Week #19:  March 26, 2017

Of all the weeks so far, this was the most exhausting. In normal times, any one item below would be a top story for days or weeks -- the flow of not normal is so heavy right now, it's a challenge to keep track. Newsman Dan Rather best summarized the feel of Week 19: "I have seen a lot in my lifetime. But I have never seen anything like this. No one has. The cauldron of chaos and confusion which engulfs President Trump in his early days in office is simply unprecedented." ____________________________________________________________

1.

Three weeks have passed since Trump's tweet that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower. He has yet to offer any evidence, or apologize.

2.

As Week 19 opened, Trump's Gallup daily approval rating hit a new low: 37% approve, 58% disapprove.   Read More About This

3.

After Trump's embarrassing meeting with Merkel last week, Germany's defense minister refuted a claim by Trump that Germany owes NATO"vast sums of money," by saying "there is no debt account in NATO."   Read More About This

4.

New York AG Schneiderman hired fired US Attorney Bharara assistant to focus on issues specifically related to the Trump regime.   Read More About This

5.

An op-ed penned by two former chief White House ethics lawyers titled, "Trump's unprecedented war on ethics," detailed the a long laundry list of ethics breaches already committed by Trump and his regime.   Read More About This

6.

Continuing the Deep State theme, the Trump regime installed insiders in executive branch agencies to spy on fellow employees. At the same time, leadership roles remain largely unfilled (61 of 553 have a nominee).   Read More About This

7.

POLITICO reported that Federal career staffers are living in fear of being targeted and singled out by Breitbart conservative media outlets, for not being loyal to Trump.   Read More About This

8.

At the first day of the House Intel Committee's hearing into Russia, Comey said the FBI is conducting a counterintelligence investigation of both Russian interference in our election, and whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.   Read More About This

9.

Comey also said there is "no information" to back Trump's wiretapping claim.   Read More About This

10.

During the hearing, Trump live-tweeted from the @POTUS Twitter account. His tweets contained false and misleading information.   Read More About This

11.

When asked by Rep. Himes during the hearing, Comey refuted and corrected information in Trump's tweets. AP fact checked Trump's tweetsvs. what was actually said in testimony.   Read More About This

12.

McClatchy reported that the FBI is also investigating the role of conservative media outlets like Breitbart and InfoWars in the Russian hacking of our election.   Read More About This

13.

Ivanka got a West Wing office and was granted security clearance, but did not get a formal government role or title.   Read More About This

14.

Government watchdogs called on Trump to give Ivanka an official title to avoid conflicts of interest between her government roles and financial interests.   Read More About This

15.

Eric Trump filed to bring in foreign workers to work at his Trump Winery. A lawyer working for him said, "It's difficult to find people."   Read More About This

16.

Modern Appealing Clothing filed a class action suit against Ivanka's brand over "unfair competition," citing Trump and Conway's publicity.   Read More About This

17.

As Trump's bad week continued, the WSJ reported Kushner's sale of 666 Fifth Avenue to a Chinese buyer for a $400mm profit, was teetering.   Read More About This

18.

Trump hotel in DC will host an event on American-Turkey relations,sponsored by an organization whose chair is a Turkish businessman with ties to the Turkish government. Four Seasons had previously hosted.   Read More About This

19.

James Woolsey said while on the Trump transition team, he attended a September meeting in which Flynn discussed how to get Fethullah Gulen to Turkey without going through the US extradition legal process.   Read More About This

20.

The Trump Organization is pursuing a hotel deal in Dallas with a man known as "Turkish Trump," whose real estate company has business ties in Russia, Kazakhstan and at least two dozen other countries.   Read More About This

21.

Trump threatened Republicans in the House who were considering voting against Trumpcare, "I'm gonna come after you."   Read More About This

22.

NBC reported that The Trump Organization is in violation of New York City law for not being registered with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development.   Read More About This

23.

Deutsche Bank -- a major lender to Trump -- was fined $630 million for money laundering over $10bn for Russia from the bank's Moscow office in a scheme dubbed, "Global Laundromat."   Read More About This

24.

Maddow reported that Sen. Van Hollen asked Sessions to recuse himself from the US investigation of Deutsche Bank, formerly conducted by US attorney Bharara, and asked if this is why Bharara was fired.   Read More About This

25.

The Trump Organization launched a new hotel chain, triggering all sorts of ethics concerns, including that investors may invest in order to gain favor and access to the new administration.   Read More About This

26.

According to a New York Magazine reporter, Trump is "obsessive" in recording and watching cable news: "a source close to the White House told me that he does DVR basically all of the cable news."   Read More About This

27.

In the Trump regime's second major email scandal -- Tillerson's use of an alias email account (Wayne Tracker) -- Exxon claimed to have lost all emails from the alias account.   Read More About This

28.

Trump's newly appointed GSA head said his Trump DC Hotel lease is valid. An expert on government procurement law at GWU called the GSA decision harmful to the "integrity  --  and thus credibility  --  of GSA.   Read More About This

29.

Hawaii's Rep. Beth Fukumoto resigned from the GOP and said she would become a Democrat. Her open letter cited Trump "marginalizing and condemning minorities" and demeaning women.   Read More About This

30.

AP reported a bombshell: former Trump campaign manager Manafort was under a $10mm/year contract with a Russia-related entity, starting in 2006, to covertly promote the interests of the Russian government.   Read More About This

31.

The White House responded that Trump was not aware of Manafort's work for Russian billionaire while Manafort worked on Trump's campaign.   Read More About This

32.

Manafort is also being investigated for transactions with banks in Cyprus, known as a haven for laundering money for Russian billionaires. Wilbur Ross was previously Vice-Chair of Bank of Cyprus.   Read More About This

33.

