UNDER OATH

Look, this is simple. We know that Trump's National Security Advisor met with the Russians. We know that Trump's Attorney General met with the Russians. Both lied about it. There are reliable reports that other Trump campaign associates met with the Russians, and they are denying it. If there is nothing wrong with these contacts, why lie?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/03/02/jeff-sessionss-denials-of-contact-with-russians-are-falling-apart-quickly/?utm_term=.fd022172a3ed
Jeff Sessions’s denials of contact with Russians are falling apart quickly

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/02/1639360/-Sessions-compounds-his-lie-blames-chats-with-Russian-ambassador-on-Senate-committee
Sessions compounds his lie, blames chats with Russian ambassador on Senate committee

http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/sessions-revelations-leave-donald-trump-in-another-fine-russian-mess
Sessions Revelations Leave Donald Trump in Another Fine Russian Mess

Sessions should resign, but won't. But recusing himself from the investigation is absolutely necessary -- and now even Republicans are saying so

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/2/14788826/jeff-sessions-recuse-russia-probe-house-republicans

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/02/congressional-republicans-call-on-attorney-general-jeff-sessions-to-recuse-himself-from-russian-investigation/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/02/jeff-sessions-is-losing-republican-support-fast.html

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/03/02/the-gops-protective-wall-around-trump-is-beginning-to-crumble/?utm_source=rss_plum-line&utm_term=.f67cb069ce7a
The GOP’s protective wall around Trump is beginning to crumble

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/03/jeff-sessions-now-officially-toxic
Jeff Sessions Is Now Officially Toxic

DEVELOPING NEWS: Sessions will (sorta kinda, partly) recuse himself

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/sessions-recuses-himself-but-still-dodges-questions.html
Sessions Executes Strategic Retreat Into Recusal, But Leaves Some Big Questions Unanswered

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/jeff-sessions-recuses-himself-trump-russia-probe

http://www.vox.com/2017/3/2/14794562/jeff-sessions-recuses-trump
Sessions has not appointed a special prosecutor or special counsel 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/02/us/politics/russia-sessions-attorney-general.html
Jeff Sessions Has Stepped Aside on Russia. Here’s Who Could Step In. 

It never stops 

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/02/donald-trump-jr-received-50000-in-speaking-fees-from-a-group-with-ties-to-russia/
Donald Trump Jr. received $50,000 in speaking fees from a group with ties to Russia

http://www.vox.com/2017/3/2/14795758/flynn-kushner-kislyak
White House reveals another Flynn meeting with the Russian ambassador. This one featured Jared Kushner too. 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/carter-page-j-d-gordon-spoke-to-russian-ambassador
Two Other Trump Advisors Spoke To Russian Ambassador At GOP Convention

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/white-house-says-flynn-met-kislyak-at-trump-tower-in-december

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/02/1639544/-The-drip-continues-White-House-didn-t-disclose-meetings-between-Flynn-Kushner-and-Russian-envoy

The drip continues: Trump team didn't disclose meeting between Flynn, Kushner, and Russian envoy

Questions of timing

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/03/its-raining-shoes-jeff-sessions-affair-today

It's Raining Shoes . . . [read on!]

More: http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/03/02/jeff-sessions-and-the-september-8th-meeting

Jeff Sessions and the September 8th Meeting 

The Obama admin was seriously worried that the incoming Trump team might destroy evidence on Trump-Russia links -- so here's what they did

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/02/obama-administration-spread-evidence-on-president-trump-and-russia-during-transition-report/

More: http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/03/02/a-primer-on-what-we-know-and-dont-know-about-trump-and-russia/
A Primer on What We Know and Don’t Know About Trump and Russia 

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/2/14791084/trump-russia-chart
The Trump-Russia scandals: a quick visual guide

The FBI isn't sharing what it knows with Congressional committees

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/schiff-fbi-isnt-cooperating-with-intelligence-committee  

The House Intelligence chair tries to scare the press

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/03/devin-nunes-threatens-press-be-careful
"Look, I'm sure some of you are in contact with the Russian embassy, so be careful what you ask for," he warned. "We start getting transcripts of any of you or any other Americans talking to the press, then we can -- do you want us to conduct an investigation on you or other Americans because you were talking to the Russian embassy?" [read on]

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/nunes-do-you-want-us-to-conduct-an-investigation-on-you

Trump's changing stories about the ill-fated Yemen raid

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-claims-about-yemen-raid-run-conflicting-evidence

No, Trump isn't interested in serious immigration reform. So much easier to say "Build a Wall!"

