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Posts made by Drwas
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Amid turmoil, Trump spends weekend golfingposted in Politics & Debate
President Trump visited Trump National Golf Club on Sunday for the second time during a weekend marked by terror attacks in London and protest demonstrations nationwide.
Trump spent several hours at his golf club in Virginia on Saturday, while a group of demonstrators organized by Virginia Republican groups rallied to thank him in front of the White House. These supporters called their rally “Pittsburgh not Paris,” a nod to the president’s speech on Thursday about putting his responsibility to American voters ahead of international agreements.
Another protest in Washington, D.C. demanded more transparency in the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, and for Trump to release his tax returns. Many of those demonstrators were also upset about Trump’s Thursday decision to remove the United States from the Paris climate change agreement. The protest was part of a nationwide demonstration called “March for Truth.”
On Sunday, Trump hit the links again after a morning of tweeting about the London terror attacks. The president was critical of London’s mayor and pointed out the terrorists did not need guns to strike. On Saturday night, he pledged support to the people of London and characterized the attack as a good reason to implement his travel ban restricting entry into the country to people from several Muslim-majority countries. He also spoke to UK Prime Minister Theresa May by phone.
Trump did not tweet about either rally on Saturday. His schedule on Sunday calls for him and the First Lady to attend the Ford’s Theatre Reception, a tradition for most presidents.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/336263-amid-turmoil-trump-spends-weekend-golfingPresident Trump visited
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Issa distances himself from Trump: Rubio 'was my first choice'posted in Politics & Debate
Republican Rep. Darrell Issa (Calif.) distanced himself from President Trump when confronted at a raucous town hall Saturday, telling voters that he would have preferred Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla) to be president.
Issa was confronted by a Republican constituent who said he feared President Trump's agenda.
“I voted for Reagan, I voted for both Bushes, and I never voted for Obama,” he explained to Issa. “However, I am afraid of President Donald Trump.”
Issa wouldn't defend Trump, and instead pointed to his own support for Rubio during the 2016 Republican primary as a defense.
“I was out of the district campaigning all over for [Marco] Rubio,” Issa responded. “He was my first choice.”
Issa campaigned for Rubio during the primary, but eventually endorsed Trump after Rubio dropped out following a poor performance in Florida's primary.
The California lawmaker was ridiculed on social media Friday after he climbed on to the roof of a building after attempting to speak with protesters.
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America’s CEOs fall out of love with Trumpposted in Politics & Debate
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/03/donald-trump-ceos-corporate-relationship-239080NEW YORK – The relationship between corporate America and Donald Trump’s White House has chilled.
The regular parades of business titans into the West Wing are gone. A gathering of executives led by Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman initially planned for next week fell apart amid scheduling conflicts.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Disney CEO Bob Iger quit as outside advisers to President Donald Trump following his rejection of the Paris climate accords. Dozens of other executives also publicly rebuked the White House over the decision, including Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein—a former colleague of many top administration officials—used his first-ever tweet to criticize the Paris decision, calling it a “setback for the environment and for the U.S.'s leadership position in the world.”
Chief executives and senior corporate lobbyists are also dismayed that the administration’s big Capitol Hill agenda – including repealing Obamacare and passing massive tax cuts – appears stalled. And the White House is now engaged in a very public fight with itself over how and when to raise the debt limit, a terrifying prospect for Wall Street and the rest of corporate America.
Executives also remain puzzled by regular reports of imminent shakeups in the West Wing, including the possible replacement of chief of staff Reince Priebus.
The result is at least a temporary freeze as CEOs grow skittish about public association with a leader who likes to describe himself as the most business-friendly president to ever sit in the Oval Office. This is especially true for executives at big public companies, who have to take into account how both employees and shareholders will respond to interactions with an unpopular and controversial president.
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Democratic opponent to Steve King in Iowa withdraws, citing death threatsposted in Politics & Debate
Kim Weaver is ending her campaign for Iowa's 4th Congressional District.
In a Facebook post Saturday, Weaver, a Democrat, cited threats to her safety, financial security and her mother's ongoing health problems as reasons for her withdrawal.
