Republicans are desperate – and not even doing much or well to hide it – to have Democrats start negotiating with them about a wall. We’ve moved on from demanding the chunk of money. Now it’s wanting to negotiate, begging frankly. For all the atmospherics and strategies, the only important point to make is that the President is holding the government hostage to force his way. That has to stop. The shutdown bacillus that Newt Gingrich injected into our political system in 1995 must be eradicated. It was dormant for almost two decades until Republicans (neo-Gingrichites) returned to power in the House in 2011. It’s wrong. It’s destructive. And it’s the same principle we apply to all terrorists. You can’t negotiate with terrorists or hostage takers, because it encourages the behavior.
The William Barr confirmation hearing (sub. req.) is the day’s big news, but the federal court decision blocking the Trump administration from adding a citizenship question to the census may be the day’s most important and far-reaching news. Tierney Sneed is unpacking the ruling here.
Over the weekend, a friend sent me a link to an old Salon article that describes then Attorney General Bill Barr scrambling in the final weeks before the 1992 presidential election to push a probe into an obscure land deal in Arkansas that included then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton not as targets but as a potential witnesses. I’d vaguely remembered this chapter of the Whitewater drama and the eventual report that Robert Ray (successor to Ken Starr) released in 2002. So I looked it up this morning and was surprised to see that – Holy Crap – I wrote it! You forget a lot in 17 years! In any case, I’m curious why this isn’t getting more attention in Barr’s confirmation hearing. It’s directly relevant to the issues we’re dealing with today: an Attorney General putting his hands on the scale to protect the boss who gave him the job. Read More
Allegra Kirkland walks us through the five times President Trump has met with Vladimir Putin since he became President.
"I never worked for Russia. You know that answer better than anybody. I never worked for Russia." pic.twitter.com/VtCBJ3h9eY
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 14, 2019
Folks, the whole collusion story over three and a half years. All in 140 seconds. We watched it unfold. Remind yourself what we all saw. Watch/Retweet. pic.twitter.com/VAnA0Y0Jzl
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 13, 2019
Trump for some reason refuses to give a direct answer to question whether he is a Russian asset or works for the government of Russia. pic.twitter.com/GyjGvVEWXo
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 13, 2019
So many things have happened over the last two-plus years that simply defy belief that it can be essential to review them, to see what light they shed on new developments when arranged in order. Last night the Times reported that in the immediate aftermath of James Comey’s firing the FBI launched a probe into “whether Mr. Trump was knowingly working for Russia or had unwittingly fallen under Moscow’s influence.”
It’s worth reviewing the precise chain of events. Read More
On days like today, it’s important to remember this exchange. Out loud, in front of a massive national audience.
October 19th, 2016 pic.twitter.com/QvmLUklSc1
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 12, 2019
From the Supreme Court: “Her recovery from surgery is on track. Post-surgery evaluation indicates no evidence of remaining disease, and no further treatment is required.” More here.