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/03/quote-day-boredom-may-be-trumps-worst-enemy
But immigration experts are skeptical Trump has the attention span or the desire to pass a sweeping immigration overhaul, a deeply complicated undertaking. . . . 

More: http://www.salon.com/2017/03/02/trump-has-only-20-million-in-internal-funds-for-border-wall/
The wall along the U.S.-Mexican border that is supposed to keep thousands of people out will cost over $20 billion to enact.  So far, President Donald Trump has found only $20 million in resources for its creation. . . 

Very swampy

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/02/team-trump-took-illegal-cash-watchdogs-say.html
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign accepted illegal contributions in the weeks after election day and falsely recorded them as paying down the campaign’s debt, according to a complaint filed by two watchdog groups on Thursday. . . .

Mike Pence used a private email for official business, was hacked, and continued doing it anyway

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/pence-used-aol-account-as-he-complained-about-clinton-emails.html
Back in September, then-Indiana Governor Mike Pence said Hillary Clinton’s handling of her emails “disqualify her from serving as president,” during an appearance on Meet the Press. “She either knew or should’ve known that she was placing classified information in a way that exposed it to being hacked and being made available in the public domain, even to enemies of this country,” Pence explained. . .  

I don't suppose this will surprise you

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/team-trump-scrapped-ethics-training-for-white-house-staffers.html
Team Trump Scrapped Ethics Training Program for Incoming White House Staffers

More: http://www.salon.com/2017/03/02/donald-trumps-transition-team-nixed-course-in-white-house-ethics-report/ 

Trump's 100 lies

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/03/1638483/-Forget-Trump-s-first-100-days-his-first-100-lies-are-where-it-s-at

The Republican health care plan -- hidden in a basement bunker (no, I'm not kidding)

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/02/republicans-are-secretly-reviewing-their-new-health-care-bill-inside-a-basement/

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/02/1639454/-Republican-Obamacare-repeal-travesty-quickly-devolves-into-utter-farce
Republican Obamacare repeal travesty quickly devolves into utter farce

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/03/02/republicans-already-think-obamacare-repeal-is-a-nightmare-its-about-to-get-worse/?utm_source=rss_plum-line&utm_term=.a4e35b382e6b
Republicans already think Obamacare repeal is a nightmare. It’s about to get worse.

Trashing the media's low, low bar for Trump's speech to Congress

https://newrepublic.com/article/141053/worst-performance-trumps-presidency-now-belongs-press-corps
The Worst Performance of Trump’s Presidency Now Belongs to the Press Corps

Seth Meyers: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/seth-meyers-media-gushing-trump-speech_us_58b795f7e4b019d36d10a654?i102efgc7o09uj714i=&
“Guys, seriously, do you have amnesia?”

Bonus item: Trevor Noah on Sessions

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/03/daily-show-s-trevor-noah-blasts-jeff-sessions-he-lied-under-oath.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media.

Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

JUST WORDS

The ever-dependable press decides that Trump's speech represents a new seriousness in the regime. Now he is being "presidential," they tell us. The ultra-cynical exploitation of a soldier's widow -- a soldier whose life was lost unnecessarily, it appears, because of bad decisions by Trump and his staff -- is hailed as a great moment of stagecraft. Boilerplate repetitions of ideas and empty promises from his campaign speeches are now seen as harbingers of a bold governing agenda. 

Give me a break. Even Trump's own people didn't think it was anything new

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/01/1638974/-White-House-Trump-s-speech-nothing-new-just-nationalism-with-an-indoor-voice
Some sources in WH are frankly surprised at how pundits are warming to the speech. Say Trump has not changed, no big shift in policy coming. . . .
  
More: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/opinion/donald-trump-master-of-low-expectations.html
Donald Trump, Master of Low Expectations
 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/03/01/the-pundits-are-wrong-trumps-handling-of-the-ryan-owens-affair-was-contemptibly-cynical/?utm_source=rss_plum-line&utm_term=.86a8dae61135
The pundits are wrong. Trump’s handling of the Ryan Owens affair was contemptibly cynical. 