"Beginning during my 2016 campaign, I have received very alarming acts of intimidation, including death threats," Weaver said in the Facebook post. "While some may say enduring threats are just a part of running for office, my personal safety has increasingly become a concern."
In an interview with the Des Moines Register on Saturday, Weaver added to that rationale, alleging that the state of Iowa's Office of Long-Term Care Ombudsman, where she is an employee, saw its budget cut this year as "punishment" for her political candidacy.
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RE: Yet more fake news trys to pin libtards actions on Trumpposted in Politics & Debate
Umm, you are still ignoring that he supported Bernie and Jill Stein.
"If Donald Trump is the Next Hitler then I am joining his SS to put an end to Monotheist Question. All Zionist Jews, All Christians who do not follow Christ's teaching of Love, Charity, and Forgiveness And All Jihadi Muslims are going to Madagascar or the Ovens/FEMA Camps!!! Does this make me a fascist!!!"
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RE: Yet more fake news trys to pin libtards actions on Trumpposted in Politics & Debate
In late January, however, Christian wrote, "If Donald Trump is the Next Hitler then I am joining his SS to put an end to Monotheist Question. All Zionist Jews, All Christians who do not follow Christ's teaching of Love, Charity, and Forgiveness And All Jihadi Muslims are going to Madagascar or the Ovens/FEMA Camps!!! Does this make me a fascist!!!"
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RE: Yet more fake news trys to pin libtards actions on Trumpposted in Politics & Debate
More than anything, he seemed to hate Hillary Clinton supporters.
"The only form of abortion I support is the old fashioned method that doesn't cost the taxpayers money: Daddy Kicks Mommy In The Stomach!!!" he wrote in January. "Also, lead poisoning via a 9MM injection for Hillary Supporters…."
"Death to Hillary Rodham Clinton and all her supporters!!!" he posted, also in January. "To be carried out by Bernie Supporters who didn't turn traitor and vote Hillary...."
Besides his hate for Clinton and circumcision, most of his other positions seem difficult to pin down.
On Facebook, Christian certainly espoused far-right beliefs. One meme he posted reads, "If we're removing statues because of the Civil War, we should be removing mosques because of 9/11."
In one post, Christian called Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber who killed 168 people, including 19 children in 1995, "a TRUE PATRIOT!!!"
He also supported Standing Rock and frequently railed against the military industrial complex.
He posted conspiracy theory memes from the right-wing Alex Jones Channel alongside pro-legal cannabis stories about Bill Maher, who is decidedly left wing.
He wrote about and referenced a "white homeland" in both positive and neutral or negative terms.
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RE: Kathy Griffinposted in Politics & Debate
So much for free speech, Welcome to Putin's América.
It's funny how you are blaming Trump/Putin, when it's your side that set a building on fire with people in it to prevent "wrong speak". It's your side that set a girl's hair on fire for wearing a Trump hat. It's your side that attacks a retired couple who was walking their their dog because they look like someone who would support free speech.
The list is long on liberals getting violent because they don't like free speech.
And you guys slit the throats of men defending muslim women on trains!
Lol that was one of you guys, a diehard Bernie and Jill Stein supporter who killed those men. But keep projecting I'm sure you'll convince someone one day!
Nope.
In late January, however, Christian wrote, "If Donald Trump is the Next Hitler then I am joining his SS to put an end to Monotheist Question. All Zionist Jews, All Christians who do not follow Christ's teaching of Love, Charity, and Forgiveness And All Jihadi Muslims are going to Madagascar or the Ovens/FEMA Camps!!! Does this make me a fascist!!!"
More than anything, he seemed to hate Hillary Clinton supporters.
"The only form of abortion I support is the old fashioned method that doesn't cost the taxpayers money: Daddy Kicks Mommy In The Stomach!!!" he wrote in January. "Also, lead poisoning via a 9MM injection for Hillary Supporters…."
"Death to Hillary Rodham Clinton and all her supporters!!!" he posted, also in January. "To be carried out by Bernie Supporters who didn't turn traitor and vote Hillary...."
Besides his hate for Clinton and circumcision, most of his other positions seem difficult to pin down.
