Orange Shitgibbon Set Me Up!

The Washington Post reported yesterday that, contrary to sworn statements from evil elf Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, the conversations Sessions had during the campaign with Russian spy master and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak weren't innocent chit chats as Sessions has claimed:

Russia’s ambassador to Washington told his superiors in Moscow that he discussed campaign-related matters, including policy issues important to Moscow, with Jeff Sessions during the 2016 presidential race, contrary to public assertions by the embattled attorney general, according to current and former U.S. officials. 

Ambassador Sergey Kislyak’s accounts of two conversations with Sessions — then a top foreign policy adviser to Republican candidate Donald Trump — were intercepted by U.S. spy agencies, which monitor the communications of senior Russian officials both in the United States and in Russia. Sessions initially failed to disclose his contacts with Kislyak and then said that the meetings were not about the Trump campaign.

The leak comes just days after orange shitgibbon Donald "Rump" Trump's mind- boggling interview with the New York Times in which, among other things, he said he wouldn't have named Sessions Attorney General if he knew he's recuse himself on the Russia investigation. Rump also raised the issue of terminating Special Counsel Mueller's investigation if it went into Rump crime family business (it has!). To remove Mueller, Rump would have to find someone in the Justice Department willing to do what Sessions can no longer do (Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein has claimed he would only remove Mueller "for cause," an extremely hard case to make against a shrewd and experienced investigator like Mueller).

So, in the light of morning, these "coincidences" have led many to speculate that the Rump regime leaked the story about Sessions/ Kislyak to either force his resignation or provide grounds for firing him, in order to replace him with a loyal lackey that will do Rump's bidding. Rump was even up early this morning to establish his cover story:

A new INTELLIGENCE LEAK from the Amazon Washington Post,this time against A.G. Jeff Sessions.These illegal leaks, like Comey's, must stop!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2017

But, even Republicans are thinking "the calls are coming from inside the house":

Every GOP figure I've spoken to at #AspenSecurity assumes Trump leaked this to force Sessions out. "Certainly not a Mueller leak," one said. https://t.co/5WjsCLkQks

— Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg) July 21, 2017

Sessions didn't get the hint from Rump from the New York Times interview. This seems like the next ratcheting to pressure him to quit. Rump's getting increasingly desperate, and therefore more dangerous.

Tweet Of The Day

This is some fine trolling, Sen. Schumer:

Two words to @SenateGOP when @realDonaldTrump says “I'll have your back" when you vote to repeal health care: Jeff Sessions.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 20, 2017

Today's Cartoons

(click on images to enlarge)


(Jim Morin, Miami Herald)


(Stuart Carlson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)


(Matt Wuerker, Politico)


(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Summer Of Love Music

Fifty years ago this summer, tens of thousands of mostly young people began to flock to San Francisco to participate in a cultural phenomenon that came to be known as the "Summer of Love." Dubbed "hippies" or "flower children," these people embraced a "counter culture" that largely embraced Timothy Leary's mantra to "turn on, tune in, and drop out." One of the early, defining events of the Summer of Love was June 1967's Monterey Pop Festival, which John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas helped to organize. Major acts ranged from Otis Redding to Jefferson Airplane to Janis Joplin to Jimi Hendrix to the Grateful Dead. The festival was immortalized in one of the greatest documentaries of its generation, "Monterey Pop," by filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker;  if you've never seen it, you're missing a gem that captures the period and the music brilliantly.

Today, we're featuring three songs that were performed at the Monterey Pop Festival (a set list can be found here).  "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)" was written by Phillips and sung by Scott McKenzie.  It was the next- to- last song performed at the festival. "Living in the U.S.A." was one of only two songs performed by the Steve Miller Band, and "Pictures of Lily" (snicker) was performed by The Who, one of only three British acts that appeared at Monterey.  We'd like to say "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now," but that's not true! Hope you enjoy.

Trump Cultist Hannity Denied Award

According to reports, far-right propagandist and Trump's passionate ass kisser Sean "Heil" Hannity (who would fawn over Charles Manson if he announced he was a Rethuglican) was denied the William F. Buckley Award for Media Excellence after Buckley's son expressed his strong objections, along with those of paleocon rag National Review, which was founded by Buckley Sr.  Practiced liar that he is, Heil's claiming that he declined the award.

Leaving aside the irony of a "media excellence" award given by the right wing so-called Media Research Center, it's a sign of the deep division among right wingers over whether or not to support neo-fascist Putin puppet Donald "Rump" Trump. Heil's Fux Channel program and his radio show are blindly relentless megaphones for praise of Rump, even as his links to Moscow are increasingly exposed. He's even cultivated nihilist provocateur Julian Assange, now that Assange has moved from publishing U.S. secrets and exposing our agents to danger, to supporting Rump's Moscow-backed presidency. Hannity's disgusting peddling of conspiracy theories has prompted widespread outrage.