By the way, Trump loves to brag about ratings. His speech?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/01/1639002/-Donald-Trump-s-speech-down-in-audience-down-in-approval-destroyed-by-Barack-Obama 
 

Veterans groups aren't happy with the way Trump is ducking responsibility for the Yemen decision

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-puts-deadly-yemen-mission-back-the-spotlight
There’s no denying the emotional weight of the moment. It was powerful and basic human decency demands that our hearts go out to Owens’ loved ones. I understand why so many pundits were eager to seize on this portion of the president’s remarks as the most important of the evening. . . . U.S. military officials have told Reuters that Trump approved the raid – the first operation he approved as president – “without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations.” He green-lit the mission over dinner at the White House residence, and while the raid was underway, Trump did not go to the Situation Room and did not monitor the developments in real time.  Soon after, Trump aides tried to argue that the mission was the Obama administration’s idea, making claims that later turned out to be false.  In an interview with Fox News that aired yesterday, Trump went further, desperately trying to avoid any responsibility at all for the mission that he approved. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.salon.com/2017/03/01/trumps-we-dont-fight-to-win-line-has-upset-veterans/ 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-s-shame
Military missions go wrong. It is always the President's responsibility. But that doesn't mean it's the President's fault. President Trump has displayed an uncanny refusal to take any responsibility for what happened in this raid, even going so far as to all but deny that he even authorized it. . . .  This is a moment when we'll see how just how earnest the press is about holding the President to account. This 'presidential' moment was the most shameless kind of exploitation and it would seem a straight up lie.

No, the Trump-Russia story isn't going away -- it's metastasizing

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/sessions-spoke-twice-with-russian-ambassador-during-trumps-presidential-campaign-justice-officials-say/2017/03/01/77205eda-feac-11e6-99b4-9e613afeb09f_story.html?utm_term=.8da2bf566a9f
Sessions met with Russian envoy twice last year, encounters he later did not disclose

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/sessions-should-resign-immediately-reactions-from-both-parties-following-russia-revelation/2017/03/02/07e22d6e-ff15-11e6-9b78-824ccab94435_video.html
'Sessions should resign immediately': Reactions from both parties following Russia revelation 

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/03/british-dutch-passed-along-intel-about-meetings-between-trump-team-and-russia
American allies, including the British and the Dutch, had provided information describing meetings in European cities between Russian officials — and others close to Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin — and associates of President-elect Trump, according to three former American officials who requested anonymity in discussing classified intelligence. Separately, American intelligence agencies had intercepted communications of Russian officials, some of them within the Kremlin, discussing contacts with Mr. Trump’s associates. . .  [read on]

Video: https://twitter.com/CAPAction/status/837128474540322816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

[NB: Well, now we KNOW that Sessions can't oversee the investigation. And it looks like a clear-cut case of perjury.] 

One impediment to a full investigation of Trump-Russia ties by Congress is that the FBI isn't sharing everything it knows -- so the committee chairs can say, truthfully, that they haven't seen evidence that proves involvement by the Trump crew (saying they haven't seen it, of course, doesn't mean it doesn't exist). The Dems are pushing for this information -- the Repubs are trying to bury it. This Sessions story changes everything

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/house-gop-rejects-dem-effort-trump-russia

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/03/01/its-now-political-suicide-for-republicans-if-they-dont-call-for-a-special-prosecutor-on-russia/?utm_term=.2bf2b70f6bd0
Before this report, most congressional Republicans were resistant to the idea of appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the contacts between Russia and Trump campaign officials and surrogates — insisting that the ongoing FBI investigation and congressional committees looking into the issue were more than enough.  That's going to become an untenable position for Republicans — starting with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) -- in light of this new information about Sessions. Not only is there a very serious question about whether Sessions misled — purposely or accidentally — his colleagues while under oath, but this is only the latest incident involving unanswered questions about the ties among Trump, his top advisers and Russia.
 
