Week #24:  April 30, 2017

Today (April 29, 2017) marks day 100 of the Trump regime. Despite the Republicans having control of the House and Senate, Trump has yet to tally a single legislative accomplishment. He was obsessive this week in pushing for Trumpcare 3 ahead of the 100-day mark; but the Resistance, which continues to grow in number and fervor, headed him off. And all the while, the drumbeat of Russia grows louder. This week, Speaker Ryan acknowledged Russian interference. Trump's involvement has evolved from a "Trump-Russia probe" to a "Trump-Russia scandal," and this week, to a "Trump-Russia cover-up." As this unfolds, concern grows that Trump will seek to distract attention by starting a war. The one constant throughout the weeks is Trump's attempts to enrich himself and his regime through a growing list of conflicts of interest and corruption. ____________________________________________________________

1.

Speaker Ryan acknowledged that Russia interfered with our election, and said US probes could help our allies prevent similar interference.   Read More About This

2.

As Le Pen advanced to the French presidential election runoff, Putin is using many of the tools successfully employed in the US to target France.   Read More About This

3.

WikiLeaks released more top-secret CIA documents. Our media has by and large stopped covering the WikiLeaks document dumps.   Read More About This

4.

A group of psychiatrists at a conference held at Yale Medical School cited a "Duty to Warn" about Trump being dangerously ill.   Read More About This

5.

Of the ten items listed on Trump's contract with the American people for the first 100 days of his administration, he accomplished none of them.   Read More About This

6.

The State Department and two US embassies promoted Mar-A-Lago on their website with a 400-word blog post. After public outrage, the post was removed.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

7.

NYT reported the State Department is likely to remain largely unstaffed into 2018. Trump has yet to fill 200 leadership jobs which require Senate confirmation. Tillerson is taking no action either.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

8.

Similarly, as the Trump regime launched its tax plan, the Treasury Department does not have a single confirmed appointee in positions tasked with reforming the tax code.   Read More About This

9.

Trump's tax reform plan was launched with Mnuchin handing out a one-pager with broad details and no numbers.   Read More About This

10.

Democrats, including former Obama ethics chief Norm Eisen noted Trump's tax reform could save him hundreds of millions of dollars. Without tax returns, it's impossible to know his total benefit.   Read More About This

11.

Beyond State, the slow pace of nominations in the first 100 days has left cabinet agencies in limbo. Only 26 of the 556 senior positions which require Senate confirmation have been filled.   Read More About This

12.

Haley was the only member of the Trump regime to condemn the abuse and killings of gay men in the Russian republic of Chechnya. Days later, the State Department said they want to clear her remarks in advance.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

13.

UN diplomats were invited to the WH, but Tillerson was not included. Haley was there, and Trump publicly threatened to fire her, "Does everybody like Nikki? Good, otherwise she could easily be replaced."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

14.

In his first 100 days, Trump has an unprecedented number (15) of appointees who got fired, withdrew or quit.   Read More About This

15.

Carl Bernstein said there is a "serious belief" in the FBI and Congress that there is an active cover-up underway by the Trump regime of their involvement with Russia.   Read More About This

16.

On Monday, Yahoo reported that the Senate Intelligence Committee's Russia probe had stalled due to lack of staffing and Sen. Burr's unwillingness to sign off on witness requests.   Read More About This

17.

Democrats in the Senate Intelligence Committee hired April Doss, the former head of intelligence law at the NSA. Burr refused to bring on additional staffing, saying staffing levels were already sufficient.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

18.

Trump picked ally Dana Boente to take over the Justice Departmentunit's probe of Trump-Russia. Boente was last named by Trump as an interim acting-AG on the Monday Night Massacre (firing of Yates).   Read More About This

19.

On Tuesday, POLITICO reported that Flynn's lobbying work for Turkey came to him via Dmitri Zairian, a Russian with ties to the Putin regime.   Read More About This

20.

The White House denied a request by House Oversight Committee leaders Chaffetz and Cummings to release documents related to Flynn.   Read More About This

21.

Shortly thereafter, Chaffetz and Cummings addressed the press, saying Flynn may have broken the law by not disclosing payments from Russia.   Read More About This

22.

The next day, Chaffetz posted an explanation on Facebook of why he was leaving office, citing a foot injury. His explanation was met with much skepticism.

23.

Friday, Cummings said the White House is "covering up" for Flynn. Sen. Blumenthal said there is "powerful, mounting, incontrovertible evidence" of a violation of criminal law.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

24.

The Pentagon's internal watch dog group opened an investigation into whether Flynn took payments from foreign governments after leaving the military.   Read More About This

25.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released documents showing the Pentagon warned Flynn not to take foreign paymentswithout advance approval from the military. Flynn did not seek approval.   Read More About This

26.

Spicer blamed Obama for Flynn having security clearance, neglecting the fact that Obama fired Flynn, and Trump appointed him to NSA.   Read More About This

27.

NBC reported the Trump team did do a background check on Flynn as part of him becoming NSA. Despite their public denials, senior transition team members like Pence and Sessions would have seen the information.   Read More About This

28.

Michael Cohen said he may sue Buzzfeed for publishing the Steele dossier, which includes allegations that Cohen traveled to Prague in August to meet with Russians.   Read More About This

29.

The Guardian reported that Steele had also alerted the UK government with two memos about collusion between Trump and Russia. His contact in the US appears to have been with McCain, not Comey.   Read More About This

30.

Steele's memo also reported that four members of the Trump regimetravelled to Prague for secret discussion with the Kremlin in August/September 2016 on how to pay hackers for penetrating the Democratic party computer systems.   Read More About This

31.

Peter Severa, a Russian hacker whose wife said he was "linked to Trump's win" in Week 22, was indicted in Bridgeport, CT on eight counts related to the Kelihos botnet malware.   Read More About This

32.

Rep. Ciciline, a ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, requested the Inspector General open an investigation into the firings of Yates and Bharara. Yates will testify on May 8th in a Senate hearing.   Read More About This

33.

Trump made 16 false claims in a bizarre interview with AP. He also made at least 15 comments which AP classified as "unintelligible."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

34.

Also in the AP interview, Trump bragged about getting highest ratingssince 9/11 coverage.   Read More About This

35.

Trump said he planned to keep on his controversial press secretary, Spicer, because "the guy gets great ratings."   Read More About This

36.

After a second EO was blocked, Trump said he would "absolutely" consider proposals to break-up the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. This threat was compared to the type of action of a dictator might take.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

37.

The Trump regime set up a VOICE (Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement) hotline for callers to report on immigrants. The hotline was flooded with calls with reports of space aliens.   Read More About This

38.

A federal judge in San Francisco temporarily blocked the Trump regime efforts to withhold money from sanctuary cities.   Read More About This

39.

WAPO reported on ICE data which shows half of the immigrants arrested had no criminal convictions or had committed traffic offenses.   Read More About This

40.

Supreme Court Justice Roberts spoke out against Trump's immigration plan, describing the regime's interpretation as "prosecutorial abuse" for making it easy to strip citizenship for even lying about minor infractions.   Read More About This

41.

Trump's Muslim Ban suffered another setback as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied his request for an 11-member court review.   Read More About This

42.

A report by the ADL revealed that anti-Semitic incidents in the US rose by 86% in the first three months of 2017, over the same period last year.   Read More About This

43.

Trump proposed budget would strip all funding from a State Department bureau that promotes the rights of women around the world.   Read More About This

44.