Maddow reported that the Attorney General of Cyprus is cooperating with US officials in turning over information related to Manafort.   Read More About This

34.

Five Democratic Senators sent a letter to Wilbur Ross asking for clarification about his ties to Bank of Cyprus. The response was due March 24th, but as of now, Ross has not responded.   Read More About This

35.

A Ukrainian lawmaker released documents which show that Manafort laundered payments from former Ukrainian President Yanukovych, who has been hiding in Russia since his overthrow.   Read More About This

36.

CNN reported that the FBI has information that members of the Trump regime possibly coordinated with Russia on the release of information damaging to Hillary Clinton.   Read More About This

37.

Tillerson gave a surprisingly frank interview to IJR, saying "I didn't want this job. I didn't seek this job. My wife told me I'm supposed to do this." Tillerson said he had planned to retire in March to spend time with his grandkids.   Read More About This

38.

On Thursday, House Intel Committee ranking Democrat Schiff said he has been presented new evidence on collusion between the Trump regime and Russia that merited a grand jury investigation.   Read More About This

39.

Russian lawyer Nikolai Gorokhov, who represents the family of Magnitsky, a Russia who died in prison in 2009 after uncovering massive fraud, mysteriously "fell" from his fourth floor apartment, the night before he was set to appear in court in Moscow. He survived.   Read More About This

40.

Gorokhov was also scheduled to be a witness in a US case connected to the largest money-laundering scheme in Russian history, USA v. Prevezon,which was on the brink of going to trial in Manhattan. Fired US Attorney Bharara had been spearheading the case.   Read More About This

41.

Two days later, former Russian parliamentarian Voronenkov, who fled Russia after criticizing Putin, was assassinated on the streets of Ukraine's capital. Voronenkov was said to be a key witness in Ukraine's investigation of Yanukovych and Russian military involvement.   Read More About This

42.

Wednesday, offering no evidence, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes held an impromptu press conference where he claimed that some Trump transition team, including Trump, had been inadvertently surveilled.   Read More About This

43.

Nunes bypassed protocol of reporting his findings to the House Intel Committee, instead briefing Ryan and then the White House before his press conference, even while the White House is under investigation by the FBI.   Read More About This

44.

On Thursday, Nunes apologized to the members of the Intel Committee for not going to them first, and said he was unsure if the Trump regime were even in the phone calls and other communication he cited.   Read More About This

45.

Thursday night on Hannity, in explaining his actions, Nunes said he felt a "duty and obligation" to Trump.   Read More About This

46.

On Friday, Nunes backed down from his assertion that Trump was surveilled. He also refused to reveal his sources.   Read More About This

47.

On Friday, Nunes abruptly canceled an open hearing scheduled for Tuesday, in which DNI director Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former Acting AG Yates were scheduled to testify.   Read More About This

48.

The Daily Beast reported that Tuesday, the night before his Trump surveillance claim, Nunes left a Uber car with a senior staffer to take a phone call, and then mysteriously disappeared for hours.   Read More About This

49.

WAPO Editorial Board called for Nunes to be removed as Chair of the House Intel Committee, and investigated for leaking.   Read More About This

50.

As the week closed, a Quinnipiac poll found that 66% of Americans want an independent commission to investigate Trump-Russia ties.   Read More About This

51.

The House Oversight Committee requested documents from the White House and FBI on any communications between Flynn and Russia.   Read More About This

52.

The Senate Intelligence Committee asked Trump adviser Stone to preserve any Russian-related documents.   Read More About This

53.

Richard Painter, George W. Bush's chief White House ethic lawyer, tweeted that he testified to the House Oversight Committee that "treason is an oversight issue."   Read More About This

54.

The RNC, while chaired by Priebus, hired a firm with intelligence connections to Russia, to dig up dirt on Hillary Clinton.   Read More About This

55.

Andrea Mitchell reported on her show that a single source had told herTrump transition team members are purging their phones.   Read More About This

56.

All week, Spicer and the Trump regime tried to distance Trump from Manafort, Flynn and others under FBI investigation. Trump loyalist National Enquirer ran a cover story on Flynn, "Trump Catches Russia's White House Spy."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

57.

A Russian organized crime money-laundering network, with offices in Trump Tower three floors below Trump's penthouse, was under a court-approved wiretap by the FBI. The investigation led to the indictment of 30 people, including a Russian mafia boss.   Read More About This

58.

WSJ Editorial Board issued a blistering attack on Trump  --  "A President's Credibility" in which they described how Trump's constant lies and falsehoods were eroding public trust, abroad and at home.   Read More About This

59.

Canada's largest school district canceled travel to the US, citing worries about Trump's Muslim Ban.   Read More About This

60.

A waiter in California refused to serve four Latina customers until they showed proof of residency, saying "I need to make sure you're from here."   Read More About This

61.

Organizers of a Cinco de Mayo festival in Philadelphia canceled, fearing an ICE raid. The festival had been a Mexican folk tradition since 2006.   Read More About This

62.

Trump continued to take credit for jobs he didn't create, this time 20,000 jobs at Charter Communications announced last October.   Read More About This

63.

The Federal Judge in Hawaii who ruled against Trump's second Muslim Ban has received multiple death threats, and is under 24-hour protection.   Read More About This

64.

Despite a 44 seat advantage in the House, Trump first major legislative attempt, to repeal and replace Obamacare, failed -- a sign of incompetence, but also his weakened political capital amidst Russian allegations and record low favorability.

65.

NYT reported that Ryan had told Trump he didn't have the votes, but Trump, Bannon and Short wanted to force a public vote to create a GOP enemies list. Ryan said no.   Read More About This

66.

Trump blamed the loss on Democrats, calling Pelosi and Schumer "losers." The conservative WSJ Editorial Board blamed Republicans.   Read More About This

67.

