2017

0 Comments

 
   
Week #35:  July 16, 2017

"I'm pleased to share that 'The Weekly List' has found a safe home at the Library of Congress. May future generations learn from our slow slide to authoritarianism, and never let it happen again!"

This week the bombshell story about Donald Jr.'s emails, the first direct evidence of possible collusion and intent between the Trump campaign and Russia, dominated media coverage and conversation. But as with each week, amidst the bedlam, there were a myriad of less-covered, important stories on how the fabric of our country is changing, and kleptocracy is omnipresent.
____________________________________________________________


1.    After the G20, Pope Francis warned about "dangerous" international alliances, including the one between the US and Russia.   Read More About This

2.    On Sunday after returning from the G20, Trump sent a bizarre set of tweets, including his apparent acceptance that Putin did not meddle in our election, and his plan to set up a Cyber Security unit with Putin.   Read More About This

3.    After widespread condemnation of his Cyber Security unit idea, Trump tweeted Sunday night that he didn't really mean it.   Read More About This

4.    US officials say Russia government hackers were behind recent cyber-intrusions into the administrative and business networks of a US nuclear power plant and other energy companies.   Read More About This

5.    Reuters reported European infrastructure networks have also recently been hacked, and the Russian government is thought to be the culprit.   Read More About This

6.    An Arkansas bill scheduled to go into effect July 30 would make it illegal for a woman to have an abortion without notifying the man who impregnated her, even in cases of rape.   Read More About This

7.    On Monday, Capitol police arrested citizens protesting the GOP health care bill outside of Republican senate offices.   Read More About This

8.    A federal judge halted the deportation of 1,400 Iraqi nationals, including many Christians fearing persecution. The Trump's regime efforts to deport took on new urgency because Iraq has agreed to accept deportees.   Read More About This

9.    An Iranian cancer researcher traveling on a valid visa to the US to work as a visiting scholar at Boston's Children's Hospital, was detained at Logan Airport, along with his wife and three children.   Read More About This

10.    Pew Research found the percentage of Muslim refugees has steadily declined under Trump from 50% in February to 31% in June, while the percentage of Christian refugees has increased from 41% to 57%.   Read More About This

11.    A federal judge's ruling in Hawaii narrowed the scope of Trump's Muslim Ban by vastly expanding the list of family relationships with U.S. citizens that visa applicants can use to get into the US.   Read More About This

12.    Trump ally Steve King called for using federal funds set aside for Planned Parenthood and welfare programs like food stamps to be reallocated for funding Trump's Mexican Wall.   Read More About This

13.    POLITICO reported that Trump and his regime are quietly working with conservative senators Cotton and Perdue to cut the number of legal immigrants allowed into the US by half over the next decade.   Read More About This

14.    According to a memo obtained by WAPO, the Trump regime is considering expanding the DHS's power to expedite the deportation of illegal immigrants, a major expansion of the agency's power.   Read More About This

15.    DeVos met with MRA groups who believe campus sexual assault is a hoax, including The National Coalition for Men, an organization with a history of harassing and intimidating alleged sexual-assault survivors.   Read More About This

16.    DeVos also met with Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE), an organization SPLC described as promoting misogyny. SAVE has lobbied against efforts to address military sexual assault, calling it a "witch hunt."   Read More About This

17.    Ahead of these pivotal meeting, Candice Jackson, the acting assistant secretary for civil right at the Education Dept said 90% of campus sexual accusations come after drunk sex or break-ups. She later apologized.   Read More About This

18.    Sessions delivered a speech to Alliance Defending Freedom, a group designated as an "anti-LGBT hate group" by the SPLC in 2016, off camera on Tuesday. The DOJ refused to release his remarks.   Read More About This

19.    Rep. Martha McSally stood on the House floor Wednesday in a sleeveless dress and open-toed shoes to say she would not comply with the dress code in the chamber and Speaker's lobby.   Read More About This

20.    On Friday, female members of the House wore sleeveless clothing to work, tweeting in support of "Sleeveless Friday."   Read More About This

