[Discussion] Hope to Remember The Trump Administration Thread as being 'transparent and honest'

Let's follow and discuss what our newest presidential administration gets up to, the good, the bad, the lawsuits, and the many many indictments.

I got you, fam.

Thread name is almost perfect. Can we up the fontsize on jayhawker and lower it on Trump?

oilypenguin wrote:

I got you, fam.

Chaz wrote:

That was before Don Jr started speaking at his rallies, doing the Fox News rounds as a de facto administration representative, and accompanying the President on state visits, right? Divested like that?

Yup. Divested like a company Kushner still owns a quarter of getting $90 million from anonymous foreign investors channelling money through a Cayman Islands tax haven.

Jayhawker wrote:

Thread title still sucks. :-p

Trump just pulled a piece of paper out and claimed it was an agreement he made with Mexico. Then he wouldn't let anyone see it. Then he said it was one page of a very long agreement. He said if he showed it, the press would analyze it too closely, and ruin his deal.

Just standing there lying to reporters, and now using props. Agreements we can’t see is just blatant fascism.

Trump is not a liar. He is a fascist, and that is the word that should be used everyday

It’s airing right now on the news channels, which is why I don’t have a link yet.

Turns out cameras are pretty good these days.
IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D8zNwchXoAAaw2R.jpg)

Gremlin wrote:
Jayhawker wrote:

Thread title still sucks. :-p

Trump just pulled a piece of paper out and claimed it was an agreement he made with Mexico. Then he wouldn't let anyone see it. Then he said it was one page of a very long agreement. He said if he showed it, the press would analyze it too closely, and ruin his deal.

Just standing there lying to reporters, and now using props. Agreements we can’t see is just blatant fascism.

Trump is not a liar. He is a fascist, and that is the word that should be used everyday

It’s airing right now on the news channels, which is why I don’t have a link yet.

Turns out cameras are pretty good these days.
IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D8zNwchXoAAaw2R.jpg)

why isn't the text backwards if he's holding the paper away with the sun shining through? I'm having trouble parsing what im actually looking at.

thrawn82 wrote:

why isn't the text backwards if he's holding the paper away with the sun shining through? I'm having trouble parsing what im actually looking at.

It’s folded so two thirds of it would be the right way round, top and bottom.

How the F can you claim executive privilege on the census citizenship question?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has asserted executive privilege over documents that were subpoenaed by Congress related to the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
JC wrote:

How the F can you claim executive privilege on the census citizenship question?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has asserted executive privilege over documents that were subpoenaed by Congress related to the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

Because the Census Bureau is a federal agency? Part of Dept. of Commerce, and it's director is presidentially appointed.

Jonman wrote:
JC wrote:

How the F can you claim executive privilege on the census citizenship question?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has asserted executive privilege over documents that were subpoenaed by Congress related to the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

Because the Census Bureau is a federal agency? Part of Dept. of Commerce, and it's director is presidentially appointed.

At first blush that's actually a way more by-the-book use of executive privilege than many of them. It's actually concealing info of the development of an actual policy (albeit a super sh*tty policy) rather than avoidance of a criminal investigation.

Yonder wrote:

At first blush that's actually a way more by-the-book use of executive privilege than many of them. It's actually concealing info of the development of an actual policy (albeit a super sh*tty policy) rather than avoidance of a criminal investigation.

The real reason they're blocking is to hide the fact that they lied under oath. So it is in, in part, avoidance of a criminal investigation.

But the new evidence does show that the government clearly lied, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The Court can and does consider new evidence when it enables the disposition of a case. And here, the memo, the letter, and the lies all amount to a gigantic violation of the law.

“If the government can get away with doing things for the opposite reason of what they say they’re doing,” said Ho, “we are in Orwellian territory.”

It’s possible that the Supreme Court will send the case back to lower courts for deliberation of the new evidence. The ACLU has submitted the evidence to the district court where the case was first heard, arguing for sanctions against the officials who lied under oath.

“The misrepresentations took place in district court, the findings of fact are in the district court,” said Ho. “So that’s where we are now.”

Yonder wrote:

At first blush that's actually a way more by-the-book use of executive privilege than many of them. It's actually concealing info of the development of an actual policy (albeit a super sh*tty policy) rather than avoidance of a criminal investigation.

I wouldn't be so sure about that last part...

The Trump administration is claiming that it needs the citizenship data--the first time the question's been asked for 70 years--in order to better enforce the Voting Rights Act. It's also claiming that it's merely responding to legitimate concerns raised in a DOJ letter sent to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that was penned by Arthur Gary, a DOJ lawyer.

The problem is that Gary, contrary to what the Trump administration is claiming, didn't actually write that letter.

John Gore, the principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, wrote the letter. And Gore joined the DOJ from the law firm Jones Day where he spent his time defending Republican gerrymandering efforts in Virginia, South Carolina, New York, and Florida as well as voter ID laws.

Even worse, there's evidence that Gore's letter was ghost-written by Thomas Hofeller, the now dead piece of sh*t who was behind the GOP's efforts to suppress minority voting and racially gerrymander Congressional districts. In fact, one of the Hofeller's documents from 2015 specifically talked about how adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census would help create an electoral advantage for "Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites" and there's similar language in his documents that showed up in the letter Gore wrote.

I find all this shocking. These startling revelations. Truly, I'm shook right down to my core.