NYT reported that a US led coalition is investigating a strike in Mosul which killed up to 200 civilians -- the highest toll for an American attack in Iraq since 2003. Unlike Obama who acted in a way to protect civilians, this and Yemen showcase Trump's complete disregard for human life.   Read More About This

Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-19-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-9c27cbc83eb1

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Week #18:  March 19, 2017

Events and actions this week lend credence to an evolving theme: Trump isn’t all that interested in typical legislative stuff like passing healthcare or his budget -- his passion and focus are on enriching himself, and making America white. This week was also unfamiliar territory for Trump: he couldn’t control the narrative the entire week. We’re learning Trump is great on offense, but inept on defense. ____________________________________________________________

1.

As Trump's wiretap claim entered its second week, Trump still offered no evidence to support it. Conway backed Trump saying, "microwaves that turn into cameras" can spy on us. Spicer said Trump didn't mean wiretapping literally when he tweeted about wiretapping.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

2.

OMB Mulvaney claimed Obama had been "manipulating" jobs data.   Read More About This

3.

The Trump regime had its second email scandal in two weeks. WSJreported that Tillerson used an email alias - 'Wayne Tracker'  --  while at Exxon, to discuss climate change.   Read More About This

4.

Kushner is set to net $400 million on the sale of a NYC office building to a Chinese firm with murky links to the Chinese power structure.   Read More About This

5.

Ivanka imported 53 metric tons of Chinese goods while her father was making his 'Buy American' speeches.   Read More About This

6.

A businesswoman with ties to Chinese Intelligence and the Chinese ruling elite purchased a penthouse in a Trump property for $15.8 million.   Read More About This

7.

These ties, along with the 38 trademarks granted to Trump in Week 14, as Trump readies to host China's PM at Mar-A-Lago. Trump has shifted on both his "One China" policy and trade war threats in recent weeks.

8.

Trump insider Stone told AP he may have been the subject of surveillance by Intelligence for his possible role as a foreign agent for Russia.   Read More About This

9.

Former White House staffer Crowley, who was fired for plagiarism, took a job as a foreign agent for a Ukrainian oligarch with ties to Russia.   Read More About This

10.

Reuters uncovered that Russian elite have invested close to $100 million in Trump luxury towers in Southern Florida.   Read More About This

11.

The yacht of Trump financial backer Robert Mercer, was spotted in the British Virgin Islands next to the yacht of Dmitry Rybolovlev, the Russianoligarch mentioned in Week 17 for his multiple connections to Trump and Wilbur Ross.   Read More About This

12.

Mercer also has close ties to Bannon, and collaborated with him on at least five ventures, including Breitbart News.   Read More About This

13.

A document released Thursday showed that Flynn received three formerly-undisclosed payments from Russian interests, totaling $70,000.   Read More About This

14.

WSJ broke that Flynn also had an interaction with a Russian-British national while he was head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, which he failed to report, as required.   Read More About This

15.

Russia continued provocations: a Russian spy ship reappeared in the US eastern seaboard, just 20 miles south of a U.S. Navy submarine base.   Read More About This

16.

News of the DOJ's findings that Russian agents were behind the Yahoo hacking, brought Russia interference back front and center.   Read More About This

17.

As things heated up on Russia in the Senate, McCain accused Rand Paul, on the Senate floor, of "working for Vladimir Putin."   Read More About This

18.

Further to Week 17's Deep State theme, Trump opened the week signing an executive order on a "reorganizing" of the executive branch, which opened the door to the Trump regime dismantling federal agencies.   Read More About This

19.

POLITICO reported on the growing paranoia and dysfunctionality in Trump's executive branch. One staff member said, "people are scared."   Read More About This

20.

Tillerson mirrored Trump, saying the proposed slashing of the State Department's budget would make it "much more efficient," while offering no vision or strategy for foreign policy.   Read More About This

21.

As mentioned in Week 17, much to the consternation and over objections by our media, Tillerson did not bring press along on his first trip to Asia. He did, however, bring one reporter from conservative media IJR -- who coincidentally had written a glowing piece about him two weeks prior.   Read More About This

22.

Friday, Tillerson said the US was prepared to take military action against North Korea, if necessary. Tillerson cut his trip to South Korea short, citing fatigue.   Read More About This

23.

Saturday, Tillerson stood by his decision not to allow the media along on his trip to Asia, saying, "I'm not a big media press access person."   Read More About This

24.

A Federal Judge in Hawaii halted Trump's second Muslim Ban the day before it was set to go into effect, saying the Ban is unconstitutional and discriminates based on religion.   Read More About This

25.

The Federal Judge also cited remarks made by Miller and Giuliani on TV in his ruling.   Read More About This

26.

Conservative media IJR (same as on Tillerson's plane) speculated that Obama's visit to Hawaii and was behind the ruling. IJR next day added an editor's note to the article, and soon thereafter, the reporter resigned.   Read More About This

27.

Buzzfeed reported that Nick Ayers, a top adviser to Pence is an investor in the IJR.   Read More About This

28.

Trump held a campaign rally in Nashville, TN on Wednesday in which he chastised the Federal Judge who ruled against his Muslim Ban, claiming incompetence, before transitioning the crowd to cheers of, "Lock her up!"   Read More About This

29.

Trump's ranting about the halt of his second Muslim Ban at the Nashville rally -- "This is watered-down version of the first one" - could be a death blow to his chances in an appeal, which he does plan to file.   Read More About This

30.

WAPO reported on a second internal report prepared for the Trump regime, again with data undercutting the premise of his Muslim Ban.   Read More About This

31.

Trump's Nashville campaign rally was half full; while thousands of protestors outside chanted things like, "bless your heart."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

32.

Gorka, Trump's top counter-terrorism advisor, was reported to be a sworn member of Hungarian group listed by our State Department as 'under the direction of the Nazi Government of Germany' during World War II.   Read More About This

33.