21.    Price's HHS quietly defunded teen pregnancy programs designed by the Obama administration to fund scientifically valid ways to help teenagers make healthy decisions that avoid unwanted pregnancy.   Read More About This

22.    The ACLU filed a suit against Trump's Election Integrity Commission, saying it isn't following federal law requiring it to be open to the public.   Read More About This

23.    Trump's Election Integrity Commission published a 112 page document of public feedback (mostly negative), which exposed personal informationincluding email addresses, phone numbers and home addresses of some.   Read More About This

24.    Over 3k Colorado voters have canceled their registrations since Trump's Election Integrity Commission requested voter roll information.   Read More About This

25.    A non-partisan campaign finance watchdog group filed a complaint with the FEC alleging Price improperly used his congressional campaign fund to promote his confirmation to HHS Secretary.   Read More About This

26.    Center for Public Integrity reported Bannon failed to properly disclose more than $2mm in mortgage debt on his financial disclosure form.   Read More About This

27.    Trump's expected pick for chief of the Wage and Hour Division of the Dept of Labor, Cheryl Stanton, was named in a lawsuit last year for allegedly not paying her house cleaners.   Read More About This

28.    WAPO reported that while Trump has chastised companies for outsourcing jobs and Ivanka branded herself a feminist, Ivanka's clothing lines are exclusively produced at low-wage foreign factories, and women employees are not well treated.   Read More About This

29.    After Trump's much ballyhooed deal with Carrier to keep American jobs, Indiana has lost 5k manufacturing jobs since February.   Read More About This

30.    WSJ reported the CEO of a OpenGov, a small start-up that Kushner's brother has a stake in, got a seat at a White House roundtable for prominent technology-industry leaders last month. Kushner owned the stake before selling it to his brother early in the year.   Read More About This

31.    POLITICO reported that conservative Sinclair Broadcasting increased "must run" segments featuring former Trump adviser Epshteyn to nine times per week, across its affiliates.   Read More About This

32.    Sputnik, a Russian government-funded news outlet, started broadcasting on 105.5 FM last week from K-Street offices, a few blocks from the WH.   Read More About This

33.    Within 24 hours of announcing "The Weekly List" will be archived in the Library of Congress, I was the target of two hit pieces in Sputnik News,one in RT, and other various Russia-friendly blogs.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

34.    NYT reported that Pence has quietly hosted at least four private dinners, and has more in the works, to court big donors and corporate executives.   Read More About This

35.    The Trump regime's deregulation teams is full of appointees with deep industry ties. NYT and ProPublica reported on 71 appointees with industry links, including 28 with potential conflicts.   Read More About This

36.    Intercept reported Kushner tried to get a half-billion loan bailout for his 666 Fifth Avenue from a Qatar sovereign wealth fund, and the deal not coming to fruition may have influenced US policy towards Qatar.   Read More About This

37.    USA Today reported a US Golf Association exec told USGA executive committee members that Trump threatened to sue the organization if it moved the 2017 US Women's Open from Trump's golf club in Bedminster.   Read More About This

38.    Trump tweeted: "I will be at the @USGA #USWomensOpen in Bedminster," advertising one of his properties again.   Read More About This

39.    Documents released to WAPO under the FOIA show the State Dept spent more than $15k for rooms at the new Trump hotel in Vancouver.   Read More About This

40.    At the behest of Bannon, Trump aides Prince and Feinberg, both who benefited from military contracting, developed an alternative plan to the one proposed by the Pentagon for Afghanistan. Their plan was to rely on contractors (mostly non-American) instead of American military troops.   Read More About This

41.    Twitter users who were blocked by Trump's personal account are suing him in federal court, saying he violated their First Amendment rights.   Read More About This

42.    Trump tweeted that Comey had "leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION" and "That is so illegal!" The Columbia law professor who received some of Comey's memos, said the memos he received were not classified.   Read More About This