A Trump supporter stormed a cafeteria at a Kentucky university and asked about political affiliation, before stabbing two women.   Read More About This

45.

Trump's USDA rolled back Michelle Obama's school nutrition standards.   Read More About This

46.

Mnuchin said Trump will not release his tax returns, adding Trump "has given more financial disclosure than anybody else."   Read More About This

47.

NYT reported that Kushner recently financed real-estate transactions in NYC through the Steinmetz family, who are under investigation for bribing a government official in Guinea to secure mining rights.   Read More About This

48.

The investigator who found Florida AG Bondi did nothing wrong by accepting $25k of campaign cash and then dropping the investigation of Trump U, ignored key evidence already unearthed.   Read More About This

49.

POLITICO reported that Lewandowki's DC firm is offering foreign clients in-person meetings with Trump, Pence and other senior regime members.   Read More About This

50.

HuffPost's Christina Wilkie compiled a public spreadsheet to identify $107mm of donations to Trump inauguration. Discrepancies have been found, and the regime has yet to explain where unspent monies went.   Read More About This

51.

Ivanka was booed for defending her father at a conference for female business leaders in Berlin.   Read More About This

52.

WAPO reported that workers endured long hours and low pay working at factories used by Ivanka's company in China.   Read More About This

53.

Facebook revealed fake accounts were used on its platform to sway the US election. Facebook also indicated its findings do "not contradict" the January 6 report issued by the US Director of National Intelligence.   Read More About This

54.

Commerce Secretary Ross said the Trump regime would impose a 20% tariff on Canadian softwood lumber.   Read More About This

55.

On Wednesday morning, Trump said he was considering withdrawing from NAFTA. By the evening, amidst confusion and without a reasonable explanation, he changed course and said the US would remain.   Read More About This

56.

Trump ceremoniously summoned the entire US Senate onto a bus to the White House for a closed-door meeting on N Korea. To the Senators' frustration, nothing was offered beyond public information. Stagecraft.   Read More About This

57.

Trump gave another disturbing 100-day interview to Reuters, for which the first headline to break was "there is a chance of a 'major, major conflict with North Korea."'   Read More About This;  Click here, also

58.

Trump also bemoaned to Reuters about missing his past life, and added, "This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier."   Read More About This

59.

Trump brought a printed map handout to his Reuters interview to showcase his electoral win.   Read More About This

60.

Trump also asked WAPO in his 100-day interview to put his electoral college handout on their front page.   Read More About This

61.

The US economy grew at just 0.7% in the first quarter, the weakest showing in three years. Expectedly, Trump did not comment or tweet.   Read More About This

62.

The Resistance claimed another victory as Trumpcare 3 failed to muster support in the House, despite the GOP's 47 seat advantage.

63.

Fallout from the O'Reilly ouster continued, as CNN reported FoxNews is now under federal investigation by USPIS and the Justice Department for settlement payments and the overall environment at the network.   Read More About This

64.

A new CNN/OCR poll found that 2/3 of Americans do not believe Trump is honest and trustworthy.   Read More About This

65.

Koi, the restaurant in Trump Soho, became the latest Trump business to suffer a decline in business and close. Unlike Trump Hotel DC, Koi didn't have the benefit of foreign diplomats patronizing it to win favor.   Read More About This

66.

The Trump regime announced Friday that the EPA website would be undergoing changes, and then removed climate science from public view.   Read More About This

67.

The White House Correspondents' Dinner will go on without Trump tonight. He will instead hold a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.   Read More About This

Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-24-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-2ecfe069542f

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Week #23:  April 23, 2017

As the 100-day mark approaches, Trump has no legislative accomplishments and his foreign policy can best be described as an embarrassing mess. Instead, Trump seems focused on enriching himself, his regime, and his business contacts. The pace and boldness of corruption whiff of a man who is aware his days in this gig are numbered. ____________________________________________________________

1.

Seven weeks have passed since Trump's tweet accusing Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower. He has yet to offer any evidence or apologize.

2.

American Oversight, a group of liberal lawyers, is suing the DOJ and FBI seeking proof for Trump's wiretapping claim.   Read More About This

3.

Trump has yet to offer any evidence or apologize for his accusations that Susan Rice committed a crime by spying on his campaign.

4.

The New Yorker reported not only did bi-partisan members of the House find nothing in the Rice intercepts, but also the rationale came clear: per an intelligence source, the White House said, "We are going to mobilize to find something to justify the President's tweet that he was being surveilled.'   Read More About This

5.

Trump hosted a disastrous Easter Egg Roll, including telling the children, "We will be stronger and bigger and better as a nation than ever before," and forgetting to lift his hand to his heart during the National Anthem.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

6.

NYT reported on violations and a raft of potential conflicts-of-interest as Trump appoints former lobbyists, lawyers and consultants to craft policies in industries where they formerly worked.   Read More About This

7.

OGE director Shaub noted that Trump rolled back an Obama requirement that appointees not accept jobs in agencies they recently lobbied, and that Trump has granted waivers allowing appointees to take up matters which benefit their former clients.   Read More About This

8.

WAPO reported 168 corporate interests have made requests to Trump for regulatory relief, all likely to be granted, "especially those designed to advance environmental protection and safeguard worker rights."   Read More About This

9.

On Tax Day, breaking precedent with every modern-day president, Trump did not release his tax returns, nor explain why.

10.

WSJ reported that in the first quarter, Trump's campaign funds paid $500k to Trump's companies including hotels, golf clubs and restaurants.   Read More About This

11.

Trump raised $107mm for his inaugural, doubling Obama, although Trump's crowds and festivities were markedly smaller. It's unclear where unspent money has gone, while numerous "pay-to-play" stories emerge.   Read More About This

12.

For example, Rachel Maddow reported on a $666,ooo gift from a businessman named R. W. Habboush, which led to a meetings between his son and both an NSC official and Bannon to discuss how to open up business with Venezuela, which is heavily sanctioned by the US.   Read More About This

13.

Trump dropped his campaign promise to let Medicare negotiate bulk discounts on prescription drugs after meeting with pharma lobbyists.   Read More About This

14.

Ivanka was granted China trademarks during dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-A-Lago. As reported in Week 22, Trump also changed his position saying China does not manipulate its currency.   Read More About This

15.

FT reported Manafort stepped in to the China action, advising Chinese billionaire Jiehe on how to access to Trump's $1tn infrastructure plan.   Read More About This

16.

CREW filed an amended complaint to its emoluments challenge against Trump in federal court, adding new plaintiffs who claim they've been "directly harmed by a loss of business and wages."   Read More About This

17.

Dow Chemical donated $1mm to Trump's inauguration, then asked the regime to ignore a study on its pesticide which was "originally derived from a nerve gas developed by Nazi Germany,"   Read More About This

18.

Trump billionaire outside adviser, Steve Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone which has significant holdings in China, stands to gain from US-China policies he helped to shape.   Read More About This

19.

USA Today reporters pieced together that Trump companies own 400+ luxury condos and homes worth $250mm up for sale or rent presenting people, corporations or foreign interests an opportunity gain influence through purchases.   Read More About This

20.

Further, since Trump launched his presidential bid, Trump companies have sold at least 58 units for $90mm -- almost half to LLCs. Since Election Day, 14 units have been sold for $23mm -- half to LLCs.   Read More About This

21.