In Netherland's race for prime minister, the candidate associated with Trump lost with unexpectedly poor results. Some in Europe noted that Austrian and Dutch elections point to a Trump backlash.   Read More About This

34.

At a photo op before his Michigan speech, Trump said publicly to the governor "Come on, governor  --  even though you didn't endorse me….I never forget."   Read More About This

35.

WAPO's Fahrenthold followed up on three promises made by Trump on November 8: donating his salary, giving away leftovers from Inaugural Committee, and donating profits derived from foreign governments use Trump hotels to the US Treasury. Trump has given $0 so far.   Read More About This

36.

On Friday, the Trump Organization announced it will wait until 2018 to start donating profits from foreign government in his hotels.   Read More About This

37.

Anti-Semitic threats continued. CNN created a map to show how widespread Jewish bomb threats have become: so far in 2017, 159 bomb threats in 38 states.   Read More About This

38.

Trump's Muslim Ban took another blow from a Federal Judge in Maryland who suspended the part of the ban that prevented visas from being issued. Trump and his surrogates continued the "judicial overreach" and need to change this imbalance of power, talking point.   Read More About This

39.

Trump's budget got off to a disastrous start when OMB Mulvaney said of cutting funds to Meals on Wheels, it's a program, "not showing results."Words 'Meals' and 'Wheels' trended on Twitter for the rest of the day.   Read More About This

40.

WSJ reported that tax cuts for the wealthy in the GOP's tax plan would save Trump millions.   Read More About This

41.

Part of Trump's 2005 tax return was leaked to reporter David Cay Johnston, who shared them on The Rachel Maddow Show. Trump called it "fake news," Maddow called the scoop, "a drop of water in the desert."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

42.

NJ legislature passed a bill requiring presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns.   Read More About This

43.

Continuing his efforts to drain the swamp, Trump nominated his fifth Goldman Sachs employee to a role as Deputy Treasury Secretary.   Read More About This

44.

Ethics documents showed that Liddell, Trump's director of strategic initiatives, has $3–4 million in stock holdings of 18 of the companies, whose CEOs attended a meeting with he and Trump.   Read More About This

45.

By midweek, Republicans including Nunes, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, were turning on Trump for his wiretapping claim. Ryan joined him too.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

46.

The Senate Intelligence Committee issued a formal statement that there is no evidence of any surveillance (going beyond wiretapping) or Trump Tower during or after the campaign. The statement was issued 15 minutes before the White House daily briefing.   Read More About This

47.

At the daily briefing, which started an hour late, Spicer said Trump stands by his allegation that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower.   Read More About This

48.

Spicer also parroted allegations first made on Fox News, that Obama used British intelligence agency GCHQ to spy on Trump. GCHQ issued a strongly worded refute of this ridiculous claim.   Read More About This

49.

Friday morning, UK media reported the US made formal apology to Britain for the White House accusation that the GCHQ wiretapped Trump Tower.   Read More About This

50.

That afternoon, Spicer denied that an apology was made, saying, "I don't think we regret anything," while Trump commented on the matter, "We said nothing. All we did was quote a very talented legal mind."   Read More About This

51.

With cameras rolling, Trump refused when asked by Merkel, to shake her hand.   Read More About This

52.

Multiple pictures surfaced of Ivanka inexplicably seated next to Chancellor Merkel at the meeting.   Read More About This

53.

Trump misspoke during the press conference with Merkel, referring to the US as a "company" instead of a country.   Read More About This

54.

Also at the press conference, Trump turned to Merkel in answering about his wiretap claims by Obama and said, "At least we have something in common perhaps." He claimed he got the information from Fox News.   Read More About This

55.

After the press conference, Fox News' Shep Smith said on his show, 'Fox News knows of no evidence of any kind that now-President of the United States was surveilled at any time, in any way. Full stop.'   Read More About This

56.

Oklahoma Rep. Cole became the first congressional Republican to call on Trump to apologize to Obama for his false wiretapping claim.   Read More About This

57.

Friday is was announced that Trump's DOJ is working to speed deportations, shifting immigration judges to 12 US cities where they claim there are more immigrants who have committed crimes.   Read More About This

58.

Cases continued to surface of non-criminals being targeted for deportation, including a mother of six in Chicago during a routine check-in with ICE. Her congressman was handcuffed defending her.   Read More About This

59.

Canada's version of the Girl Scouts -- the Girl Guides -- canceled all trip to the US citing concerns over Trump's Muslim Ban, and it's message.   Read More About This

60.

Rep. Steve King said Blacks and Hispanics "will be fighting each other" before overtaking whites in population. Few in the GOP condemned him, as King continued to the TV circuit re-iterating his white nationalism.   Read More About This

61.

The Trump regime went to court to try to bring the consumer protection agency created by Sen. Warren after the 2008 recession, under direct control of Trump, opening the door to dismantling it.   Read More About This

62.

The White House "1600 Daily" email blast mistakenly included a very obviously satirical article from WAPO, "Trump's budget makes perfect sense and will fix America, and I will tell you why."   Read More About This

63.

Continuing his pattern of hiring insiders, Trump plans to nominate Kellyanne Conway's husband to a powerful post overseeing the Federal government's lawsuits, including the Muslim Ban.   Read More About This

64.

Republicans continue to face energized, raucous crowds when returning home. Sen. Ernst faced a packed crowd, which frequently booed her.   Read More About This

65.

The House Intel Committee sent a letter to the FBI, CIA and NSA demanding info on whether Flynn was being surveilled. The House Intel Committee oversees the FBI, CIA and NSA, yet the agencies did not comply. Rachel Maddow in a segment called it "nuts" and "not normal."   Read More About This

66.

