The 45th POTUS - Donald J. Trump

[Strat]

That's amazing

LIke...why did he even make this a thing?

[Rangi Guy]

That's amazing

LIke...why did he even make this a thing?

Sounds like your new here friend

[dimejinky99]

Amazing. He can’t even call them fake news now.


Are we sure his staff aren’t placating him to that degree and some staffer actually told him they called to massage his ego and have an easier day of it?

[96583UP]

he’s probably trolling them bc he had his minions at the DOJ sue to block the AT&T - Time Warner merger (bc he hates CNN) and is reveling in his petty power

[The Argonaut]

Trump would be a terrible choice for Person of the Year 2017. He dominated the conversati9n, but that's ultimately ephemeral. In real terms, he was completely impotent and unimportant.

[McParadigm]

Two pretty alarming articles from yesterday:

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/11/24/u ... JEw8?amp=1

https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/ ... story.html

[McParadigm]

And two exceptionally well-sourced portraits of Kushner out today as well, in the WaPo and NYT. Lots of access.

So...why? Nearly identical articles in two major papers, both portraying Jared as a novice, formerly ambitious guy who is happy to spend his time updating the computer system now. Same basic tone...a little denegrating, very nonthreatening, but full of cute asides. Too similar to be a fluke.

What was the stated purpose, and whose was it? Is this Jared and Ivanka trying to reform their social standing (one article mentions a frustration with their shrinking social circle) by saying "hey, I'm not in with the pedos and racists...I'm just updating the computers and buying diplomats chocolates?" Is it a preemptive legal defense tool (counter any discovered dealmaking by presenting a portrait of a man who isn't grand enough in his planning for such things)? Or is this the White House distancing themselves from HIM...both articles imply an early mandate so broad that no one knew what all he was doing, and both make a point to say that Kelly is now containing his interactions with the president.

Suddenly everyone wants to paint the same fairly unremarkable picture of Jared. Very odd.

[96583UP]

kushner so sloppy

https://www.wsj.com/articles/special-co ... 1511306515

Robert Mueller’s investigators are asking questions about Jared Kushner’s interactions with foreign leaders during the presidential transition, including his involvement in a dispute at the United Nations in December, in a sign of the expansive nature of the special counsel’s probe of Russia’s alleged meddling in the election, according to people familiar with the matter.

[...]

The Mueller team’s questions come as investigators scrutinize Mr. Kushner for his initial omission of any foreign contacts from a government form required to obtain a security clearance, The Wall Street Journal previously reported, citing a public letter from congressional investigators. Mr. Kushner later updated the form at least three times to include what he has said were more than 100 contacts with more than 20 countries.

Mr. Kushner has said the initial omissions were an “administrative error.” His lawyer declined on Friday a request by the Senate Judiciary Committee to provide documents surrounding the submission of the form and subsequent updates to it, saying they were confidential government records.

[...]

In a statement that Mr. Kushner gave to congressional committees in July, he wrote that at his father-in-law’s request, he served as the main point of contact for foreign countries at a time when it was clear Mr. Trump would be the Republican nominee.

[...]

Mr. Kushner pushed for Mr. Comey’s firing in discussions among the president and his top advisers, according to four people familiar with the matter.

One person said Mr. Kushner’s reasons for wanting Mr. Comey dismissed included that FBI agents unhappy with Mr. Comey would applaud the move and that Democrats would cheer because they were angry about Mr. Comey’s handling of the Clinton email investigation. Another person said top White House aides, including Mr. Kushner, viewed Mr. Comey as too unpredictable following his handling of the Clinton probe.

One aspect of Mr. Mueller’s probe concerns whether Mr. Comey’s firing was an attempt to obstruct justice, so it is possible he is asking about any Kushner role to get a clearer picture of events leading up to the dismissal.

[...]

Investigators have also asked questions about a meeting Mr. Kushner held during the presidential transition with Sergey Gorkov, chief executive of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, which was added to the U.S. sanctions list in 2014 as part of an effort to punish Moscow for its role in the Ukraine conflict.

In his written statement to Congress, Mr. Kushner said he met with Mr. Gorkov on Dec. 13 and didn’t discuss Russian sanctions imposed by the Obama administration, specific policies or any matters dealing with Mr. Kushner’s private business interests. Mr. Kushner said Mr. Gorkov largely discussed his bank and the Russian economy.

At the same time, congressional investigators are questioning the accuracy of Mr. Kushner’s statements in interviews with two committees earlier this year and whether he fully cooperated in turning over relevant records, according to public statements by and interviews with lawmakers.

In a letter to Mr. Kushner’s attorney last week, the top Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Mr. Kushner hadn’t complied fully with an earlier request for documents.

[...]

In interviews with congressional panels in July, Mr. Kushner said he was unaware of any contact between the campaign and WikiLeaks, the online operation that last year published a trove of damaging Democratic emails that U.S. intelligence agencies concluded were stolen by Russian hackers, according to a person familiar with the matter.