The House Oversight Committee sent a letter asking Trump for details on how and when the Trump will donate profits made from foreign government officials. Reps Cummings and Chaffetz signed the letter.   Read More About This

22.

Two days earlier, without explanation, Chaffetz said he would not run for re-election in 2018, and that he may leave office early to return to the private sector.   Read More About This

23.

Despite denials by the Trump, Erik Prince's had close ties to the Trump regime, including riding the Acela with Conway, providing advice to Trump's inner-circle including Flynn, and entering Trump Tower through the back entrance.   Read More About This

24.

As mentioned in Week 21, Prince had a one-on-one meeting with a Putin insider in Seychelles on January 11. He is also Betsy DeVos's brother.

25.

Without explanation, the national security official leading the DOJ investigation into whether the Trump regime colluded with Russia, abruptly resigned.   Read More About This

26.

CNN reported that the FBI used information in the Steele dossier, which they independently confirmed, for their FISA warrant against Page.   Read More About This

27.

CNN reported Russia tried to use Trump advisers, including Page, to infiltrate the campaign. Page is one of several advisers US and European intel found to be in contact with Russian officials during the campaign.   Read More About This

28.

The DOJ said is it preparing charges against WikiLeaks founder Assange, with Sessions saying Assange's arrest is a priority. Strangely, the Trump regime has turned on Assange, after lauding him during the campaign.   Read More About This

29.

Sessions left open the possibility of prosecuting US news organizationsfor publishing leaked information, and stories on the Trump-Russia scandal continue to pour out.   Read More About This

30.

As part of a custody battle, InfoWars' Alex Jones said he is a "performance artist." As noted in Week 19, InfoWars and Breitbart are under FBI investigation for their roles in Russian hacking of our election.   Read More About This

31.

NBC compiled a seating chart of attendees at Putin's December 2015 RT celebration dinner. Other than Flynn seated next to Putin, Stein was also at Putin's table and Assange appeared via satellite. NBC also reported on efforts by RT to promote Stein (and hurt Hillary) in the primary.   Read More About This

32.

The House Intel Committee announced it will reopen its Trump-Russia probe ex Nunes. Yates, Comey, Rogers, Brennan and Clapper have all been invited to testify.   Read More About This

33.

Nikolai Andrushchenko, a Russian journalist and Putin critic, was beaten to death by strangers. He is the 12th "mysterious" Russian death in recent months.   Read More About This

34.

Like their interference in the US, Russian sources are flooding French social media with fake news ahead of France's election.   Read More About This

35.

Reuters reported on a Putin-linked think tank that very purposefully and carefully orchestrated an attack on the US election. Fake news, pro-Kremlin bloggers and cyber-attacks were all part of the plan.   Read More About This

36.

Exxon sought a US waiver to resume drilling in their Russian jv with Rosneft  -- a deal forged by Tillerson, who is ring fenced from Exxon for only one year. Amid outcry, permission was denied by the Treasury Dept.   Read More About This

37.

The UK Election Commission has launched an investigation of Farage's Leave.EU for its funding. The involvement of Cambridge Analytica -- which also allegedly has ties to Bannon and the Mercers and the Russian hacking of the US election -- was not declared to the election watchdog.   Read More About This

38.

Sessions said he was "amazed" that a US judge "on an Island in the Pacific" (aka Hawaii) could block Trump's Muslim Ban.   Read More About This

39.

Sessions took a fact-free swipe at another ethnically diverse city, saying New York City was soft on crime and plagued by gangs murders.   Read More About This

40.

ICE immigrant arrests were up 33% in the first two months of the Trumpregime, including a doubling of noncriminal arrests.   Read More About This

41.

The first protected DREAMer, Juan Manuel Montes, who is 23 and have lived here since age 9, was deported by Trump.   Read More About This

42.

Trump ally Rep. Steve King celebrated the deportation by tweeting a photo of a frosty beer mug with the words, "First non-valedictorian DREAMer deported. Border Patrol, this one's for you."   Read More About This

43.

Ironically, a federal lawsuit brought on behalf of Montes has been assigned to Judge Curiel, the jurist infamously attacked by Trump for his Mexican heritage during the Trump University case.   Read More About This

44.

Trump signed an executive order to review high-skilled H-1B immigration visas.   Read More About This

45.

Trump's order does not, however, impact low-skilled H2A or H2B visas. According to CNN, Trump businesses have received 1,024 H-2B visas since 2000, and Trump Vineyards has received 64 H-2A permits since 2006   Read More About This

46.

In a troubling provocation, Russian aircraft were spotted flying off the coast of Alaska four times in four day this week.   Read More About This

47.

Amidst silence from Trump and our State Department, pogroms of gay men in Russia's Chechnya region escalated. Russia also banned Jehovah's Witnesses, claiming "extremist activities."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

48.

Trump shocked US and international officials when he called Turkey's Erdogan to congratulate him on passage of a referendum which allows Erdogan to further consolidate power as an autocrat. International monitors have said the vote was not "genuinely democratic."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

49.

Trump held a secret meeting at Mar-A-Lago with former presidents of Colombia, threatening to undermine the country's peace agreement with rebel leaders. The meeting was arranged by Rubio, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and was not on Trump's schedule.   Read More About This

50.

Meanwhile, at a speech in WI, Trump called some of Canada's trade practices a "disgrace" and claimed NAFTA is "a disaster for our country."   Read More About This

51.

In another embarrassment of US foreign policy, Trump promised "we are sending an armada"- the USS Carl Vinson carrier group was being deployed to waters off the Korean Peninsula. This was not true.   Read More About This

52.

Mattis and McMaster also made similar misstatement about the USS Carl Vinson's location. While traveling in the region, Pence assured our allies the misstatements were "not made intentionally."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

53.

On Wednesday, Tillerson said that Iran is in compliance with the nuclear deal. On Thursday, Trump said Iran was not in complaint.   Read More About This

54.

Trump offended our S. Korea allies with a claim that the country "actually used to be part of China." Trump apparently gleaned this "knowledge" from his conversation with Xi Jinping.   Read More About This

55.

For his upcoming visit to London, Trump demanded a carriage ride with Queen Elizabeth II down a strip that leads to Buckingham Palace.   Read More About This

56.

Three month in, Trump has only filled 4% of key roles in the executive branch. And with all the international hot spots and conflicts, the State Department remains largely vacant, including Deputy Secretary.   Read More About This

57.

A State Department official who helped shape the Iran nuclear deal was summarily reassigned for criticizing Conservative Review and Breitbart.   Read More About This

58.

The Surgeon General was also quietly dismissed on Friday evening, without explanation or a full-time replacement.   Read More About This

59.

DeVos's pick to head the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights said she faced discrimination for being white.   Read More About This

60.

In his first three months of office, Trump has made 417 false or misleading claims.   Read More About This

61.

Trump first quarter job approval stood at 41%, the lowest of any modern day president by 14 points in Gallup polling.   Read More About This

62.

The Resistance claimed a major victory, bringing down FoxNews icon Bill O'Reilly. Some speculated that the rise of Trump, and his backing of O'Reilly after recent allegations, laid the groundwork for O'Reilly's fall.   Read More About This

63.

Hundreds of thousands are expected to march on Earth Day in the global March for Science in DC and at 609 satellite locations.   Read More About This

Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-23-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-3cd5704e674a

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Week #22:  April 16, 2017

Week 22 has, by far, the most items (to date) related to Trump-Russia ties.  This week, the word "probe" progressed to "scandal," signaling an acceptance that some sort of collusion occurred. Trump continues his attempts to divert attention from this story by bombing and provocation without a strategy or plan. Two days of bombing have earned him his first two days of positive press. Meanwhile, as we approach the 100-day mark, Trump has accomplished little and his regime is in disarray. ____________________________________________________________

1.