The moral is that there are flea-infested dogs that even some on the far right won't lie down with.

(photo: Pucker up, Heil, here comes your Rump!)

Spicer Resigns As Press Secretary (UPDATED)

Well, we're sure the past 6 months has seemed like 6 years to Spicey, who finally reached his limit today:

Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, resigned on Friday morning, telling President Trump he vehemently disagreed with the appointment of the New York financier Anthony Scaramucci as communications director. 

Mr. Trump offered Mr. Scaramucci the job at 10 a.m. The president requested that Mr. Spicer stay on, but Mr. Spicer told Mr. Trump that he believed the appointment was a major mistake, according to a person with direct knowledge of the exchange.

A "major mistake," unlike anything else that's happened in the past 6 months in the dysfunctional White (Supremacist) House!

Melissa McCarthy will miss you.  Everyone else, not so much.

Twitter reacts (more here):

HE DID IT!!!  Sean Spicer is free!#RunSpicerRun pic.twitter.com/OmDoNhRXjl

— No Pardon Needed✌️🐻 (@DCtheBruin) July 21, 2017

The best thing Sean Spicer ever did was get Melissa McCarthy an Emmy nomination pic.twitter.com/Frhp2h8Ulj

— Nymeria (@girlexmachina) July 21, 2017

Sean Spicer leaving the White House: pic.twitter.com/g3t87dUEiO

— Mouthful of Platinum (@mouthofplatinum) July 21, 2017

UPDATE: The new communications director, slick Anthony "Mooch" Scaramucci, now is a major Rump ass kisser, but he wasn't always a fan of the shitgibbon.  Sad!

A Visit To Trump's "Pee-Pee Hotel"

Sometimes, you just have to laugh at the banality of it all.  Steven Colbert was in Moscow to track down Trump's "pee-pee tape" and checks out the suite where it all happened (allegedly!) (but really!):

A Textbook Example Of Consciousness Of Guilt

This morning, both the New York Times and Washington Post are reporting that neo- fascist Putin puppet Donald "Rump" Trump has been asking about his pardoning powers, and undercutting Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation.  Here's a snippet from the Post's accounting:

Some of President Trump’s lawyers are exploring ways to limit or undercut special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s Russia investigation, building a case against what they allege are his conflicts of interest and discussing the president’s authority to grant pardons, according to people familiar with the effort. 

Trump has asked his advisers about his power to pardon aides, family members and even himself in connection with the probe, according to one of those people. A second person said Trump’s lawyers have been discussing the president’s pardoning powers among themselves. 

Trump’s legal team declined to comment on the issue. But one adviser said the president has simply expressed a curiosity in understanding the reach of his pardoning authority, as well as the limits of Mueller’s investigation.

This comes shortly after Rump's jaw- dropping interview with the New York Times in which, among other things, he said Mueller would be crossing a "red line" should he investigate the Rump crime family's business dealings (a line that's already been crossed).

Would a person with nothing to hide, with no legal exposure be asking about the pardoning powers of his office? Would that person be concerned about limiting an investigation into possible wrongdoing if they had done nothing wrong? You already know the answers. To a prosecutor, Rump's actions -- both in looking at pardoning powers at this stage, and his palpable fear of having Mueller dig into his financial dealings with Russia -- are clear examples of "consciousness of guilt," meaning Rump's actions are proof he knows he, his family and associates are guilty of a crime.

To many of us, this is an unsurprising development in the Trump- Russia scandal, given what the world already knows about Rump and his decades- long relationship with Russians, their financial bail-outs, and Rump's lack of any ethical or moral compass.  Unlike his patrons, Rump's not a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. He's out front as an ignorant, blundering, narcissistic sociopath who's never recognized the rule of law. Expect the worst.

BONUS: Oops --

Be VERY careful Mr. Pres., "investigating the investigators" can be obstruction. See US v. Baca (C.D. Cal 2017) https://t.co/E1GAc57FWy

— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) July 21, 2017

Exxon Mobil Fined For Russian Sanctions Breach

When Putin puppet and demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump was looking for a Secretary of State, he wanted someone with the same love for Mother Russia and their money as he has. Thus, he turned to former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex "Rexxon" Tillerson, who not only had made big oil deals with Moscow, but who also was awarded Russia's Order of Friendship by Russian thug and kleptocrat Vladimir "Vlad the Invader" Putin. 