On another note, hey everyone is contacting your representatives to start the impeachment process, right?

Right?

... right?

It's a pretty quick call to your rep to leave a voicemail. That all gets logged.

oilypenguin wrote:

I find all this shocking. These startling revelations. Truly, I'm shook right down to my core.

On another note, hey everyone is contacting your representatives to start the impeachment process, right?

Right?

... right?

It's a pretty quick call to your rep to leave a voicemail. That all gets logged.

My Congressonperson, who's in power because of Ohio's unconstitutional gerrymandering from the last Census (which, even though was found illegal after a nearly decade-long court battle, SCOTUS just ordered that the efforts to redraw the districts in a non-partisan manner by this summer should be put on hold) claimed this week that Trump shouldn't be impeached because he didn't perjure himself, which didn't happen because only because Trump refused to sit for an interview with Mueller or answer any written questions about obstruction of justice.

OG_slinger wrote:
oilypenguin wrote:

I find all this shocking. These startling revelations. Truly, I'm shook right down to my core.

On another note, hey everyone is contacting your representatives to start the impeachment process, right?

Right?

... right?

It's a pretty quick call to your rep to leave a voicemail. That all gets logged.

My Congressonperson, who's in power because of Ohio's unconstitutional gerrymandering from the last Census (which, even though was found illegal after a nearly decade-long court battle, SCOTUS just ordered that the efforts to redraw the districts in a non-partisan manner by this summer should be put on hold) claimed this week that Trump shouldn't be impeached because he didn't perjure himself, which didn't happen because only because Trump refused to sit for an interview with Mueller or answer any written questions about obstruction of justice.

... and there’s the rub. Republicans have learned how to game the system. Gerrymander to your hearts content, let it get tied up in courts for 10+ years while in the meantime, you’ve had two-three elections at least before anything moves on it. So ok, we need to redraw the lines... well that takes another 2 years, but wait, we had a new census, so we’ll go ahead and redraw the lines anyway. Rinse, repeat. F*cking shameful is what it is. They should just hand off redistributing to Canada and ask them nicely to do it for us. I’m sure that the Rs would find some way to poison that well also though.

BlackSheep wrote:

They should just hand off redistributing to Canada and ask them nicely to do it for us. I’m sure that the Rs would find some way to poison that well also though.

We could totally do that for you. And I’m pretty sure we’d have no problem telling the Rs - politely and apologetically - to go suck eggs.

Chumpy_McChump wrote:
BlackSheep wrote:

They should just hand off redistributing to Canada and ask them nicely to do it for us. I’m sure that the Rs would find some way to poison that well also though.

We could totally do that for you. And I’m pretty sure we’d have no problem telling the Rs - politely and apologetically - to go suck eggs. :)

Hired.

And away we go....

Federal agency recommends White House aide Conway be fired

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal watchdog agency on Thursday recommended that White House counselor Kellyanne Conway be fired for repeatedly violating a law that limits certain political activities of federal employees.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which is unrelated to special counsel Robert Mueller’s office, said Conway is a “repeat offender” of the Hatch Act by disparaging Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in her official capacity during television interviews and on social media.

Conway told reporters who encountered her in the White House press office, “I have no reaction.”

Federal office says Kellyanne Conway should be removed

A federal agency is recommending that White House adviser Kellyanne Conway be removed from federal service, saying she violated the Hatch Act on numerous occasions.

The US Office of Special Counsel said Conway erred by making "disparaging Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in her official capacity during television interviews and on social media."
The office is unrelated to Robert Mueller and his investigation.
Special counsel Henry Kerner wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump Thursday that his office's investigative report found that Conway was a "repeat offender" of the Hatch Act.

So is this the point where he starts rallying against fake government? Where he goes full on dictator? Will anyone really stand up to him.

It's been pointed out for 2 years every time she has broken that law.

The Atlantic wrote:

And yet the only person who can punish Conway is the president—the very man on whose electoral behalf she broke the law, and who has made clear, as recently as Thursday, his willingness to break the law in order to win elections.

With apologies to Monty Python's Flying Circus: "This is one of the worst miscarriages of justice in [the United States] since Tuesday."

And now this...

Rats leaving the sinking ship?

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, whose tenure was marked by a breakdown in regular press briefings and questions about the administration’s credibility, as well as her own, will leave her post at the end of the month, President Donald Trump announced Thursday.

I doubt it. She simply has been sucked dry of lies and deceit so she is going to be replaced.

Well, they don't really give press conferences anymore do they?

Maybe she's bored because she doesn't get to go out there to troll a bunch of reporters and enjoy watching them have to take her abuse.

Maybe she decided to bail after watching Trump's Frost/Nixon interview last night.

farley3k wrote:

I doubt it. She simply has been sucked dry of lies and deceit so she is going to be replaced.

There is no bottom to that well.

cheeze_pavilion wrote:

Well, they don't really give press conferences anymore do they?

Maybe she's bored because she doesn't get to go out there to troll a bunch of reporters and enjoy watching them have to take her abuse.

I just read that they have had 8 press conferences in 300 days. Is there a stronger word than incompetent?

JC wrote:
cheeze_pavilion wrote:

Well, they don't really give press conferences anymore do they?

Maybe she's bored because she doesn't get to go out there to troll a bunch of reporters and enjoy watching them have to take her abuse.

I just read that they have had 8 press conferences in 300 days. Is there a stronger word than incompetent?

Fascism

Also:

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