43.    Saturday evening, NYT reported that Donald Jr., Kushner and Manafort met with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a lawyer with close Kremlin ties, at Trump Tower on June 9, 2016.   Read More About This

44.    Donald Jr. initially claimed the meeting was related to an adoption program. Kushner had failed to disclose the meeting in his security clearance. Manafort, who was Trump's campaign manager at the time, had no comment on the meeting.   Read More About This

45.    On Sunday, NYT reported Donald Jr. met with the Veselnitskaya after being promised damaging information on Hillary. The meeting took place two weeks after Trump became the GOP nominee.   Read More About This

46.    On the question of whether Trump campaign colluded with Russia, NYTnoted Donald Jr.'s meeting is "the first public indication that at least some in the campaign were willing to accept Russian help."   Read More About This

47.    A spokesperson for Trump's lawyer told the NYT, "the president was not aware of and did not attend the meeting."   Read More About This

48.    Donald Jr. hired attorney Alan Futerfas to represent him in the Russiaprobe, adding to a long list of attorneys defending Team Trump.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

49.    WAPO reported the acquaintance who set up the meeting was Rob Goldstone, who was active in the Miss Universe pageant and works as a manager for Russian pop singer, Emin Agalarov.   Read More About This

50.    As news was breaking on Donald Jr., Russia's Lavrov threatened that Russia is "considering specific measures" as retribution for Trump not returning two compounds seized by the Obama administration.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

51.    On Tuesday, Donald Jr. preemptively tweeted his email exchange in setting up the Trump Tower meeting. Donald Jr. had been contacted by the NYT for comment, asked for more time, then tweeted.   Read More About This

52.    Shortly after his tweet, the NYT story broke. In addition to the emails, the story details the changing accounts by all involved parties.   Read More About This

53.    Per emails, Donald Jr. was offered information that "would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father," and "This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."   Read More About This

54.    Donald Jr.'s response was: "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."   Read More About This

55.    Donald Jr. forwarded the email chain -- with the subject line, "Re: Russia -- Clinton -- private and confidential" -- to Kusher and Manafort ahead of the meeting.   Read More About This

56.    The email was sent by Rod Goldstone on behalf of a mutual friend, Emin Agalarov. Emin is the son of Aras Agalarov, a real estate tycoon referred to as the "Donald Trump of Russia," who has close ties to, and was awarded the "Order of Honor of the Russian Federation" by, Putin.   Read More About This

57.    The meeting took place in Trump Tower, one floor below Trump's offices.Trump continued to deny knowledge or involvement all week.   Read More About This

58.    According to emails, the meeting took place at 4:00 pm. Donald Jr. said it lasted 20–30 minutes. At 4:40 pm same day, Trump tweeted in response to a tweet by Hillary, "where are your 33,000 emails that you deleted?"   Read More About This

59.    Julian Assange tweeted, "Contacted Trump Jr. this morning on why he should publish his emails (i.e with us)," indicating he has been in contact with Donald Jr.   Read More About This

60.    WAPO reported Donald Jr. changed his story about the meeting with Veselnitskaya four times in the first four days of the story coming to light.   Read More About This

61.    NYT reported Trump personally signed off on Donald Jr.'s first statement Saturday night saying his meeting with a Russian lawyer was to discuss adoption policy -- a known lie.   Read More About This

62.    After releasing his emails, Donald Jr. gave an interview to Fox Newstelling his side of the story. Trump called his son "a high-quality person" and added, "I applaud his transparency."   Read More About This

63.    Yahoo reported that Trump had a Moscow real estate deal with Aras Agalarov, the same Russian oligarch who set up the meeting with Veselnitskaya, to construct a Trump Tower in Moscow.   Read More About This

64.    A letter intent was signed by Trump, then as the presidential campaign got underway, Donald Jr. was assigned to take the lead. Ivanka also looked at spots for Trump Tower Moscow with Emin Agalarov.   Read More About This

65.    The deal did not happen because the Russian economy floundered, in part because of US and EU sanctions imposed after Crimea and Ukraine. Doing away with US sanctions could help put the deal back on track.   Read More About This