Open hearings in Congress on Russian interference start next week: March 20th in the House, and March 30th in the Senate. McCain said on upcoming Trump-Russia probes, " I think there's a lot of shoes to drop from this centipede."   Read More About This

Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-18-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-f948c7fb7910

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Week #17:  March 11, 2017 This week, some threads from past weeks' lists continue to unwind: Trump and his regime's ties to Russia, conflicts of interest, and the dysfunctional and largely unstaffed executive branch. But the broader story of Week 17 is an underlying shift away from democracy, and it's not subtle at all! Under the auspices of Trump's #2 Bannon, our democracy as we know it is transitioning under a term used widely this week: the Deep State. Know this term! A Deep State is a paranoid, authoritarian vision of a regime under siege and being infiltrated -- in this case by Obama and his loyalists. This authoritarian vision has been used by the Trump regime as justification by for their ever-increasing need to consolidate power into the hands of a trusted few -- transforming our democracy into an authoritarian state, and making it harder to get to the truth on the many troubling matters. ____________________________________________________________ 1.    As we headed into Week 17, Trump refused to back off his claims tweeted Saturday morning in Mar-a-logo that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower. Trump demanded that Congress investigate his claim.   Read More About This 2.    Trump provided no evidence for his wiretap claim. Sunday morning on Meet the Press, former DNI Clapper said "I can deny" that Trump Tower was wiretapped.   Read More About This 3.    Sunday, FBI's Comey also denied Trump's claim, and asked the DOJ to publicly reject Trump's wiretapping claim. The DOJ has not rejected Trump's assertion.   Read More About This 4.    A White House spokesperson rejected Comey's assertion that Trump's wiretapping claim is false. Trump regime members continued to dance around the lack of evidence all week, refusing to deny Trump's false claim.   Read More About This 5.    WAPO reporters, in a disturbing piece, described Trump's fury and instability over the weekend. Further to story, reporter Costa tweeted: 'Trump woke up in good spirits, per his confidants. Read the papers and watched early cable shows, liked that they covered his allegations.'   Read More About This;  Click here, also 6.    Upon returning to the WH, Monday was the first weekday that Trump's schedule was entirely closed to the press.   Read More About This 7.    Other members of the Trump regime acted erratically, including Stone who was suspended from Twitter for his misogynistic rants. Later in the week, Stone admitted to being in contact with Guccifer 2.0, the DNC hacker, during the campaign.   Read More About This;  Click here, also 8.    After his flip-flopping on Russian contact in Week 16, this week Page, without offering evidence, said his phone may have been tapped.   Read More About This 9.    As the week closed out, Trump had still not been in contact with Comey or the FBI about his wiretapping claims. Trump's sources for his claim were right wing media, Breitbart and Mark Levin.   Read More About This 10.    Trump signed a second Muslim Ban order, ignoring the findings of the DHS report he ordered, this time targeting six countries.   Read More About This 11.    Four states sued to stop the ban, including the state of Hawaii which used Stephen Miller's own words on TV, that the revised travel ban is really just like the original, as evidence.   Read More About This;  Click here, also 12.    Alex Orono, the Ukrainian businessman who arranged the 'peace plan' meeting between Cohen, Sater and Artemenko mentioned in Week 15, died suddenly.   Read More About This 13.    The first imports of Russian steel arrived at a port in New Jersey.   Read More About This 14.    Trump White House announced, contrary to an executive order that Trump signed requiring the use of domestic steel in US pipelines, that the Keystone XL builders can use non-US steel.   Read More About This 15.    AP reported on how Trump's DC hotel has become the central hub of political capital in DC. Several of Trump's cabinet members are living at his hotel as well. Trump still financially benefits from the property.   Read More About This 16.    The top official in charge of the public buildings at the GSA, who was in charge of overseeing Trump's DC hotel, resigned. Trump will get to appoint his replacement.   Read More About This 17.    Cork Wine Bar in DC sued Trump for unfair competition over Trump's DC hotel saying, "President Donald Trump's ownership constitutes unfair competition and we are asking the courts to stop it."   Read More About This 18.    Young people in a Sweden suburb said Russian TV crew tried to bribe them to riot. Trump has largely gone quiet on his assertions of a terrorist attack in Sweden.   Read More About This 19.    McClatchy reported on the curious overlap between the luxury plane of the same Russian billionaire who bought Trump's Florida home (delivering Trump a $60mm profit) with Trump at event in Charlotte and Concord, NC. A spokesperson for the oligarch said, "Mr. Rybolovlev has never met Donald Trump."   Read More About This 20.    CNN reported on a speech given by Kislyak in October 2016 in which he denied meeting Trump or his campaign team during the 2016 election. We now know that is a lie on many counts.   Read More About This 21.    On Sunday, after N. Korea launched a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, Trump and the State Department had no response for over 5 hours. The State Department eventually issued a statement after 10 pm.   Read More About This 22.    Shortly after Trump had lunch with Tillerson, the White House issued a statement congratulating Exxon on a new program.   Read More About This 23.    The White House press release contained full paragraphs copied verbatim from Exxon's press release.   Read More About This 24.    Bureau chiefs wrote a letter saying they were "deeply concerned" that Tillerson did not bring the press on a trip to Asia to visit important allies. Letter also says of the action, "it gives the American people no window whatsoever into the views and actions of the nation's leaders." Spicer claimed this was due to cost savings by Tillerson.   Read More About This 25.    MSNBC's Mitchell was kicked out of two State Department press briefingsfor trying to ask Tillerson questions. The briefings turned out to be solely photo ops.   Read More About This 26.    Mexico's top diplomat came to DC and skipped the normal channelsgoing straight to the White House to meet with Kushner, McMaster and Cohn. The State Department did not know about the meeting.   Read More About This;  Click here, also 27.    In a statement, the State Department asked the NYC Medical Examiner not to disclose the cause of death for Russian UN ambassador Churkin.   Read More About This 28.    Tillerson still doesn't have a Deputy, and most of the diplomats with expertise in senior roles have been fired or left the State Department. Fmr Ambassador Hill said the vacuum of leadership is "unprecedented."   Read More About This 29.    ProPublica reported that Trump has quietly installed 400 insiders to be his ears and eyes in the executive branch.   Read More About This 30.    As of March 10, 96% of key positions in the executive branch remain unfilled. Trump has nominees in the confirmation process for only 8% of positions requiring Senate confirmation.   