Six weeks have passed since Trump's tweet accusing Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower. He has yet to offer any evidence or apologize.

2.

Trump continues to claim, without evidence, that Susan Rice committed a crime by spying on the Trump campaign.   Read More About This

3.

The Trump regime has articulated five different policies for Syria in the last two weeks. As the week closed, he still hadn't settled on one.   Read More About This

4.

Reuters reported that the Assad regime was warned by Russia (after Russia was warned by Trump) of the impending US strike, and was able to mostly evacuate the target.   Read More About This

5.

Tillerson attended a G7 meeting, where he was a dissenting voice on imposing more sanctions on Russia. Tillerson said of Russia's involvement in Ukraine, "Why should U.S. taxpayers be interested in Ukraine?"   Read More About This;  Click here, also

6.

Tillerson ditched his press pool while meeting with Putin. Tillerson claimed he and Putin found very little to agree on.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

7.

As news about the Trump-Russia collusion in our election seeped out this week, Trump and Putin sought to display a deteriorating US-Russia relationship, with Trump saying relations were "at an all-time low."   Read More About This

8.

The next day, Trump tweeted an odd, unprompted reassurance, "Things will work out fine between the U.S.A. and Russia. At the right time everyone will come to their senses & there will be lasting peace!"   Read More About This

9.

Buzzfeed reported Pyotr Levashov (Peter Severa), a Russian hacker, was detained in Spain for ties to a computer virus linked to the US election. His wife said he was arrested for being "linked to Trump's win."   Read More About This

10.

WAPO reported that the FBI had obtained a FISA warrant to monitor Carter Page in connection with an investigation of the Trump campaign's connection to the Russia's effort to swing the election in Trump's favor.   Read More About This

11.

WAPO also reported that the first 90-day FISA warrant was issued in July 2016, and has since been renewed by the FISA court more than once.   Read More About This

12.

In an ABC interview, Page said he couldn't guarantee he did not discuss easing of sanctions with Russian contacts at a meeting in July in the Russian capital, "We'll see what comes out in this FISA transcript."   Read More About This

13.

According to the Steele dossier, also discussed at that July meeting was the sale of a 19.5% stake in Rosneft, Russia's state oil company -- allegedly in exchange for lifting of sanctions.   Read More About This

14.

CNN reported that classified documents reviewed by Democrats and Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee contradict Nunes's and Trump's claims that Susan Rice did anything unusual or illegal.   Read More About This

15.

Financial records obtained by AP confirmed at least 2 payments totaling $1.2mm paid by a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine on the so-called Black Ledger to Manafort's consulting firm in the US.   Read More About This

16.

After consulting with federal authorities, Manafort said he would register as a foreign agent for his past work on behalf of pro-Russia interests in the Ukraine.   Read More About This

17.

Manafort became the second in Trump's inner-circle to retrospectively register as a foreign agent, Flynn being the first for his work with Turkey.   Read More About This

18.

A DC lobbying firm which was that was directed by Manafort and Gates also retroactively registered as a foreign agent for work to promote a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party's interests in Washington.   Read More About This

19.

The day after Manafort stepped down from the Trump campaign, he set up a shell company which secured $20mm in loans, including $3.5mm from Spruce Capital, which has connections to a post-Soviet fertilizer oligarch, Alexander Rovt, who also has ties to Trump.   Read More About This

20.

Buzzfeed reported on a bizarre story involving Trump attorney Michael Cohen taking a $350k check from a Russian NHL player, which was meant to be passed along to Cohen's client, a Russian women in Florida for payment on a condo, but instead Cohen cashed the check and kept it.   Read More About This

21.

Former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove said Trump borrowed from Russiaas a lender of last resort after the 2008 financial crisis.   Read More About This

22.

The Guardian reported British spies were the first to spot the Trump team's links to Russia dating back to late 2015. GCHQ shared the suspicious activity with their counter-parts in US intelligence.   Read More About This

23.

Germany, Estonia, Poland, Netherlands, France and Australia also relayedmaterial on the Trump campaign's links to Russia to US Intelligence during 2016.   Read More About This

24.

The head of GCHQ met with CIA Chief Brennan in July 2016  -- per The Guardian, the matter was deemed so sensitive it was handled at "director level." This meeting allegedly precipitated Brennan's one-on-one meetings with the Gang of Eight, described in Week 21.   Read More About This

25.

CNN confirmed The Guardian reporting, citing sources in the US congressional and law enforcement, and US and European intelligence.   Read More About This

26.

CIA director Pompeo had harsh words for Wikileaks, including a "hostile intelligence service," and said Russian military intelligence used WikiLeaks to release hacked DNC emails.   Read More About This

27.

Pompeo also described RT, as Russia's "primary propaganda outlet" and said it actively collaborated with WikiLeaks.   Read More About This

28.

Ironically, while part of Trump's campaign, Pompeo had cheered on Wikileaks, tweeting a Restate article, "BUSTED: 19,252 Emails from DNC Leaked by Wikileaks"   Read More About This

29.

Offering no evidence, Stone told POLITICO the Obama administration got a FISA warrant on him. Stone has admitted communication with both Guccifer 2.0 and Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks.   Read More About This

30.

Maddow observed the serious press and agencies rushing in this week to take credit for having uncovered the Trump regimes collusion with Russia -- meaning the scandal has entered a new phase as accepted.   Read More About This

31.

The House Intelligence Committee sent Rep. Quigley to Cyprus as part of its Trump-Russia probe. Week 19's list noted some of the extensive ties between Cyprus and the Trump regime.   Read More About This

32.

The Department of Justice released 90 pages under the FOIA about voting machine malfunctions in PA, MI, WI, FL and NC.   Read More About This

33.

As Trump neared the 100-day judgment mark, POLITCO described the White House as a "pressure cooker" to show results, when little has been accomplished.   Read More About This

34.

As power continued to consolidate in the hands of the Trump family, Trump's White House drew comparisons to a "family business."   Read More About This

35.

Unabated personnel drama plagued the White House the entire week, as snipes continued between Bannon, Kushner and Trump.   Read More About This

36.

After Trumpcare failed (twice), Trump had promised to take on tax reform next, saying a plan was forthcoming. This week Trump's White House scrapped this effort, saying they would not produce a tax plan.   Read More About This

37.

WSJ reported that Trump's federal hiring freeze, put in place day 1 of his administration, put correctional officers at risk, could delay payments to veterans, and prevent disabled and retirees from getting social security.   Read More About This

38.

The next day, Trump lifted his Federal hiring freeze.   Read More About This

39.

During the hiring freeze, thousands of positions remain vacant including more than 350 at the EPA alone. CNBC blamed the pace on "Trump's close involvement" and "turf wars" in his inner circle and Cabinet.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

40.

Trump threatened to undermine Obamacare to get Democrats to the negotiating table. Specifically, he would hold back subsidy payments to healthcare companies providing insurance to low-income Americans.   Read More About This

41.

The Government Accountability Office said it's investigating whether the Trump transition team followed federal guidelines and ethics rulesduring the transition.   Read More About This

42.

