Apparently off the radar of the US press, the President’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani is headlining a oligarch-funded conference in Armenia celebrating the so-called Eurasian Economic Union, a so far low-energy Russian-backed counter to the EU. Joining Rudy there is Sergey Glazyev, an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin who was sanctioned in March 2014 for his role in the annexation of Crimea.
Here’s the bottom line out today from The Cook Report, which has been a bit less friendly to Democrats this cycle than Nate Silver’s forecasting. “We continue to believe anywhere from a 20 to 40 seat Democratic gain is possible, but right now the likeliest outcome is a Democratic gain of between 25 and 35 seats.”
40 would be a great result for Dems. So would 30. Even 25 would be good enough. But these numbers are way too close for comfort with what’s on the line in two weeks.
Here’s a video clip of Steven Bannon doing a presentation in Staten Island. It’s like an informercial real estate seminar at the local Marriott. Sad.
Here’s a clip of Bannon on Staten Island. pic.twitter.com/bqybNHNVqW
— Josh Robin (@joshrobin) October 23, 2018
Across the country, Republicans are following Trump’s lead, closing with culture war themes, conspiracy theories and racist dog whistles. Cam Joseph has our story.
Key paragraphs in new Times piece on Erdogan’s handling of the Khashoggi crisis …
Mr. Erdogan has long publicly treated the crown prince as a respected ally to maintain good relations with Saudi Arabia, an important regional power. But it was an open secret that the two men were bitter rivals in a feud over Arab democracy and political Islam that has divided the region.
Evidently sensing Saudi weakness after the skeptical reception that greeted the latest claims from the kingdom, Mr. Erdogan over the last two days has gone on the attack.
So what’s with the timing of this caravan making its way up through Mexico? A lot of readers have been asking me this and I’ve been wondering myself. Read More
TPM Reader RW points out a key part Paul Manafort’s cooperation agreement which casts some doubt on Rudy Giuliani’s claims that he’s been assured that Manafort hasn’t provided any evidence against President Trump. Read More
This is so bizarre I’m wondering if it’s simply not true. But Rudy Giuliani is claiming that the Joint Defense Agreement his client, President Trump, had with Paul Manafort has continued even after Manafort pleaded guilty and became a cooperating witness in the Mueller investigation. That beggars belief. But Giuliani says he has continued to have discussions with Manafort’s lawyer Kevin Downing and he insists Manafort hasn’t provided anything incriminating against President Trump.
This week I’m excited to introduce TPM Inside.
Inside is TPM’s inner circle membership. It is for TPM Readers who want a closer, deeper look at the most important news stories and policy questions. It brings you inside operations at TPM and gives you a voice in guiding our future. Inside is also for TPM Readers who want to and are able to support TPM at a higher level than a base Prime membership. Read More
It’s just dangling there in an AP piece. But according to the AP, one of the members of the Saudi hit team made five calls from the consulate that day – four to the head of MBS’s office and one to the United States. Read More