Read More About This 31.    More reporting of Trump's failed Yemem raid indicated carelessness with civilian casualties, and that despite the White House taking credit for a successful mission in which they recovered intelligence, that was not in fact that target of the mission; rather, it was a key member of al Qaeda.   Read More About This 32.    A top general took responsibility for the failed Yemen. Trump had blamed the generals in Week 15 -- atypical of a commander-in-chief.   Read More About This 33.    Widespread anti-Semitism continued across the country, including a bomb threat to the Jewish Children's Museum in Brooklyn, vandalism at the largest synagogue in the Pacific Northwest on Shabbat, and incidents at two Maryland schools.   Read More About This;  Click here, also, as well as Here 34.    Wikileaks announced another data dump they claim came from the CIA. This time, the media largely did not bite: questioning instead whether Russia was the source of the data, and whether the purpose was to distract from Trump's wiretap claims and Russian ties.   Read More About This 35.    A large portion of the Wikileaks dump are from the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence, the unit assigned by Obama to respond to Russia'sinterference in our election.   Read More About This 36.    Two days later, Nigel Farage visited Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London (March 9th). On February 25th, Farage had dinner with Trump, Ivanka and Kushner.   Read More About This 37.    Costco started stocking the popular Orwell book, "1984."   Read More About This 38.    Gold star father Khizr Khan canceled a speaking engagement in Toronto, saying he was notified that his travel privileges were under review. At the end of the week, there were still open questions about this curious case.   Read More About This;  Click here, also 39.    The ACLU filed an ethics complaint against Session in Alabama over his Senate confirmation testimony about contact with Russia to "determine whether he violated the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct."   Read More About This 40.    The Office of Government Ethics director wrote a letter to Trump's deputy White House counsel on the decision not to discipline Conway, saying he remains "concerned" about the Trump aide's "misuse of position," and that her evading punishment risked "undermining the ethics program."   Read More About This 41.    Bannon and Breitbart increasingly used the term "deep state" to describe an imagined "covert resistance" to Trump, largely composed of Obama loyalists. Deep state is a term generally used by authoritarian regimes.   Read More About This;  Click here, also 42.    Fox News' Hannity tweeted Thursday it was time for Trump 'to purge the deep state saboteurs from the government.'   Read More About This 43.    On Friday, Rep. Steven King also suggested that a purge of federal staff needs to happen.   Read More About This 44.    Same day, when asked in the White House Daily Briefing, Spicer did not reject the concept of the Deep State.   Read More About This 45.    That afternoon, without any notice, Sessions asked all 46 remaining Obama appointed US attorneys to resign.   Read More About This 46.    On Wednesday Three watchdogs had asked the US attorney for the Southern District of NY (home to the Trump Organization) to investigate whether Trump effectively receives benefits from foreign entities, in violation of the Constitution.   Read More About This 47.    The US attorney for the Southern District of NY is Preet Bharara, who was invited to Trump Tower in November and asked by Trump to stay on, only to be asked to resign in the Sessions sweep on Friday. As of today, Bharara is refusing to resign.   Read More About This;  Click here, also 48.    POLITCO reported that Europeans are concerned about Bannon and Trump's efforts to undo the European Union. Commerce Secretary Ross, who has ties to Russia per Week 16, is also anti-EU.   Read More About This 49.    Trump golf properties enjoyed an unprecedented boom of sales, as people seek access to Trump. Eric Trump bragged, "I think our brand is the hottest it has ever been."   Read More About This 50.    The New Yorker reported on one of Trump's questionable and likely illegal deals in Baku, Azerbaijan (a former Soviet republic). Ivanka oversaw the deal, which was linked to corrupt oligarchs and terror financiers.   Read More About This 51.    Russia broke a 30 year-old nuclear treaty with the US, deploying a missile with nuclear capability which threatens Europe. US Generals briefed Congress, but the Trump regime did nothing about it.   Read More About This 52.    Muhammad Ali Jr. was again detained at an airport in DC, this time, ironically, after meeting with lawmakers to discuss his being detained last month.   Read More About This 53.    In a filing this week, Flynn admitted that he had worked as a foreign agent during the campaign, lobbying Trump on behalf of the Turkish government, and earning $530,000 for his work.   Read More About This 54.    Examples emerged of how Flynn's lobbying role may have interfered with US policy, such as during the transition when Flynn held approval of a Kurdish plan to seize Raqqa. The Obama White House had worked for months on this plan.   Read More About This;  Click here, also 55.    Flynn also had written an op-ed, published on election day, calling Turkey "our strongest ally" against ISIS, and recommending we extradite "radical cleric" Gulen.   Read More About This 56.    Information in Flynn's filing also revealed a possible bribe attempt to get an email sent by Hillary regarding Benghazi re-marked as classified.   Read More About This 57.    Spicer said Friday that Trump did not know that Flynn was working a secret foreign agent, as evidence mounted to suggest otherwise.   Read More About This 58.    In a morning interview with MSNBC, a former Trump transition team member said Trump and the transition team knew about Flynn.   Read More About This 59.    Pence said he didn't know about Flynn. It was uncovered that Rep. Cummings had sent Pence a letter on this topic in November. In an awkward interview with Bret Baier Friday, Pence offered up twice that this was the first he had heard of it  -- not responding to a question asked.   Read More About This;  Click here, also 60.    A story that had been dismissed four months ago about computer server connection this past summer between a Russian bank and the Trump Organization, re-emerged, as sources reported the FBI is investigating.   Read More About This 61.    Trump's former campaign manager Manafort my face charges Ukraine for his involvement with mass police shootings of protesters in Kiev in 2014, allegedly tied to Russia.   Read More About This 62.    At a White House press briefing Friday, some members of the media literally laughed at Spicer for his explanation of why Trump accepted and took unwarranted credit for this month's jobs report, while in the past saying the jobs was phony.   Read More About This;  Click here, also 63.    As Week 17 drew to an end, and Trump marked his first 50 days in office, the media was widely critical of the frequent lies and assertions without evidence made by Trump. A concern emerged about Trump's credibility should a crisis emerge.   Read More About This 64.    On Friday morning, Spicer broke a 1985 federal rule which forbids government officials from publicly commenting about the jobs report within one hour of the release, when he commented via a tweet.   Read More About This Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-17-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-ae9bf7c02ace Top of Page