DeVos said she would scrap Obama's plan for tougher federal oversight and new rules for student-loan servicers. Coincidentally, DeVos has significant holdings in one such servicer, Performant Financial Corp.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

43.

Trump appointed crony Don Benton, a salesman, to director of the Selective Service System, overseeing the military draft. This is the first time since 1941 a person with no military experience has been chosen.   Read More About This

44.

Allan Lichtman, the American University who predicted the winner of the last eight presidential elections, predicted Trump will be impeached.   Read More About This

45.

CREW and others sued DHS under the FOIA for failing to disclose visitor logs of the WH, Mar-A-Lago and Trump Tower.   Read More About This

46.

On Friday, the Trump regime said they will not release the White House visitor logs, breaking with a practice started under President Obama.   Read More About This

47.

The rationale for not releasing visitor logs were "security risks"' and to save taxpayers $700k over the next three years. A weekend in Mar-A-Lago costs taxpayers an estimated $3mm.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

48.

Trump is on track to spend more in his first year, than Obama spent in all eight years in office.   Read More About This

49.

Trump Hotel DC is facing new legal challenges under the emoluments clause from a watchdog group represented by constitutional lawyer Laurence Tribe, who noted a "major infusion of value" from the GSA.   Read More About This

50.

A deal for a Trump-branded hotel in Dallas with a developer Mukemmel Sarimsakci, known as "Turkish Trump," collapsed. Sarimsakci said the Trump Organization had been vetting potential investors in the deal.   Read More About This

51.

Bloomberg found that of Trump's 10 most engaged followers on Twitter, five are confirmed robots and three appear to be bots.   Read More About This

52.

A Florida court of appeals ruled against Trump, saying he owed a paint company $300k for stiffing them on work done and supplies provided at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort.   Read More About This

53.

Trump completely reversed himself on several key campaign positions this week. China is no longer a currency manipulator, NATO is no longer obsolete -- nor is Ex-Im Bank, and he likes the job Yellin is doing.   Read More About This

54.

Trump credited new-found knowledge from China's leader (N Korea) and business leaders like Boeing's CEO (Ex-Im Bank). Boeing donated $1mm to Trump's inauguration, and as mentioned in prior weeks, China has granted many goodies to Trump, including 38 new trademarks.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

55.

Trump's Treasury Department oddly placed Germany on its new special currency "monitoring list." Germany's currency is the Euro.   Read More About This

56.

In a FBN interview Trump described eating "the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake" with China's leader  -- giving a free advertisement to Mar-A-Lago catering -- then got the country he bombed wrong (said Iraq).   Read More About This

57.

Spicer made shocking statements regarding Hitler and the Holocaust at Tuesday's press briefing. He used the term "Holocaust center" rather than concentration camp, and in comparing Hitler to Assad, said the former had never used chemical weapons on his own people.   Read More About This

58.

The Anne Frank Center called on Trump to fire Spicer. The Trump regime has amassed a steady stream of anti-Semitic behavior, including omitting Jews from the White House International Holocaust Remembrance Day statement.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

59.

No one from the Trump family attended the White House Passover Sedar, unlike his President Obama and Michelle who attended every year.   Read More About This

60.

NBC reported on Gorka's ties to Vitezi Rend, a Nazi-linked group, including wearing his honorary medal from the group at Trump's Inaugural ball.   Read More About This

61.

In a speech on Tuesday, AG Sessions ordered prosecutors to crack down on illegal immigrants more aggressively, claiming gangs and cartels are turning U.S. cities into "war zones."   Read More About This

62.

ICE quietly detained 367 immigrants this week in raids across the country. ICE claims the raids are focused on "criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants and immigration fugitives" -- advocates say this is not true.   Read More About This

63.

A mother of four in Cincinnati was deported after appeals. Maribel Trujillo had no criminal record in her 15 years here, and has children aged 3–14 years-old, the youngest of which has special needs.   Read More About This

64.

On Thursday, the "mother of all bombs"- the largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat  --  in Afghanistan. Trump refused to say if he had ordered the strike, and even if he knew about it.   Read More About This

65.

Trump said he gave total authorization to "my military" -- a reference appropriate for a dictatorship, not a democracy.   Read More About This

66.

While his popularity continues to flounder, Trump got his second day of positive press for dropping the MOAB (the first was the Syrian bombing).   Read More About This

67.

Trump has yet to declare a strategy in Afghanistan or appoint an ambassador. The $16mm cost MOAB killed 36 ISIS fighters -- a cost of roughly half a million per fighter.   Read More About This

68.

Late Thursday, Trump also issued confrontational statements about N. Korea, threatening a pre-emptive strike. N. Korea's vice foreign minister says Trump is "making trouble" with "aggressive" tweets.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

69.

Trump spent Friday in Mar-A-Lago, golfing and avoiding the press. Friday marked Trump's 18th time golfing, compared to other presidents at this point: Obama 0, W Bush 0, Clinton 3.   Read More About This

70.

As Tax Day approaches April 18th, thousands are expected to march today in cities around the country to protest Trump being the only modern day president to not release his tax returns.   Read More About This

Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-22-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-fdf7960cacd6

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Week #21:  April 9, 2017

Over the past three weeks, Trump's approval plummeted as he struggled to take back the narrative amidst legislative failures and a ubiquitous Russia. He floated several attempts to deflect, and replace Russia as the lead story: the Obama wiretapp, the Nunes brouhaha, the Susan Rice unmasking -- but none seemed to work. This week he figured out a way to take back the narrative -- one commonly used by autocrats -- he started a war. ____________________________________________________________

1.

Five weeks have passed since Trump's tweet accusing Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower. He has yet to offer any evidence or apologize.

2.

Seeking to deflect from his growing unpopularity and Russia stories, Trump segued his Obama story to "a crooked scheme" involving Susan Rice spying on the Trump regime.   Read More About This

3.

Citing no evidence, Trump said Susan Rice had committed a crime. Experts debunked his claim, saying unmasking is routine for an NSA.   Read More About This

4.

The LA Times Editorial Board launched a scathing six-part series on the Trump presidency: "Our Dishonest President."   Read More About This

5.

Since taking office, Trump has made 367 false or misleading claimsaccording to the WAPO.   Read More About This

6.

Rejecting Trump's defense, a Kentucky federal judge said a lawsuit against Trump for inciting violence at a campaign event could proceed.   Read More About This

7.

Trump's popularity plunged to 34% in an April IBD/TIPP poll, including a significant loss of support among rural voters (56% to 41%) and white men (58% to 49%).   Read More About This

8.

A Quinnipiac poll found a similar drop in approval by Trump key demographic white men: 58% to 47%.   Read More About This

9.

The US jobs report for March was dismal, weakest in almost a year. Unlike February when Trump took credit for a strong report despite his short time office, this time there was no comment.   Read More About This

10.

ProPublica reported that despite his pledge to remove himself from his business interests, Trump can pull money from any of his businesses, at any time, without disclosing it.   Read More About This

11.

At a White House press briefing, Spicer defamed ProPublica, calling it a "left-wing blog." ProPublica issued a strong response and statement of facts, including the Trump trust documents which were revised on February 10.   Read More About This

12.

While under consideration for a major national security role, Stephen Feinberg said he wants to keep his stake in Cerberus, which is the 17th biggest US Army contractor in 2015.   Read More About This

13.

Breaking from Trump's pledge to "drain the swamp," POLITICO reported that Trump ex-staffers are cashing in through foreign lobbying work.   Read More About This

14.