On Facebook, Christian certainly espoused far-right beliefs. One meme he posted reads, "If we're removing statues because of the Civil War, we should be removing mosques because of 9/11."
In one post, Christian called Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber who killed 168 people, including 19 children in 1995, "a TRUE PATRIOT!!!"
He also supported Standing Rock and frequently railed against the military industrial complex.
He posted conspiracy theory memes from the right-wing Alex Jones Channel alongside pro-legal cannabis stories about Bill Maher, who is decidedly left wing.
He wrote about and referenced a "white homeland" in both positive and neutral or negative terms.
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RE: Kathy Griffinposted in Politics & Debate
So much for free speech, Welcome to Putin's América.
It's funny how you are blaming Trump/Putin, when it's your side that set a building on fire with people in it to prevent "wrong speak". It's your side that set a girl's hair on fire for wearing a Trump hat. It's your side that attacks a retired couple who was walking their their dog because they look like someone who would support free speech.
The list is long on liberals getting violent because they don't like free speech.
And you guys slit the throats of men defending muslim women on trains!
Lol that was one of you guys, a diehard Bernie and Jill Stein supporter who killed those men. But keep projecting I'm sure you'll convince someone one day!
Nope.
In late January, however, Christian wrote, "If Donald Trump is the Next Hitler then I am joining his SS to put an end to Monotheist Question. All Zionist Jews, All Christians who do not follow Christ's teaching of Love, Charity, and Forgiveness And All Jihadi Muslims are going to Madagascar or the Ovens/FEMA Camps!!! Does this make me a fascist!!!"
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Special counsel investigation includes Manafort, may expand to Sessionsposted in Politics & Debate
Robert Mueller, the newly appointed special counsel in the investigation into Russian election interference, has assumed a separate criminal investigation of Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and may soon expand the investigation to include Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, The Associated Press reported Friday.
Rosenstein announced the appointment of Mueller last month. Mueller is a former prosecutor who served 12 years at the helm of the FBI and is respected on both sides of the aisle.
The investigation has been underway at the FBI for months and appears to be focused heavily on several figures who were prominent in the Trump campaign, including former National Security adviser Michael Flynn and Manafort.
The Justice Department's own investigation of Manafort and his past business dealings with the Ukraine began ahead of the 2016 election. The FBI only announced its investigation of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in March.
Rosenstein, in a separate interview with AP Friday, acknowledged that Mueller could expand the investigation to include himself and Sessions, adding that if that were to happen he would recuse himself from any oversight of the special counsel.
“I’ve talked with Director Mueller about this,” Rosenstein told AP. “He’s going to make the appropriate decisions, and if anything that I did winds up being relevant to his investigation then, as Director Mueller and I discussed, if there’s a need from me to recuse I will.”
Rosenstein was under pressure to appoint a special prosecutor last month following the firing of former FBI Director James Comey. Rosenstein appointed Mueller shortly after the firing, and Mueller has since taken over the investigation.
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GOP Sen. Not Optimistic Senate Will Approve O’care Replacement This Yearposted in Politics & Debate
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) on Thursday indicated that he’s not optimistic about the Senate’s chances to pass a comprehensive bill to repeal and replace Obamacare this year.
“I don’t see a comprehensive health-care plan this year,” he told North Carolina television station WXII 12 News.
Burr also said that the House bill is “dead on arrival” in the Senate.
The senator’s comments come after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said last week that he’s not sure how the Senate will pass an Obamacare repeal bill.
“I don’t know how we get to 50 at the moment,” he told Reuters. “But that’s the goal.”
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White House orders agencies to ignore Democrats' oversight requestsposted in Politics & Debate
The White House is telling federal agencies to blow off Democratic lawmakers' oversight requests, as Republicans fear the information could be weaponized against President Donald Trump.
At meetings with top officials for various government departments this spring, Uttam Dhillon, a White House lawyer, told agencies not to cooperate with such requests from Democrats, according to Republican sources inside and outside the administration.
It appears to be a formalization of a practice that had already taken hold, as Democrats have complained that their oversight letters requesting information from agencies have gone unanswered since January, and the Trump administration has not yet explained the rationale.