When the courts held up the first travel ban we heard howls that every moment that passed without the ban in place put the nation at great danger. Now, the WH has no problem with delaying it themselves, this time for purely PR reasons

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/03/01/apparently-the-threat-of-terrorism-isnt-that-imminent/ 

Trump wants to build up the military and decimate diplomatic funds. Is he preparing for military adventures? (thanks to AG for the link)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/04/white-house-agenda-collapse-global-order-war

By the way: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/03/donald-trump-wants-spend-54-billion-more-defense-he-cant
Donald Trump says he wants to increase the defense budget by $54 billion. He can't. 

How Trump is ruining the State Dept

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/01/trump-is-leaving-the-state-department-mired-in-chaos/ 

More: http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/03/01/morale-at-state-department-at-rock-bottom/
Morale at State Department at Rock Bottom

So presidential -- Trump still thinks of his critics as "enemies"

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/trump-calls-those-who-oppose-his-tweeting

I told you Trump's feint about a new openness on immigration wasn't real. The press got played (again)

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/03/cnns-wh-correspondent-trump-pulled-bait
CNN White House correspondent Sara Murray told "Inside Politics" that officials confirmed they spread bogus happy talk on an immigration compromise during a private White House luncheon with television news anchors to garner favorable press coverage before Trump delivered his speech to the Joint Sessions.  And it worked magnificently. . . . Murray said, "Let’s just change gears entirely and talk about the bait and switch that the president pulled when it came to immigration yesterday. He had this meeting with the anchors, he talked about a path to legal status. . . . Basically they fed us things that they thought these anchors would like, that they thought would give them positive press coverage for the next few hours. A senior administration official admitted that it was a misdirection play. And you will note that when the president was actually out there speaking to the American public, he didn’t talk about a path to legal status." 

Trump complains about "anonymous sources" -- except when he is being an anonymous source himself

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/01/donald-trump-acts-as-his-own-anonymous-source-in-meeting-with-network-anchors/

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/days-after-trashing-anonymous-sources-trump-becomes-one.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/01/1639125/--Senior-administration-official-proves-to-that-you-can-t-trust-Donald-Trump-and-he-is-Donald-Trump

Fox World! http://crooksandliars.com/2017/03/shep-smith-mocks-trump-using-anonymous
When Smith asked if millions of people could breath easier, Wallace couldn't give him a firm answer and said, "Senior administration officials gave the implication..." .  

Smith cut in, "So they're giving us anonymous sources after they railed on us for using anonymous sources. THAT is hilarious."  

Wallace smiled, "Don't shoot the messenger." 

Shepard said, "I'm not. I'm just making a point. Those anonymous ones are awesome. Don’t use anonymous sources except for the ones we send out to you anonymously. Those anonymous ones are awesome.”  

Wallace replied, "Well, there you go." 

Here's what's wrong with "running government like a business"

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/01/donald-trump-wants-to-run-the-government-as-a-business-but-hes-never-been-any-good-at-that-either/

More: http://www.governing.com/columns/smart-mgmt/col-enduring-myth-government-should-be-run-like-business.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johntharvey/2012/10/05/government-vs-business/#762368252a54
[N]ot everything that is profitable is of social value and not everything of social value is profitable. 

This is all you need to know about the games the GOP is playing with health care

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/only-republicans-are-allowed-to-see-new-health-care-plan.html
House Republicans Announce Only Republicans Are Allowed to See New Health-Care Plan

The border adjustment tax -- what is it, why is it such a terrible idea?

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/1/14779964/bat-ad-dbcft

Seriously: http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20170226_Commentary__What_is_a_border_adjustment_tax_and_why_you_should_care.html

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/28/target-ceo-says-border-adjustment-tax-would-have-detrimental-impact-on-american-families.html

http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/02/why-republicans-should-abandon-the-border-adjustment-tax-000324

Kellyanne's free commercial for Ivanka Inc. gets a pass

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/white-house-responds-oge-request-for-investigation-kellyanne-ivanka
The White House's response: It was an accident, it won't happen again and that's the end of that. [read on]

A big win for fighting the gerrymander

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/01/the-supreme-court-just-delivered-a-major-victory-for-gerrymandering-opponents/

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/01/1638995/-Major-win-Supreme-Court-reverses-ruling-that-protected-Virginia-GOP-s-legislative-gerrymander

Bonus item: Oprah for president?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/oprah-mulls-presidential-run

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/01/president-trumps-worse-nightmare-oprah-plots-2020-presidential-run/

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media.

Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

MUSICAL CHAIRS

Trump hasn't submitted names for more than a thousand open government positions. Now he says, "I meant to do that"

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/trump-says-hes-deliberately-not-filing-top-positions.html
“A lot of those jobs, I don’t want to appoint someone because they’re unnecessary to have,” Trump said. “In government, we have too many people.” Keep in mind the jobs we are talking about here include the top sub-Cabinet positions that set policies and provide the day-to-day operations for vast government departments. . . . Grant Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University, said the quality of political appointees below the Cabinet level can have a dramatic effect on how administration policies are ultimately executed. “Do they affect the operation of government? The short answer is very much,” Reeher said. “These are the folks who actually attempt to implement the policy changes that the administration is trying to push down from above.”

More: http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/02/28/trump-wont-be-filling-hundreds-of-agency-jobs/

[NB: Of course Trump would brag about this as part of some grand strategy. Here's the truth: he's lazy, he doesn't care about the details of governing, and he can't find enough people who pass the litmus test of supporting him -- since most government professionals of both parties were, and are, horrified by the prospect of his being president. Given all this, he CAN'T fill all these positions, many of which are absolutely necessary. Now what?] 

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/trump-says-hes-not-even-trying-staff-government-hes-probably-lying
Trump Says He's Not Even Trying to Staff the Government. He's Probably Lying.

Trump gives a speech to Congress - a few highlights

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/01/1638857/-Trump-touts-his-massive-electoral-win-The-chorus-became-an-earthquake-and-I-won
Popular vote loser Donald Trump wasn't even a handful of minutes into his big congressional speech before he just HAD to remind people how great his electoral win was. . . .

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/live-blogging
9:17 PM: That jobs run-down was almost entirely false. 
9:21 PM: There is now outbreak of 'criminal cartels' sweeping across the country. This is dystopic rage speak. This isn't a thing. It's not Colombia. It's not late 20th century crack epidemic. 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-drain-the-swamp-laughing-coughing
President Donald Trump’s pledge to “drain the swamp” during an address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday drew audible coughing and laughter from inside the chamber. . . .

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/live-blogging-2
9:39 PM: Trump's 'infrastructure' plan appears to contain little or no public spending but is actually based on tax breaks and so-called "public private partnerships", which are disastrous. . . .

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/live-blogging-2
9:42 PM: Note the one thread through all the Obamacare repeal discussion: the number of people with no health insurance will skyrocket. That's the only real standard of success and failure. 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-call-to-repeal-obamacare-met-with-boos-thumbs-down
Democrats Boo, Give Thumbs Down To Trump's Call To Repeal Obamacare

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/01/1638701/-Hateblogging-Trump-s-first-speech-to-Congress-4
This is just about the most disjointed prepared speech of his, where he stayed on script, ever. It’s just jumping from thing to thing to thing and reiterating what he said about the thing three times already.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/live-blogging-3
The concept of this VOICE office (Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement) is repulsive. Special status for people injured or killed by undocumented immigrants. This is simple incitement. Undocumented immigrants do not commit murders at any higher rate than the rest of the population. In fact, immigrants commit murder at a slightly lower rate than Americans who have been here for a couple generations or a dozen generations. Undocumented immigrants are no more dangerous than other residents of the country, in fact a bit less. . . 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-highlights-victims-undocumented-immigrants
Boos And Hissing Greet Trump Office For Undocumented Immigrant Crime

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/live-blogging-3
10:00 PM: I will only say this moment is a very jarring contrast between the agony of the wife of a fallen soldier and the fairly transparent and clearly political purpose of this passage of the speech, which is that questioning whether this raid was a 'success' means attacking this woman's husband.