Trump has left the White House Office of Science and Technology vacant, filling just one position with the former chief of staff for Peter Thiel. As discussed in past lists, Trump is installing "spies" into agencies, while leaving key roles without appointed candidates.   Read More About This

15.

Researchers said the Trump regime has been deleting scientific datacollected by government agencies. One scientist said, "It's a bloodbath."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

16.

In violation of the Hatch Act, Dan Scavino Jr., social media director and White House advisor, tweeted at a member of the Freedom Caucus that he was a "big liability" and should be primaried. He later changed his Twitter bio to "Personal @Twitter Handle."   Read More About This;  Click here, also

17.

Without public announcement, Trump issued an EO changing the order of succession within the DOJ.   Read More About This

18.

Twitter filed a lawsuit after the Department of Homeland Security requested they reveal the identity of an anonymous account which has been critical of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office   Read More About This

19.

On Friday, DHS dropped its request, and Twitter withdrew its lawsuit.   Read More About This

20.

The Twitter account for the US agency which controls the US nuclear force, US Strategic Command, tweeted an article by Breitbart.   Read More About This

21.

Expanding his already huge portfolio of responsibilities, Kushner traveled to Iraq with General Dunford. The trip became the stuff of parody in a piece titled, "Jared Goes To Iraq! A Picture Story."   Read More About This

22.

WAPO reported Kushner Iraq trip violated protocol in that it was confirmed before they landed.   Read More About This

23.

Kushner's increasing foreign relations portfolio led to questions of whether he has become the "defacto secretary of state."   Read More About This

24.

The city council in Cambridge, MA passed a resolution calling for Congress to begin an impeachment investigation into Trump.   Read More About This

25.

Trump invited Egyptian President el-Sisi to the WH, and did not mention human rights abuses. Families of Americans being held prisoner in Egypt also said Trump had ignored their pleas for help, after Trump on the campaign trail, excoriated Obama for not prioritizing prisoners in Iran.   Read More About This

26.

On #EqualPayDay it was noted that Trump had quietly signed an EO taking away Obama-era protection for women workers.   Read More About This

27.

Trump cut all funding to UNFPA, a United Nations agency that works on maternal and reproductive health.   Read More About This

28.

Trump defended serial sexual harasser Bill O'Reilly during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, calling him "a good person" and saying, "I don't think Bill did anything wrong."   Read More About This

29.

In the first three months of 2017, hate crimes in NYC doubled over last year. Most crimes were anti-Semitic, with an uptick in anti-black incidents as well.   Read More About This

30.

The NY State Supreme Court ruled that NYC can destroy immigrants municipal ID information, as part of the City's effort to protect undocumented immigrants from being deported by the Trump regime.   Read More About This

31.

An Indiana restaurant owner was deported overnight by ICE to Mexico, despite pending legal actions. According to NPR, none of his lawyers were notified.   Read More About This

32.

FT reported that the FBI plans to create a special unit to coordinate its investigation of Russian interference with the election.   Read More About This

33.

Before resigning as NSA, Flynn did not reveal income he received from Russian-related entities during 2015 for speaking fees.   Read More About This

34.

Yahoo reported that Trump abruptly pulled out of meeting scheduled for February with Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of the Bank of Russia and a close ally of Putin, over disclosed ties to organized crime.   Read More About This

35.

ICE whisked away Evgeny Buryakov, the Russian spy mentioned in Week 20. At trial, Buryakov's attorney fees were paid by his employer VEB, a Russian Bank whose head secretly met with Kushner in December.   Read More About This

36.

BuzzFeed reported that former Trump advisor Page met with an undercover Russian spy in 2013, and passed along information.   Read More About This

37.

WAPO reported Erik Prince, Trump insider and brother of Betsy DeVos, attended a secret meeting arranged by the UAE with a Russian close to Putin in Seychelles on January 11, opening a back-channel to Russia.   Read More About This

38.

A UAE crown prince also had a meeting with Flynn, Kushner and Bannon in December. In an unusual breach of protocol, the UAE did not notify the Obama administration in advance.   Read More About This

39.

CNN reported the FBI is investigating links between Alfa Bank and Trump Organization servers, indicating an intention to communicate. During the campaign, 80% of Trump Org server lookups were done by Alfa Bank and 19% by Spectrum Health, which is led by Betsy Devos's husband.   Read More About This

40.

NYT reported that Kushner omitted his multiple meetings with Russiansin filling out his Questionnaire for National Security Positions.   Read More About This

41.

In a video obtained by Forward, Trump's chief counter-terrorism adviser, Gorka, publicly supported a violent anti-Semitic militia group.   Read More About This

42.

On Thursday, Nunes temporarily stepped away from chairing the House Intelligence Committee's investigation of Russia, citing an ethics complaint by the Office of Congressional Ethics.   Read More About This

43.

In a letter that afternoon, the Republican chair of the House Ethics Committee announced they too are investigating Nunes for the "unauthorized disclosure of classified information."   Read More About This

44.

Confusion reigned in the Trump regime after the Assad chemical bombing. Without citing specifics, Trump said he changed his Syria policy, but no one else in the regime seemed to know details.   Read More About This

45.

Without a formal announcement, Trump removed Steve Bannon from the National Security Council. Jennifer Jacobs, a Bloomberg reporter, broke the story after reading it in a notice published in the Federal Register.   Read More About This

46.

POLITICO reported that mega-donor Rebekah Mercer convinced her close ally Bannon not to resign. Reporter Jane Mayer has uncovered that the Mercers stand to avoid $6.8bn in taxes under Trump.   Read More About This

47.

The National Security Council page on whitehouse.gov is blank, save for these words: "Check back soon for more information."   Read More About This

48.

NYT reported that as early as July, the CIA had evidence of Russia's efforts to get Trump elected, and that Trump advisers were likely working with the Russians.   Read More About This

49.

In August, CIA director Brennan met with the Gang of Eight to share his findings. Reid has pushed repeatedly to inform the American public, but McConnell questioned the findings and pushed for a softer version of a public letter, striking any reference to Russia.   Read More About This

50.

As noted in Week 4, McConnell had also been the roadblock to Obama going public in October with more explicit information on Russia's attempted interference with our election.

51.

Also as noted in Week 4, shortly after the election, Trump chose McConnell's wife as his nominee for transportation secretary.

52.

On Friday, McConnell passed the filibuster-ending "nuclear option" for Supreme Court picks. One columnist referred to him as "the man who broke America."   Read More About This

53.

Trump had also pushed McConnell towards the nuclear option. One expert in authoritarianism said of autocrats, "They will continue to rewrite major rules and disregard norms."   Read More About This

54.

Wars within the Trump regime continued this week, with open animus between Kushner and Bannon, and rumors that Bannon and Priebus could be on their way out.   Read More About This

55.

All the while, power continues to consolidate into the hands of Trump, Ivanka and Kushner. In the executive branch, only 4% of key roles are filled and 92% still have no nominee.   Read More About This

56.

In a PR stunt that fell flat, Trump donated his $78,333 paycheck to the Park Service. Ironically, Trump's budget calls for deep cuts to the Interior Dept, which includes the Park Service, of 12% or $1.5bn.   Read More About This

57.

On Thursday, amidst a continued fall in approval and a growing drumbeat of Russia, Trump used provocations by North Korea and Syria as an opportunity to threaten war against both.

58.