When the sanctions were imposed on Moscow in 2014 in reaction to their invasion of Crimea and their military intrusion into eastern Ukraine, Rexxon was crestfallen, as the sanctions stood in the way of Exxon making enormous profits from Russia's Arctic oil exploration. Today, the Treasury Department imposed a largely symbolic $2 million fine on Exxon Mobil for violating the sanctions while Rexxon was its CEO by signing a confidential deal with a Russian oil executive whose assets were blocked by the sanctions. In a statement, the Treasury Department said, “Exxon Mobil demonstrated reckless disregard for U.S. sanctions requirements." Shamelessly, Exxon Mobil continues to push their corporate interests over U.S. interests, having sought a waiver just last April from the sanctions to drill in the Black Sea in partnership with Russia's state-conrolled oil company Rosneft, a request which was denied by Treasury. Rexxon is still trying to sell Congress on "flexibility" with regard to sanctions on Russia, a position that should raise questions about whether he represents Exxon Mobil or Moscow, or both,

It's no wonder that the only U.S. person acceptable to the Kremlin besides Rump for the private bilateral meeting with Putin during the G-20 summit was Rexxon himself. Rump chose his Secretary of State wisely, at least as far as Moscow was concerned.

Don't Assume TrumpCare Is Dead

It's dark heart is still beating:

The Senate is debating at least four pieces of legislation. Concessions to the right will make it harder to gain votes in the center, while concessions to the center will make it harder to gain votes on the right. While action continues, it’s nothing more than a death rattle. Nobody quite wants to admit that the repeal drive is dead, and every Republican would sort of prefer to make some other Republican take responsibility for it, but fundamentally the bill is dead. 

Don’t believe it. [snip] 

The real fate of American health care lies with five Republicans — Dean Heller (R-NV), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Rob Portman (R-OH), John Hoeven (R-ND), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) — whose behavior since McConnell rolled out BCRA 2.0 has been strange. 

These five all clearly and unambiguously stated that the Medicaid cuts in BCRA 1.0 were too severe. But then McConnell went back to the drawing board and came up with a new piece of legislation that made no changes whatsoever to the Medicaid provision. At that point, you would expect everyone who called the Medicaid provision a deal killer to say no to the new bill. And that is, in fact, what Collins did. But the other five all laid low. 

Once the bill was dead due to objections from the right, the moderates came out of the woodwork and announced their opposition. But the pattern we saw in the House was that once the Freedom Caucus was fully on board with the leadership’s plans, moderates lacked the backbone to actually kill the bill. 

The Senate moderates have the power, right now, to band together and kill the bill by fundamentally rejecting the idea of massive insurance coverage losses. They could cross the aisle and work with Democrats on fixes to stabilize the exchanges. But they keep rather pointedly not doing that.

Maybe it's because they're not "moderates." It's hard not to smell a rat -- 5 rats, in fact. Remember how TrumpCare 1.0 was dead in the House... until it revived and passed?

The Senate TrumpCare bill has been scored by the Congressional Budget Office; it will result in 15 million people losing their health insurance in the first year, and 22 million by 2026. And still, these so- called "moderate" Senate Republicans want to cower in the shadows, hoping they won't be called upon to take a courageous, moral stand.

See those names and states bolded above? If any of them represent you, whether or not you've contacted their office in the past, please contact them and let them know there's no amount of lipstick that will make this pig of a bill look good. Once again, here's your TrumpCare tool kit.

Trump's Russophilia Concerns His Nat'l. Security Team

The news that Putin puppet and Russian money-launderer Donald "Rump" Trump has scrapped the CIA's support for anti-Assad forces in Syria is just the latest example of his eagerness to do things in Moscow's interest. Through his decision, Rump has given his friend, Russian thug and autocrat Vladimir "Vlad the Invader" Putin a free hand in Syria on behalf of dictator and war criminal Bashar al-Assad. He's also strengthened the hand of Iran, which is a major supporter of Assad in the region.

We don't know what Rump discussed with Putin in his three hours of talks in Hamburg during the G-20 meetings, including a one hour head-to-head with no one else present but Putin's interpreter. He laughingly claimed yesterday that they discussed adoption of Russian children by Americans, something that was halted by Russia after the Magnitsky Act was passed in 2012, which imposed sanctions on many of Putin's closest Kremlin allies. So, if they discussed "adoptions" they discussed lifting those sanctions, since the two go hand-in-hand in Putin's mind. There's the likelihood that they also discussed the return of two properties used for Russian espionage, one on Maryland's eastern shore and the other in New York, that were closed by President Obama following Moscow's meddling in the elections. Rump has shown a willingness to return the properties, which would give Moscow the green light to continue its cyber attacks on the U.S. (Who knows - he may have even asked Putin to be his "cleaner" on any pesky past financial transactions.)