   

Week #16:  March 5, 2017

This week's theme was undoubtedly the continued taint of the Trump regime for their ties to Russia. For the first time since Election Day, Trump seems unable to drive the media storylines. ____________________________________________________________

1.

Trump announced he would not attend the White House Correspondent's Association dinner, amid growing tension with the media.   Read More About This

2.

Further to the stories on Priebus in Week 15 reaching out to the FBI, reports cited that Spicer made calls to the CIA, and Republican leaders Nunes and Burr, asking they discredit the NYT story about Russian ties.   Read More About This

3.

Before the investigation even begins, Nunes, the House Intelligence Committee chair, said he hasn't found evidence of the Trump team's ties to Russia.   Read More About This

4.

CREW filed under the FOIA to see communications between Priebus and the FBI.   Read More About This

5.

Trump accused Obama of being behind the town hall protests: "I think [Obama] is behind it. I also think it's politics."   Read More About This

6.

Early in the week, Trump pronounced, "I haven't called Russia in 10 years," a statement then thoroughly discredited by video clips of his numerous statements otherwise.   Read More About This

7.

In a NBC interview, former President George W. Bush said "we need answers" on Trump ties to Russia.   Read More About This

8.

Another Trump cabinet pick, Wilbur Ross, has deep ties to Russia, including investing more than $1 billion in the Bank of Cyprus, and becoming a vice chairman of the bank. Putin appointed the other vice chairman.   Read More About This

9.

Rachel Maddow reported the Bank of Cyprus also has ties to a Russian oligarch who helped Trump make a $60 million profit flipping a home in Florida he owned for just two years.   Read More About This

10.

As Trump continued his attacks on Sweden, O'Reilly booked a supposed Swedish 'national security advisor' for his Fox News show. After Swedish officials indicated this expert was not known, O'Reilly was forced to issue a watered-down apology. Since, Trump has stopped attacking Sweden.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

11.

A massive wave of anti-Semitism continued, including two more cemeteries desecrated, and 31 threats against JCC's in one day alone. The ADL has said anti-Semitism in the US is the worst since the 1930s.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

12.

Seeming to follow David Duke's lead, Trump said it could be Jews behind the rash of anti-Semitic attacks.   Read More About This

13.

Another mosque was burned down -- the fourth in seven weeks.   Read More About This

14.

WAPO reported the FBI had once planned to pay the British spy behind the dossier, lending credibility to the contents.   Read More About This

15.

The Senate Intelligence Committee may call the British spy who gathered the information for the infamous dossier, to testify. If they can find him (he's in hiding).   Read More About This

16.

The father of the SEAL killed in the failed Yemen raid told the Miami Herald he wants answers.   Read More About This

17.

Trump sought to blame the generals for the SEAL's death.   Read More About This

18.

Trump also tried to blame Obama, saying he finished what Obama had started. This was refuted by a former aid, who said Obama had never approved the raid.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

19.

NBC reported that despite Trump claims to the contrary, senior US officials said there was no significant intel yielded from the Yemen raid.   Read More About This

20.

Feinstein and other Dem senators demanded more information from the State Dept on China's sudden decision to grant a trademark to the Trump organization. As noted in Week 14's list, this occurred shortly after Trump declared his support of "One China" policy.   Read More About This

21.

Trump White House let Conway off the hook on an ethics investigation, saying she acted "inadvertently" in promoting Ivanka's brand -- despite recommendations by the OCE for discipline.   Read More About This

22.

Amid protests and ethics concerns, Donald Jr. and Eric Trump cut the ribbon on a new hotel in Vancouver, built and financed by one of Malaysia's richest families.   Read More About This

23.

A businesswoman who touts access to China, purchased a $16 million penthouse at Trump Park Avenue. Trump retains an economic interest in the property.   Read More About This

24.

Although an order to stay Trump's Muslim Ban is in place, problems continued including Muhammad Ali Jr. being detained in a Florida airport, and French historian and expert on the Holocaust, Henry Russo, who was threatened with deportation while traveling to a discussion at Texas A&M.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

25.

Stories continue to describe the State Department's diminishing role. State Dept staff are being excluded from meeting with foreign leaders, leadership posts are going unfilled, and many employees are quitting. Trump also had threatened to slash the budget by one-third.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

26.

The State Department has not held a single daily briefing under Tillerson. Daily briefings had been the norm since the 1950s. Limited daily briefings are set to begin next week.

27.

The State Department tweeted, then deleted, a congratulatory message to an Iranian director for winning an Oscar.   Read More About This

28.