66.    In April 2016, Emin and Aras Agalarov told WAPO they wanted Trump to be elected. Emin said Trump's election would be "an amazing breakthrough" that would forge peace between Russia and the US.   Read More About This

67.    CNN reported Mueller's investigators plan to examine the meeting and email exchanges disclosed by Donald Jr. as part of their broader Russian-meddling investigation.   Read More About This

68.    On "The Late Show" Tuesday night, Joe Scarborough announced he is leaving the Republican Party. "It's a shame there are so few Republicans speaking truth to power," Scarborough tweeted.   Read More About This

69.    NYT reported Tuesday that Trump's long-time personal attorney and lead counsel for the Russia probe, Kasowitz, has been the target of Trump's frustration and ire, and may resign.   Read More About This

70.    ProPublica reported that as Trump's lead attorney on the Russia probe, Kasowitz is unable to see classified information because he isn't seeking security clearance, and may have trouble getting one.   Read More About This

71.    On Wednesday night, Kasowitz threatened a stranger in an email, saying "I'm on you now," and "Watch your back, bitch," etc. Later, he apologized through a spokesperson, saying he was working late that night.   Read More About This

72.    McClatchy reported that Congressional and DOJ investigators are focusing on whether Trump's campaign pointed Russian cyber operatives to certain voting jurisdictions in key states.   Read More About This

73.    Kushner, who is already a "person of interest" for the DOJ investigations, will be investigated for his role overseeing the digital operations, and for possible cooperation with Russian efforts.   Read More About This

74.    Of note, the Russians knew to target women and African-Americans in two of the three decisive states, Wisconsin and Michigan. Clinton lost WI, MI and PA by a combined 77,744 votes out of 13.9 million ballots cast.   Read More About This

75.    WSJ reported that in light of Donald Jr. emails, US intel investigators are re-examining conversations captured in the spring of 2015 of Russian government officials discussing associates of Trump.   Read More About This

76.    Rep. Brad Sherman of CA introduced articles of impeachment against Trump. Rep. Green of TX was the only other Democrat to join.   Read More About This

77.    AP reported that Trump's mysterious friend "Jim," who Trump frequently referenced on the campaign trail and more recently ahead of his trip to Paris, may not actually exist.   Read More About This

78.    Trump faced heavy criticism after telling France's first lady during his first state visit to the country, "You're in such good shape."   Read More About This

79.    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Comm sent a letter to Sessions asking why the DOJ settled a $230mm Russian money laundering case against Prevezon for $6mm two days before trial in May.   Read More About This

80.    Veselnitskaya represented the family of Pyotr Katsyv, whose son owns Prevezon. Democrats want to know if she was involved at any point in settlement negotiations.   Read More About This

81.    Prevezon was part of Russia's largest tax fraud scheme. Magnitsky, the lawyer who exposed the alleged fraud, was jailed, tortured and killed in Russia. Veselnitskaya has been trying to undo the Act in his name.   Read More About This

82.    The case against Prevezon was initially brought by US attorney Preet Bharara, who was fired by Trump.   Read More About This

83.    Axios reported Trump's outside legal teams wants him to wall off Kushner from discussing the Russian investigation with Trump.   Read More About This

84.    On Thursday morning, NPR reported Sessions had defied a judge's order by not supplying the required forms to show his foreign contacts. The court's 30-day deadline expired Wednesday.   Read More About This

85.    Later that afternoon, a day late, the DOJ did release one heavily redacted page of Sessions's SF86, showing only that he had checked a box "no" on whether he had met with any foreign governments in the past 7 years.   Read More About This

86.    New Republic reported that Trump's relationship with Russia dates back to the 1980s, and over decades Russia has laundered money through Trump's real estate and casinos.   Read More About This

87.    Gorka told CNN that Trump is considering returning the Russian compounds because "we want to give collaboration" a chance. US intel found evidence the compounds were used for spying on the US.   Read More About This