But emails provided to the congressional committees by Donald Trump Jr. , the president’s son, revealed that the younger Mr. Trump forwarded to Mr. Kushner and other aides one exchange he had with the website, according to an email reviewed by the Journal. Mr. Kushner subsequently forwarded that message to another campaign aide, according to a letter to his lawyer from the Senate Judiciary Committee that was reviewed by the Journal.

[McParadigm]

Former CIA Director.

[McParadigm]

Patricia Mejia gathered her three young children and made the arduous journey through Mexico to the U.S. border to escape El Salvador's often deadly violence.

When Border Patrol agents found the family near El Paso's international bridge this fall, Mejia had the children's birth certificates and said she wanted to ask for asylum and join her sister in Houston. She told the agents that a gang had threatened to kill her.

Up until a few months ago, the family would most likely have been detained together and released with instructions to appear in immigration court. There they could argue for asylum through a civil proceeding.

But under President Donald Trump's clampdown on immigration, Mejia was imprisoned for the criminal charge of illegally crossing the border, and her children were taken away and placed in federal foster care.

By the time Mejia discovered her kids were in a New York shelter for migrant children, she was frantic. She pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor and told an attorney she was abandoning asylum.

"Her biggest concern now is how to get the children back so that they can return with her," said Iliana Holguin, who consulted the mother in prison.

She remains in a West Texas immigration facility and it's unclear what happened to her children, though they likely were released to Mejia's sister.

[McParadigm]

[Strat]

President Donald Trump, during an event at the White House honoring Navajo code talkers Monday, referenced his nickname for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, "Pocahontas," a label he has long used about the Massachusetts Democrat.

"I just want to thank you because you are very, very special people. You were here long before any of us were here," Trump said. "Although, we have a representative in Congress who has been here a long time ... longer than you -- they call her Pochahontas!"
He then turned to one of the code talkers behind him, put his left hand on the man's shoulder and said: "But you know what, I like you. You are special people."
Trump did not name Warren.

[Norah]

It's amazing that there isn't a stronger, armed Native American separatist movement in this country. I guess it's a testament to how well the genocide worked.

[Bi_3]

It's amazing that there isn't a stronger, armed Native American separatist movement in this country. I guess it's a testament to how well the genocide worked.

probably for the same reason we don't have a lot of Islamic terrorism here.

[Rangi Guy]

It's amazing that there isn't a stronger, armed Native American separatist movement in this country. I guess it's a testament to how well the genocide worked.

I have wondered about things along this line, but thought it could just be because I'm so far removed from anything happening in the US. You had the Black Lives Matter movement etc, but you never here anything much about the Native American people - and I've always wondered why

[Norah]

It's amazing that there isn't a stronger, armed Native American separatist movement in this country. I guess it's a testament to how well the genocide worked.

I have wondered about things along this line, but thought it could just be because I'm so far removed from anything happening in the US. You had the Black Lives Matter movement etc, but you never here anything much about the Native American people - and I've always wondered why

I guess it's a testament to how well the genocide worked.

[Strat]

It's amazing that there isn't a stronger, armed Native American separatist movement in this country. I guess it's a testament to how well the genocide worked.

I have wondered about things along this line, but thought it could just be because I'm so far removed from anything happening in the US. You had the Black Lives Matter movement etc, but you never here anything much about the Native American people - and I've always wondered why

They're generally homeless, living in secluded slums, and have major drug and alcohol problems. Most reservations have their own police force and own issues to deal with.

My ex gilfriend grew up on a Res and it wasn't pretty.

[Strat]

tl:dr: what chud said

[Rangi Guy]

It's amazing that there isn't a stronger, armed Native American separatist movement in this country. I guess it's a testament to how well the genocide worked.

I have wondered about things along this line, but thought it could just be because I'm so far removed from anything happening in the US. You had the Black Lives Matter movement etc, but you never here anything much about the Native American people - and I've always wondered why

They're generally homeless, living in secluded slums, and have major drug and alcohol problems. Most reservations have their own police force and own issues to deal with.

My ex gilfriend grew up on a Res and it wasn't pretty.

That's pretty shit. White folk of old certainly had a knack for screwing over the indigenous people of places they arrived at - I guess at least here Maori had the sense to get a treaty signed, not that it didn't stop them getting pretty screwed too.....just not as bad

[Norah]

It's amazing that there isn't a stronger, armed Native American separatist movement in this country. I guess it's a testament to how well the genocide worked.

I have wondered about things along this line, but thought it could just be because I'm so far removed from anything happening in the US. You had the Black Lives Matter movement etc, but you never here anything much about the Native American people - and I've always wondered why

They're generally homeless, living in secluded slums, and have major drug and alcohol problems. Most reservations have their own police force and own issues to deal with.

My ex gilfriend grew up on a Res and it wasn't pretty.

That's pretty shit. White folk of old certainly had a knack for screwing over the indigenous people of places they arrived at - I guess at least here Maori had the sense to get a treaty signed, not that it didn't stop them getting pretty screwed too.....just not as bad

Oh the US government signed plenty of treaties with the Native Americans. They were just broken at every turn.