More: http://www.salon.com/2017/03/01/ap-fact-check-trump-takes-credit-he-hasnt-earned/
Fact-checking Trump’s speech to Congress: Trump takes credit he hasn’t earned 

I suppose the big news is that Trump is pretending to be open to an immigration "compromise." I don't believe it

http://www.vox.com/2017/2/28/14766260/trump-immigration-reform-amnesty
If Trump seriously does want to spend political capital on a bill that would legalize many of the unauthorized immigrants already in the US, or even allow them to eventually become citizens — something he didn’t mention in Tuesday night’s speech, but did reportedly tell press at a private lunch on Tuesday — it would be one of the greatest coups of modern American politics. The man who won the presidency as an immigration hawk above all would become the president who succeeded in passing an “amnesty” where his two predecessors had failed.  If Trump were willing to work for such a prize, it’s totally plausible he could achieve it. The question is whether he’s willing to work for it — or desires it at all. [read on]

Trump announced his increase in military spending by saying it would be covered by cuts elsewhere. Now he's saying he can cover spending increases with magically-appearing economic growth. Where have we heard that before?

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/once-again-trump-dissents-his-own-policy

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/28/14765492/trump-pentagon-budget-billion-state-department-misleading-54-billion

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/contradicting-his-own-own-team-trump-embraces-voodoo-economics
Contradicting his own own team, Trump embraces ‘voodoo economics’

Senate Repubs say Trump's budget is "dead on arrival"

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/lindsey-graham-trump-budget-dead-on-arrival
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Tuesday that President Donald Trump's budget outline is "dead on arrival" and that proposed cuts to State Department funding "would be a disaster."  "It's dead on arrival. It's not going to happen. It would be a disaster," Graham said. . . ."What's most disturbing about the cut in the State Department's budget, it shows a lack of understanding," Graham said.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/mcconnell-against-trump-proposed-state-dept-cuts
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) came out against the deep cuts to the State Department proposed in the President's budget blueprint.  McConnell bluntly told reporters Tuesday on Capitol Hill that a budget with such cuts could "probably not" pass the Senate.  "Just speaking for myself, I think the diplomatic portion of the federal budget is very important, and you get results there a lot cheaper than you do on the defense side"

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/today-brings-us-most-trumpian-budget-cut-ever
This is the perfect Trump budget cut. Congress will turn down these cuts almost instantly, and anyway, there's not actually much money there (it's about 1 percent of federal spending). However, the American public has long been convinced that foreign aid is a huge part of the budget, so Trump's base will view this as a bold action to rein in our spiraling federal debt. It's cynical, ignorant, pointless, and makes for great PR. What could possibly be more Trumpian?

Trump delays travel ban executive order, again -- but for what a reason

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/travel-ban-delayed-due-to-trumps-good-press-report.htm
New Travel Ban Reportedly Delayed So Trump Can Bask in Good Press from Speech

Paul Ryan says Trump really didn't mean it when he promised not to cut Social Security or Medicare

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/28/1638638/-Paul-Ryan-Trump-staff-say-Trump-didn-t-mean-it-when-he-said-no-Social-Security-Medicare-cuts

The Yemen raid failed in its purpose to kill or capture a major Al Qaeda leader -- but the Trump excuse is, "at least we got valuable intelligence." Guess what?

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/nbc-news-yemen-raid-yielded-no
NBC News: Yemen Raid Yielded No Intelligence Of Value

Now Trump is blaming it all on the military

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-shirks-responsibility-for-seal-death
President Donald Trump seemed to shirk his own responsibilities as commander in chief Tuesday, saying that military leaders called for a ground raid in Yemen five days after his inauguration that resulted in the death of a Navy SEAL. “This was a mission that was started before I got here. This was something they wanted to do . . . They came to see me, they explained what they wanted to do ― the generals ― who are very respected, my generals are the most respected that we’ve had in many decades, I believe. And they lost Ryan.”

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/28/14766918/trump-blame-military-yemen-seal-botched-raid-pentagon-fox
Trump just blamed the military for the botched Yemen raid. That's a disgrace.

Commander-in . . . . Absentia?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/01/generals-may-launch-new-isis-raids-without-trump-s-ok.html
The commander in chief is taking heat—and hearing cheers—for a raid in Yemen that killed a SEAL. But for the next mission, Trump may take himself out of the loop altogether.  

AG Jeff Sessions corrects Trump

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/jeff-sessions-outline-priorities
“Overall, crime rates in the United States remain near historic lows,” he said, according to prepared remarks emailed to reporters. “Murder rates are half of what they were in 1980. The rate of violent crime has fallen by almost half from its peak in the early 1990s." Trump has frequently and falsely claimed the opposite; for example, that the murder rate "is the highest it's been in 47 years."