Trump escalated his war on the media, telling Breitbart the NYT's "intent is so evil and bad," and that "they write lies."   Read More About This

29.

Trump delivered a de facto SOTU speech, read from a teleprompter. Although his manner was mild, the content continued to be nationalistic and negative. The Center for American Progress said that of Trump 61 statements, 51 were false.   Read More About This

30.

Also refuting Trump's SOTU, The Brennan Center for Justice noted, "Nationally, crime remains at the bottom of a 25-year downtrend, half of what it was at its peak in 1991. Last year, rates of overall crime fell for the 14th year in a row."   Read More About This;  Click here, also, as well as Here

31.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg did not attend Trump's SOTU, nor did Maxine Waters.   Read More About This

32.

The Democratic women of the House wore the white of the Suffragists at Trump's SOTU to show support of women's rights.

33.

Trump officials fed news outlets misinformation on a shift in Trump's immigration plans -- hinting the time might be right for an immigration bill -- ahead of the SOTU. CNN reported Trump misled reporters to get positive coverage.   Read More About This

34.

NYT reported that the Obama administration had rushed to preserve information on the Trump team's ties to Russia, spreading it to government agencies.   Read More About This

35.

Also reported by the NYT: American allies, including the British and the Dutch, provided the Obama administration with information on meetings between Russian officials and the Trump regime in European cities.   Read More About This

36.

A bombshell story by WAPO reported that Sessions met with Russian ambassador twice, but did not disclose those meetings when asked during this Senate confirmation hearing.   Read More About This

37.

Sessions first spoke with Kislyak in Cleveland on July 18 -- the same day the Trump campaign gutted the GOP's platform of its anti-Russia stance on Ukraine. On July 23, WikiLeaks released stolen emails from the DNC.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

38.

WSJ reported that Sessions used campaign funds to pay for his trip to the RNC Convention, where he met the Russian ambassador.   Read More About This

39.

At a next day press conference, Sessions recused himself from Trump investigations, but during the campaign only.   Read More About This

40.

As the controversy continued, Sessions said he would submit an amended testimony to address Democratic senators' questions.   Read More About This

41.

POLITICO reported that Trump adviser Carter Page also met with Kislyakat the RNC Convention. While in office, Harry Reid had asked Comey to investigate Carter, saying he was also meeting with "high ranking sanctioned individuals" in Moscow.   Read More About This

42.

Carter told MSNBC he had met with Kislyak, then seemed to backtrack on CNN to say he never spoke with him for more than 10 seconds.   Read More About This

43.

Kushner and Flynn also met with Kislyak at the Trump Tower in December. Of note, given the venue and people involved, this points to Trump having direct knowledge of the meeting.   Read More About This

44.

CNN reported that US Intelligence considers Kislyak to be one of Russia's top spies and spy-recruiters in Washington.   Read More About This

45.

Kislyak did not attend the DNC Convention.   Read More About This

46.

Trump team forced Nikki Haley to fire career staffers who she had asked for advice on how to talk tough with Russia.   Read More About This

47.

A front page story in USA Today reported that emails released under a FOIA request to The Indianapolis Star, show Pence used personal email for state business while governor, including for sensitive matters and homeland security issues, and that his personal AOL account was hacked.   Read More About This

48.

The next day, Pence turned over 13 boxes of state-related emails to the Indiana statehouse -- a step required by law.   Read More About This

49.

Trump's transition team cancelled planned training on ethics for his staff, appointees and Cabinet members.   Read More About This

50.

Rachel Maddow reported on a leaked DHS assessment document which indicates most US-based extremists radicalized years after entry into the US. These findings negate the main argument made by the Trump regime for their Muslim Ban, and may explain why they have yet to release the new version frequently promised to be coming soon.   Read More About This

51.

Inhumane round-ups by ICE continued, including a father of four US-born children who has lived here for 20 years, while dropping his kids off at school.   Read More About This

52.

A 22 year-old immigrant was detained by ICE moments after a press conference. She was 7 when her family moved to the US from Argentina, placing her under DACA immigration policy.   Read More About This

53.

Spicer was reported to be checking his staff phones for leaks.   Read More About This

54.

Reuters reported on stepped up efforts by the Trump regime to plug leaks, including Mnuchin using his first senior staff meeting to inform his aides that he would not tolerate leaks.   Read More About This

55.

Top talent continues to leave the already thinly staffed executive branch over poor morale and fear of Trump.   Read More About This

56.

FP reported that the Trump White House is considering using high-end security software for White House networks in an effort to stop leaks.   Read More About This

57.

Schwarzenegger quit The Celebrity Apprentice, citing too much "baggage" -- a clear shot at Trump. Trump continues his role as Executive Producer of the show (which we've normalized!).   Read More About This

58.

Trump fired back via Twitter this next day claiming Schwarzenegger was fired because of low ratings. Schwarzenegger told him to hire a fact checker.   Read More About This

59.

As stories continued all week about Trump and his team's ties to Russia, offering no proof, Trump accused Obama of wiretapping phones in Trump Tower, tweeting, "This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!"   Read More About This

60.

As the week closed out, Trump yet again headed to Mar-A-Lago for the weekend, after leaving the White House at 3 p.m. on Friday. Trump has yet to visit Camp David.

Some Things We’ve Already Normalized:

•

Trump's sons are continuing to conduct business from which Trump has a direct economic benefit.

•

Our executive branch is vastly understaffed, and Trump and his regime seem to make little effort at hiring (consolidation of power).

•

Our media (some) continue to push the notion of a Trump "reset," and seek to normalize Trump and his regime.

•

Comey continues to NOT cooperate with Congress in hearings. We also do not know the status of the DOJ inquiry into Comey and the FBI, and whether this has been allowed to continue under Sessions

Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-16-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-9e4ada496a4d

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