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TPM Reader JL is right. This is a big deal.
Based on 538’s forecast which just got posted, if every race goes the way 538 is calling it (insert caveats here), the following states among others will have a Democratic governor: WI, MI, PA, FL. That’s a whopping 75 electoral votes right there.
Here is a story about an on-going lawsuit by a group of advertisers against Facebook. It all seems fairly technical and distant from most of our concerns. But it’s actually something that has had a huge impact on the evolution of the news publishing industry over the last few years, and something that seems to have been based in large measure on Facebook’s fraud. Read More
The more you read this Bloomberg report on the Mueller probe, the more questions it raises. Mueller may be prepping a report of some sort soon after the midterms. But he’s also not close to being done with the probe. The biggest news, as far as I can see, is the hint that Rod Rosenstein is losing patience with the probe and is pressuring Mueller to wrap it up. Read More
The Mueller probe seems so far-flung and all-encompassing, with so many elements of the investigation still apparently on-going, it can be hard to imagine it coming to an end. But Mueller’s investigators are apparently preparing to render critical judgments on the collusion and obstruction fronts soon after the midterms.
As we evaluate the Trump administration’s reaction to the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and the President’s heavy reliance on the value of his $110 billion arms deal, it is very important to understand that that deal doesn’t even exist. Does not exist. It’s a mix of old proposals, new proposals, letters of intent and smoke – with a heavy emphasis on smoke. Here are the details.
The Lt Gov. of Alaska Byron Mallott has resigned out of the blue over what Gov. Bill Walker calls “inappropriate comments.” But if you want to read on to see what the “inappropriate comments” were, you’re out of luck. Because they were apparently so inappropriate that all involved refuse to say what the comments were. Read More
President Trump claims Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is being mistreated in just the way Brett Kavanaugh was, being denied the presumption of innocence.
With word now that the Saudis are preparing to admit that Jamal Khashoggi died in its Istanbul consulate as part of an unathorized interrogation gone wrong, it’s worth considering a few points. Read More
The ableist observers of Saudi Arabia and the US-KSA relationship have been saying for days that it appeared the US was holding off from saying anything too definitive about the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi to give the Saudis time to come up with at least a notionally plausible explanation of what happened – a rogue operation, an arrest or interrogation gone wrong, etc. We now see the choice. This morning President Trump announced a flat denial from Saudi King Salman (who is not really the effective ruler of the country) and his (Trump’s) suspicion that “rogue killers” are likely behind Khashoggi’s disappearance. Incredulity is warranted. But there is a bigger and, I would say, more important picture for the health of the US government. This is a carbon copy of what we’ve seen for the last two years in President Trump’s denials of Russian interference in the US elections and other bad acts. Read More