There's purportedly some angst among Rump's national security and foreign policy teams about his "Russia First" attitude when dealing with Putin. He met either alone or with one advisor with the Kremlin thug longer than any other leader while in Hamburg, notably seeming to diminish the North Korean crisis that will have to involve the leaders of China, Japan, and South Korea. Rump having one-on-one meetings with former KGB colonel Putin was something Rump's advisors wanted to avoid at all costs in Hamburg, lest he give away the store (or intelligence) to curry favor with his handler. With the Syrian decision and the desire to capitulate on the Russian compounds, it looks like he's well on his way to doing just that for now.

Today's Cartoon - Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You?

(click on image to enlarge)


(Attribution: Ruben Bolling, via Daily Kos)

Reactions To Trump's Damning New York Times Interview

Reactions to malignant cancer on democracy Donald "Rump" Trump's interview yesterday with the New York Times:

POTUS attack on Russia recusal reveals yet again his violation of the essential independence of DOJ, a bedrock principle of our democracy.

— Sally Yates (@SallyQYates) July 20, 2017

My takeaway from the NYT interview, in which he mows down Sessions--Sessions!--is that Putin remains the only ally Trump has never betrayed.

— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) July 20, 2017

Shorter Version:If Sessions had been able to cover up my crimes for me, I wouldn't have had to obstruct justice myself https://t.co/0RQDTR73Ml

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) July 20, 2017

Trump basically says he picked Sessions to block investigations. Close, but I think it counts as another confession. https://t.co/Y1bWOfCL3u

— Jamison Foser (@jamisonfoser) July 19, 2017

The most ominous part of the NYT interview with Trump is that he reserves the option to fire Bob Mueller https://t.co/ra6yhCMicD

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) July 20, 2017

More here.

Cancers (UPDATED)

-- Sen. John McCain has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of malignant brain cancer. We've had many things to say about him over the years, but in this particular fight, we wish him well.

-- Another malignant cancer, Donald "Rump" Trump, sat down with New York Times reporters and had a lot of things to say (transcript here):

President Trump said on Wednesday that he never would have appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions had he known Mr. Sessions would recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation that has dogged his presidency, calling the decision “very unfair to the president.”  [Ed.: note the third person "the president."]

In a remarkable public break with one of his earliest political supporters, Mr. Trump complained that Mr. Sessions’s decision ultimately led to the appointment of a special counsel that should not have happened. “Sessions should have never recused himself, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else,” Mr. Trump said. [Ed.: he would have picked someone who would have gladly obstructed the investigation at his request.]

In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, the president also accused James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director he fired in May, of trying to leverage a dossier of compromising material to keep his job. Mr. Trump criticized both the acting F.B.I. director who has been filling in since Mr. Comey’s dismissal and the deputy attorney general who recommended it. And he took on Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel now leading the investigation into Russian meddling in last year’s election. 

Mr. Trump said Mr. Mueller was running an office rife with conflicts of interest and warned investigators against delving into matters too far afield from Russia. Mr. Trump never said he would order the Justice Department to fire Mr. Mueller, nor would he outline circumstances under which he might do so. But he left open the possibility as he expressed deep grievance over an investigation that has taken a political toll in the six months since he took office. 

Asked if Mr. Mueller’s investigation would cross a red line if it expanded to look at his family’s finances beyond any relationship to Russia, Mr. Trump said, “I would say yes.” He would not say what he would do about it. “I think that’s a violation. Look, this is about Russia.” *  [Ed.: sounds like more obstruction of justice.]  (our emphasis)

If one needed a purer demonstration of a malignant, sociopathic narcissist in action, look no further than this interview (which we would bet was taken against the advice of his legal team).

His transactions with others (Sessions in this case) are judged purely on what's good for him, Rump, and provides yet another example of his willingness to throw even his closest aides under the bus if they don't demonstrate "loyalty." His corrupt, criminal mind imagines James Comey was actually trying to get leverage over him with the "pee tape dossier" (projection, much?). Finally, he issues a not- so- veiled threat to Robert Mueller not to look into the Rump family finances (too late!), which is of course the only place to look to get a clear picture of the extent to which Putin has his claws into him -- not, as he disingenuously claims in the interview, because he has no investments in Russia, but because they hold financial leverage over him.

Something about this interview suggests that maybe he's aware of another big shoe about to drop and is getting his distracting story lines out. We'll soon find out. (UPDATE: Maybe this is the shoe they knew was going to drop.)

BONUS: Scott Lemieux goes through the interview and finds a deeply ignorant, self- absorbed, excessively odd Man Baby -- but then, we already knew that.  Good read.

* Or as the folks at Wonkette describe it, "Well, Trump didn’t produce a map with a red “X” and say, 'Mueller better not dig here, because that is definitely NOT where the bodies are buried.'” 

Today's Cartoons

(click on images to enlarge)


(Jack Ohman, Sacramento Bee)


(Rob Rogers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)


(Nick Anderson, via gocomics.com)


(Drew Sheneman, The Star-Ledger (Newark))