More mixed messages

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/mcmaster-wants-trump-aides-stop-using-phrase-radical-islamic-terrorism
Newly named national security adviser and Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster is waging an uphill battle to push President Donald Trump and his senior aides to stop using the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism”. . . .

More: http://www.salon.com/2017/02/28/president-trumps-national-security-adviser-h-r-mcmaster-says-term-radical-islamic-terrorism-is-unhelpful/

The Russia-Trump pushback continues

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/paul-ryan-no-evidence-russia-contacts-trump-aides
Ryan: We've Seen No Evidence That Trump Aides Were In Contact With Russia

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-russia-investigation
House GOPers Block Dem Effort To Probe Trump's Russia Ties And Biz Conflicts
 
Darrell Issa reverses himself

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/28/darrell-issa-now-says-he-wont-commit-to-special-prosecutor-to-look-into-donald-trumps-russia-ties/
Issa now says he won’t commit to special prosecutor to look into Donald Trump’s Russia ties  

Russia and China view Trump as a ridiculous joke

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/russia-sours-trump-china-thrilled

Trump expresses concern about attacks on Jewish cemeteries -- he's concerned that "liberals" are doing it to make other people look bad

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/28/president-trump-suggests-liberals-are-causing-chaos-at-jewish-community-centers-to-make-others-look-bad/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/28/trump-appears-to-suggest-bomb-threats-against-jews-are-false-flags.html

Trump's taxes: will someone ever just leak them?

http://prospect.org/article/will-trump%E2%80%99s-tax-records-be-next-pentagon-papers

Inside the Trump WH: the power of Bannon and Miller

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-02-28/does-stephen-miller-speak-for-trump-or-vice-versa

Another assessment of Trump's 100-day plan

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/28/14746288/trump-100-days

No deal: http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/28/14742184/trump-dealmaker
Trump was supposed to be great at making deals. What happened?

Trump thinks Obama is orchestrating all the resistance to his policies

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/28/watch-president-trump-says-barack-obama-is-behind-protests-white-house-leaks/

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-new-conspiracy-theory-blame-obama-public-backlash

Under AG Jeff Sessions, expect a massive assault on voting rights

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/heres-how-republicans-plan-purge-more

More: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/02/jeff_sessions_doesn_t_understand_how_crime_works.html
In his first major speech as attorney general, Trump’s man at the Justice Department showed he values ideology over knowledge.

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/sessions-plans-stop-investigating-urban-police-departments
Sessions Plans to Stop Investigating Urban Police Departments

More: http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/16/13640540/trump-obama-police-brutality

Oh, the things our Sect'y of Education doesn't know

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/devos-slammed-for-linking-black-colleges-school-choice
DeVos Slammed For Calling Black Colleges 'Pioneers' Of School Choice

More: http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/02/28/devos-tries-to-enlist-hbcus-in-her-ideological-war/

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/devos-tries-to-walk-back-statements-historically-black-colleges-school-choice
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday tried to walk back her suggestion that historically black colleges were the product of a "school choice" movement rather than legalized segregation and Jim Crow laws. . . .
 
It is hilarious watching the Republicans try to "repeal and replace" Obamacare. They desperately want to hold a vote killing the program but they keep tripping over themselves in trying to find anything to replace it with

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/28/1638597/-That-Republican-Obamacare-repeal-plan-Never-mind
Looks like Trump chaos wins again. Remember how on Monday Republican leadership was going to push Obamacare repeal this week and had their plan all ready to go? . . . GOP Whip @SteveScalise tells reporters ObamaCare leaked draft "is NO LONGER a viable draft that we're working off of"

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/28/1638728/-Could-Republican-infighting-over-Obamacare-repeal-get-any-worse
[Chuck Schumer] "One month into the ACA fight, it’s the GOP, not the Dems, who are in disarray & pointing at one another like an Abbot and Costello show."

Scenes from pro-Trump rallies

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/28/photos-from-pro-donald-trump-rallies-show-sparse-crowds-across-the-country/

Bonus item: Colbert on the speech

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/01/stephen-colbert-was-not-impressed-with-trump-s-first-address-to-congress.html

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