The declaration amounts to a new level of partisanship in Washington, where the president and his administration already feels besieged by media reports and attacks from Democrats. The idea, Republicans said, is to choke off the Democratic congressional minorities from gaining new information that could be used to attack the president.
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White House may have violated ethics rule with retroactive waiverposted in Politics & Debate
The White House may have granted chief strategist Stephen Bannon a retroactive ethics waiver allowing him to communicate with editors at his former employer, Breitbart News, The New York Times reported Thursday.
If, in fact, the waiver was granted after an ethics complaint took aim at Bannon's discussions with Breitbart editors, the White House could be in violation of federal ethics rules.
“There is no such thing as a retroactive waiver,” Walter Shaub, the director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), told the Times. “If you need a retroactive waiver, you have violated a rule.”
The waiver in question was undated and does not name Bannon specifically, but it would allow him to freely communicate with editors at the far-right news outlet, where he was once its executive chairman.
President Trump signed an executive order in January that would prevent Bannon from discussing issues he dealt with in his past job with Breitbart employees for two years. But Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal watchdog group, claimed that Bannon maintained communications with Breitbart editors despite the order.
The waiver allowing Bannon and others to communicate with news organizations was one of several released by the White House on Wednesday, after a bitter fight with the OGE, which had ordered the administration to make the waivers public.
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Trump officials pressed State Department staff to lift Russia sanctionsposted in Politics & Debate
Trump administration officials pressed State Department staffers to develop plans for removing sanctions against Russia almost immediately after President Trump took office in January, Yahoo News reported Thursday.
In turn, according to Yahoo News, State Department employees sought to convince lawmakers to codify the sanctions, which were put in place by former President Barack Obama in response to Russia's military intervention in Ukraine and the Kremlin's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
Former coordinator of sanctions policy Dan Fried, who retired from the State Department in February, said that he received phone calls from concerned officials tasked with developing plans to lift the sanctions asking him to intervene and "stop this."
“There was serious consideration by the White House to unilaterally rescind the sanctions,” Fried told Yahoo News, saying he eventually contacted lawmakers, including Senate Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Ben Cardin (D-Md.), in an effort to codify the sanctions, which would complicate efforts by Trump to lift them.
Former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski, who, at the time, had just left the State Department, also brought the issue up with members of Congress.
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Trump Might Try To Block Comey From Testifyingposted in Politics & Debate
White House officials said on Friday they did not know yet whether President Donald Trump would seek to block former FBI Director James Comey from testifying to Congress next week, a move that could spark a political backlash.
"I have not spoken to counsel yet. I don't know how they're going to respond," White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters.
Comey was leading a Federal Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged Russian meddling in last year's U.S. presidential election and possible collusion by Trump's campaign when the president fired him last month.
Critics have charged that Trump was seeking to hinder the FBI's investigation by dismissing Comey.
The former FBI chief is due to testify on Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its own Russia-related investigation, and his remarks could cause problems for the Republican president.
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Kremlin-backed bank contradicts Kushner's explanation for December meetingposted in Politics & Debate
The White House has been struggling to explain why exactly Jared Kushner had several secret contacts in December with the Russians, including one in which he met with the head of a Russian state-run bank mid-month.
Suffice it to say, none of the explanations put forward by the Trump administration add up, and now the bank, Vnesheconombank (VEB), has provided an account that is directly at odds with the White House version of events, writes the Washington Post.
The bank maintained this week that the session was held as part of a new business strategy and was conducted with Kushner in his role as the head of his family’s real estate business. The White House says the meeting was unrelated to business and was one of many diplomatic encounters the soon-to-be presidential adviser was holding ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration.
First off, neither of those scenarios necessarily plays well for Kushner.
A diplomatic meeting would have provided the bank, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2014, a chance to press for rolling back the penalties even as the Obama administration was weighing additional retaliations against Moscow for Russia’s interference in the U.S. election.
A business meeting between an international development bank and a real estate executive, coming as Kushner’s company had been seeking financing for its troubled $1.8 billion purchase of an office building on Fifth Avenue in New York, could raise questions about whether Kushner’s personal financial interests were colliding with his impending role as a public official.