On Thursday night, while in Mar-A-Lago meeting with China's President Xi, Trump launched an attack on Syria .

59.

Trump did not seek approval or notify Congress ahead of time. He did however, give advance notice to Russia.   Read More About This

60.

Trump cited Assad's use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians, including children, as justification. Ironically, one of Trump's first actions in office was his Muslim Ban, which banned Syrian refugees. Also per PolitiFact, on the campaign trail, Trump promised to remove existing Syrian refugees from the US.   Read More About This

61.

Also of note, the Trump regime has been responsible for killing hundreds of innocent civilians, including children, in the failed Yemen raid, and then in Mosul where pamphlets told citizens not to leave their homes.

62.

Pentagon released a video of the US strike Thursday night, which they claimed, "Initial indications are that this strike has severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft and support infrastructure and equipment.   Read More About This

63.

Nine civilians, including four children, were killed by Trump's airstrike.   Read More About This

64.

By the next day, the Assad regime was again launching airstrikes from the airfield Trump's attack had supposedly destroyed.   Read More About This

65.

The media loved Trump's show of force, and on Friday Syria become story one, displacing Russian interference and ties to Trump.   Read More About This

66.

The Onion ran the perfect parody of the situation on Friday, "Trump Confident U.S. Military Strike On Syria Wiped Out Russian Scandal." Other pundits used the euphemism, Wag the Dog.   Read More About This

67.

To complete the stagecraft, the Trump regime released their version of the Situation Room photo. This version was taken in Mar-A-Lago, and included Spicer, two Goldman Sachs executives, Commerce Secretary Ross, and Kushner glaring over at Bannon.

Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-21-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-76e6d196aab5

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Week #20:  April 2, 2017

For the third week running, Trump has lost control of the narrative. His legislative agenda has ground to a halt -- a sign of his waning political capital; however, he continues to fundamentally change the values and fabric of our country in a myriad of alarming ways. Russia's interference in our election is now an accepted notion, and words like "collusion" and "cover up" entered the fray this week as all eyes turned to examining the Trump regime's role. ____________________________________________________________

1.

Four weeks have passed since Trump's tweet accusing Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower. He has yet to offer any evidence or apologize.

2.

The Sunday Times reported that during Merkel's visit to the WH, Trump handed her a £300bn invoice for money he falsely claimed Germany owed to NATO.   Read More About This

3.

On Sunday, Trump announced that Kushner would lead a newly formed White House Office of American Innovation, giving him broad authority over federal bureaucracy. Kushner already has a significant portfolio.   Read More About This

4.

On Monday, NYT reported that the Senate Intelligence Committee will question Kushner about two meetings he arranged with Kislyak during the transition.   Read More About This

5.

Kushner will also be questioned on a previously unreported meeting with Sergey Gorkov, the head of Russia's state-owned development bank, Vnesheconombank (VEB). Gorkov is former KGB, and was appointed by Putin to run VEB, a bank under US sanctions for three years.   Read More About This

6.

Kushner and VEB gave different public accounts of why they met.   Read More About This

7.

VEB paid the legal bill as a secret "third party" for their employee, Evgeny Buryakov, at his trial for spying in the US for Russian Intelligence.   Read More About This

8.

Kushner arrived for a ski vacation in Aspen on the same day as Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, one of Putin's closest confidants. Abramovich's wife is also friends with Ivanka.   Read More About This

9.

China's Anbang walked away from the planned purchase of 666 Fifth Avenue, which would have netted Kushner $400mm -- a sign that the Chinese government is uncertain of the Trump regime's longevity.   Read More About This

10.

Changing course, Ivanka will become a federal employee. In her new role of Assistant to the President, the highest staff title, Ivanka will have the same rank as McMaster.   Read More About This

11.

In January, Trump attorneys had said Ivanka would resign from her business positions. She is still listed as CEO of a NY based business.   Read More About This

12.

Ethics filings released on Friday showed that Ivanka and Kushner, despite their new roles, will remain as beneficiaries of real estate and investment businesses worth about $741mm.   Read More About This

13.

Ivanka will also maintain her stake in the controversial Trump Hotel DC, which netted her between $1–5mm from January 2016-March 2017, and value her stake between $5–25mm.   Read More About This

14.

Ethics filings also revealed that Bannon earned $917k in the past 12 months, more than half of which comes from Mercer related entities.   Read More About This

15.

Trump again took credit for jobs created before he took office: this time a $1.2bn investment by Ford that was planned in 2015.   Read More About This

16.

Per WAPO tracking, so far Trump has taken credit for jobs created before he took office 11 times.   Read More About This

17.

Trump's anti-immigrant policies are scaring eligible families away from safety net programs like SNAP, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and free school lunches.   Read More About This

18.

ICE arrested five Green Card applicants in Lawrence, MA when they showed up for their scheduled appointments at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office. All are scheduled to be deported.   Read More About This

19.

A federal judge in Hawaii extended the order blocking Trump's second Muslim Ban.   Read More About This

20.

Trump has been named in more than 50 lawsuits filed by individuals, arising from his Muslim Bans.   Read More About This

21.

Trump signed an EO which legalizes discrimination against LGBTQ federal employees.   Read More About This

22.

Trump excluded LGBTQ people from the US Census, removing categories for "sexual orientation" and "gender identity."   Read More About This

23.

At a White House women's event, Trump said "If I weren't president, [women's empowerment] would be a very scary statement. We can't compete!" He also asked the crowd is they knew about Susan B. Anthony.   Read More About This

24.

Trump's lawyer said the Zervos sexual harassment-related lawsuit, suing Trump for defamation, should be put on hold because it will "distract the president from his duties."   Read More About This

25.

On the back of the failed Yemen raid and the Mosul bombing that left 200 civilians dead, Trump declared Somalia a war zone, lifting Obama's civilian protection rules for airstrikes.   Read More About This

26.

WAPO reported a growing sense of panic and mistrust among civilians in Iraq and Syria amidst a record number of casualties by US-led airstrikes.   Read More About This

27.

NBC reported that 40% of US colleges reported a drop in international student applications because of Trump's policies like the Muslim Ban. Foreign students generate $32bn in revenue and 400k jobs.   Read More About This

28.

Trump approval hit a new low at Gallup: 35% approve, 59% disapprove. Ratings this week are the lowest ever for a new president.   Read More About This

29.

Trump will not throw the ceremonial first pitch in the Nationals opening day, making him the second since Taft in 1910 not to do so.   Read More About This

30.

USA Today reported Trump and his companies have been linked to at least 10 former Soviet businessmen with alleged ties to organized crime or money laundering.   Read More About This

31.

WNYC reported three all-cash real estate purchases by Manafort in New York. One purchase was for $10mm at Trump Tower in 2006  --  the same time Manafort entered a $10mm contract with a pro-Putin Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, to help strategize on influencing US elections.   Read More About This

32.

Deripaska took out quarter page advertisements in the WAPO and WSJ denouncing the AP story, and offering to testify to Congress.   Read More About This

33.

On Monday, Nunes unilaterally cancelled all scheduled hearings and meetings for the week. He refused to share his source for the leaks.   Read More About This

34.

On Tuesday, WAPO reported that the Trump regime tried to block Sally Yates from testifying at the House hearing.   Read More About This

35.

WAPO also reported that both Yates and Brennan had made clear that parts of their testimony contradict statements made by the WH.   Read More About This

36.

