Monday Reading

As always, please go to the links for the full articles/ op- eds.

We're starting off with E.J. Dionne, Jr., on who Putin puppet and world- class dolt Donald "Rump" Trump was from the get- go, but who many refused to see what was right in front of them:

In 2016 and for much of 2017, those warning that Trump was exactly the dangerous scoundrel he appeared to be were accused of missing his fundamental genius and his deep connection with discounted Americans. Trump’s detractors were said to be “out of touch” and “elitist,” as if only those with exquisitely elevated tastes in society’s upper reaches could possibly worry about his indifference to truth, his contempt for women and immigrants, his disdain for a free press and his flouting of the expectations we have of those on whom we confer power. 

Was it only an elite thing to be concerned that Trump might be hiding something in those tax returns that he refuses to release? Was it out of touch to wonder why he praised Putin again and again, at one point saying that Putin was far more of “a leader” than President Barack Obama?

Michelle Goldberg writes about the implications of the National Rifle Rampage Association being used as a Russian money launderer for the Republican Party. The recent arrest of accused Russian spy Maria Butina, who was living with her patsy Republican operative Paul Erickson, must have shaken the rotted out party to it's core:

If the N.R.A. as an organization turns out to be compromised, it would shake conservative politics to its  foundation. And this is no longer a far-fetched possibility. “I serve on both the Intelligence Committee and the Finance Committee,” Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, told me. “So I have a chance to really look at this through the periscope of both committees. And what I have wondered about for some time is this whole issue of whether the N.R.A. is getting subverted as a Russian asset.” 

This is not a question that Republicans are eager to answer. Before Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee abruptly closed their investigation into Russian election interference, committee Democrats wanted to interview both Butina and Erickson. Their Republican colleagues refused. “If there were efforts towards a back channel towards the N.R.A., they didn’t want to know,” Representative Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who is the  ranking member on the  committee, told me. “It was too hot to handle.”

As you might expect, the desperate cover- up continues, with help from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue:

On Monday, a few hours after news broke of Butina’s arrest, the Treasury Department announced a new rule sparing some tax-exempt groups, including  the N.R.A.,  from having to report their large donors to the I.R.S. Wyden called the move “truly grotesque,” saying it would “make it easier for Russian dark money” to flow into American politics. You might ask who benefits. The answer is: not just Trump.  

These are criminals and traitors (but you already knew that).

As if more evidence were needed for the imperative of removing Republicans from power, Emily Stewart writes about yet another craven act by Congressional Republicans in service to Rump's "odd" affinity for doing the bidding of a foreign autocrat:

Republicans are siding with President Donald Trump in easing penalties on Chinese telecom company ZTE. Negotiators in the Senate and the House of Representatives removed language from a must-pass defense bill that would have banned United States companies from selling parts or providing services to ZTE, which the Commerce Department says made illegal sales to Iran and North Korea in defiance of US sanctions. 

Here's a pot, meet kettle tweet from the Very Stable Genius himself, up way past his bedtime last night:

To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018

Well, Rump knows all about DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE AND DEATH.  "FIRE AND FURY!"

Finally, you're encouraged to go over to Infidel 753's link round- up for a much broader offering of items of interest.  If you haven't partaken, you should.