On Thursday, NYT identified two White House officials, Ezra Cohen-Watnick and Michael Ellis, as the ones who gave Nunes intelligence reports. Ellis formerly worked for Nunes, and Cohen was brought in by Flynn and kept on by Trump/Bannon/Kushner despite McMasters' desire to fire him.   Read More About This

37.

WAPO identified a third White House source involved in leaking information to Nunes: John Eisenberg, top lawyer for the National Security Council, on which Bannon sits.   Read More About This

38.

E Randol Schoenberg uncovered that Ezra Cohen-Watnick's wife Rebecca Miller did PR for Putin.   Read More About This

39.

Barton Gellman raised the specter of unchartered territory -- that these leaks could indicate that the Trump White House is spying on the FBI.   Read More About This

40.

On Friday, Schiff met with Trump and was given the materials. In a statement, Schiff said nothing he had seen warranted a departure from normal review procedures. He also questioned why senior White House staff leaked to Nunes, who then shared the info back with Trump's WH.   Read More About This

41.

CREW and Democracy 21 requested an OCE inquiry into whether Nunes violated House ethics rules.   Read More About This

42.

Robert Wasinger, a former Trump campaign official, transition team staffer and Trump appointee became the second staffer to leave without signing an ethics pledge. Wasinger is now working as a lobbyist.   Read More About This

43.

ProPublica reported the Trump regime is refusing to respond to inquiry letters from Congressional Democrats, including the letters sent by Senate Democrats to Wilbur Ross in Week 18.   Read More About This

44.

The man behind the #Calexit Campaign -- an effort to break California from the rest of the country -- splits his time between living in San Diego and Russia, and has ties to a group reportedly backed by the Kremlin.   Read More About This

45.

BBC verified a key claim in Steele's dossier  -- a Russian diplomat named Kalugin (misspelled in the dossier as "Kulagin"), who was head of the embassy's economic section in Washington, was a spy.   Read More About This

46.

BBC also confirmed contact between the Trump campaign and Russia, including sharing of voter rolls in key states like MI and PA.   Read More About This

47.

The identity of 'Source D' in the Steele dossier, source of the most salacious details, was confirmed to be Belarusian American businessman Sergei Millian, who also had ties to Trump campaign officials.   Read More About This

48.

The FBI raided an obscure casino in Saipan run by a Trump protege, which has attracted attention over its huge revenue and cash flows. Board members include Trump transition team member Woolsey.   Read More About This

49.

On Thursday, Flynn's lawyer said he had offered his testimony to the FBI and the House and Senate intelligence committees in exchange for immunity. Per his lawyer, Robert Kelner, so far there are no takers.   Read More About This

50.

The next morning, Trump tweeted that Flynn should ask for immunity in this "witch hunt."   Read More About This

51.

Robert Kelner tweeted on November 12, 2016, "A prediction: Donald Trump will make novel and unusual use of the President's pardon power. An under-utilized tool of political power."   Read More About This

52.

Jeremy Bash, an ex-intel official, said Flynn could only get immunity if he could deliver evidence against someone higher up the chain: Trump.   Read More About This

53.

A federal judge approved the $25mm Trump University settlement for defrauding more than 6,000 students, and with all the news, no one really noticed.   Read More About This

54.

NBC reported that the Obama administration was so concerned that Trump would destroy documents related to the Russia probe, that they created a list with serial numbers and hand delivered it to all members of the Senate Intelligence Committee.   Read More About This

55.

At a press conference before Senate Intelligence Committee hearings, Burr said Russia hired more than 1,000 hackers to create fake, anti-Hillary news. Warner added that Russia targeted key swing states, including MI, PA and WI.   Read More About This

56.

The Senate Intelligence Committee held its first day of hearings on Thursday. All experts who testified concurred on Russia's involvement.

57.

Former special agent Clint Watts testified that one of reason Russia's attacks were so successful is Trump and his team amplified and seemingly coordinated with propaganda coming out of Russia.   Read More About This

58.

As proof that Russia wasn't only aiming to hurt Hillary, but rather to buoy Trump, Watts testified that Russia interfered in the Republican primary to undermine candidates, including Rubio.   Read More About This

59.

Rubio shared at the hearing that during his presidential campaign, his staff had a hack attempts from Russian IPs. Also, this week a second attempt was made to hack his former members of his campaign staff.   Read More About This

60.

CBS reported the FBI is probing whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russian Intelligence to carry out cyberattacks on the DNC and other targets in 2016   Read More About This

61.

Trump's personal lawyer of more than 15 years, was named lead attorney for Sberbank, a Russian bank which is majority owned by the Russian government. Sberbank faces charges in US federal court for racketeering.   Read More About This

62.

WAPO reported that nearly one out of every three days while in office, Trump has visited a Trump branded property.   Read More About This

63.

The Center for Public Integrity noted that Wilbur Ross, while charged with Trump's trade policy, maintains a stake in a shipping company that flies the Chinese flag, and visits Iran and Russia.   Read More About This

64.

Trump insider Rudy Giuliani is defending an alleged Iranian money launderer. Giuliani did not notify the court of his role, as is generally required. He also visited Turkey to discuss the case with Erdogan. The case it being heard in the Southern District of NY (formerly Bharara).   Read More About This

65.

In a letter to the federal judge on Friday, the federal prosecutor on the case disclosed that Giuliani tried to go around him, and cut a deal between the Turkish and U.S. governments.   Read More About This

66.

Senate Democrats called for an ethics probe of Mnuchin for promoting a movie he produced during a public interview on March 24th. Mnuchin said Friday it was not his intention to promote the movie.   Read More About This

67.

ProPublica reported that while in Congress in 2016, HHS Price bought stocks in 6 pharmaceutical companies, then used his connections to help scuttle a rule that would have hurt the companies' profit.   Read More About This

68.

The Oklahoma Bar launched an investigation into whether Pruitt lied under oath in his testimony during his Senate confirmation hearing by saying while AG he only used his professional email for AG business.   Read More About This

69.

The State Department has gone dark. Since the IJR interview of Tillerson in which he signaled regret over taking Secretary of State, both John Bolton and Condoleezza Rice have been invited to the White House by Trump.   Read More About This;  Click here, also

70.

WAPO reported that many career diplomats in the State Department have been instructed not to speak to Tillerson directly, or to make eye contact.   Read More About This

71.

Senators in the House Armed Services oversight subcommittee urged Trump to fill Pentagon positions to "ensure that the American people know about and have a means to address instances of waste, fraud and abuse in their government." Only one position has been filled (Mattis). Bannon and Kushner have blocked other picks.   Read More About This

72.

Trump friend and insider Carl Icahn, stands to significantly benefit from several of Trump's policies, including a regulation that if put in place will save CVR Energy, of which Icahn owns 82%, $206mm per year.   Read More About This

73.

Newsweek reported that Comey wanted to go public in July with information on Russia's campaign to influence the election, but in a meeting with Kerry, Lynch, Johnson and Rice, was told not to proceed.   Read More About This

74.

When asked by a reporter about Flynn during an EO signing ceremony, Trump walked out of the room without signing the orders.   Read More About This

75.

NPR reported that Trump has started to employ "Whataboutism"  --  a Russian propaganda tactic commonly used by Putin. When criticized, Trump will say someone else is worse.   Read More About This

Replicated from:   https://medium.com/@Amy_Siskind/week-20-experts-in-authoritarianism-advise-to-keep-a-list-of-things-subtly-changing-around-you-so-d73e7ecbb05b

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