GARBAGE

Of course Trump won't let go of his attacks on black congressman Elijah Cummings. It's racist and evil and untrue, but his advisors are telling him it's working with his base. So...

https://politicalwire.com/2019/07/28/trump-doubles-down-on-attacks-on-cummings/
President Trump doubled down late Saturday on his attacks against Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and his Baltimore congressional district, saying that it’s “sad” that the longtime congressman has done “so little” for the city he represents, . . .“The outburst also undercut efforts by many Republicans over the past two weeks to defend Trump and insist that his earlier attacks were based in ideology rather than race.” “But Trump’s advisers had concluded after the previous tweets that the overall message sent by such attacks is good for the president among his political base — resonating strongly with the white working-class voters he needs to win reelection in 2020.”

And he keeps going: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-attack-baltimore-elijah-cummings-racist
“The Democrats always play the Race Card, when in fact they have done so little for our Nation’s great African American people,” Trump fumed. [read on]

[NB: Yes, because we know how much Trump has done for our great African American people. And they should be SO much more grateful.]

The Baltimore Sun cuts loose: https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2019/07/baltimore-swings-back.html
"It’s not hard to see what’s going on here. The congressman has been a thorn in this president’s side, and Mr. Trump sees attacking African American members of Congress as good politics, as it both warms the cockles of the white supremacists who love him and causes so many of the thoughtful people who don’t to scream. President Trump bad-mouthed Baltimore in order to make a point that the border camps are “clean, efficient & well run," which, of course, they are not — unless you are fine with all the overcrowding, squalor, cages and deprivation to be found in what the Department of Homeland Security’s own inspector-general recently called “a ticking time bomb." . . . [H]e was returning to an old standby of attacking an African American lawmaker from a majority black district on the most emotional and bigoted of arguments. It was only surprising that there wasn’t room for a few classic phrases like “you people” or “welfare queens” or “crime-ridden ghettos” or a suggestion that the congressman “go back” to where he came from. . . . While we would not sink to name-calling in the Trumpian manner — or ruefully point out that he failed to spell the congressman’s name correctly (it’s Cummings, not Cumming) — we would tell the most dishonest man to ever occupy the Oval Office, the mocker of war heroes, the gleeful grabber of women’s private parts, the serial bankrupter of businesses, the useful idiot of Vladimir Putin and the guy who insisted there are 'good people' among murderous neo-Nazis that he’s still not fooling most Americans into believing he’s even slightly competent in his current post. Or that he possesses a scintilla of integrity. Better to have some vermin living in your neighborhood than to be one."

Jenna Bush Hager, W's daughter: https://www.salon.com/2019/07/28/aoc-george-w-bushs-daughter-nancy-pelosi-react-to-donald-trumps-racist-tweet-about-baltimore/
"I taught in West Baltimore. I adore my kids, their parents, and grandparents. They all want the same thing I want for my kids: the chance for their children to have safe, happy and productive lives. Let’s think about the language we use, who it hurts," she tweeted.

April Ryan: https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/april-ryan-takes-down-trump-racist
“Victor, bear with me for a minute — to talk about infested, infested.? Mr. President, where’s your urban plan for Baltimore and cities like Baltimore? Don’t talk about it, be about it.”. . . “On top of that, it’s infested. You’re living in a [White] House infested with mice. You, Mr. President, are living with a house infested with mice, stink bugs and everything else. You talk about where you live, what’s running across your covers at night.”

In 2015 Trump blamed the President for the conditions in Baltimore (but then, it was a black president, not him). He said that if he were in charge he "would fix it fast."

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-african-american-obama-baltimore-responsibility_n_5d3e1f0ae4b0ef792e0e3328
[Twitter] When are YOU going to Baltimore, oh great white one??? Let's see you fix this up with your great leadership qualities. Hurry up, the world is waiting

Oh, @realDonaldTrump, if we drop you off in the middle of #Baltimore will you be able to find your way out?

You should go to Baltimore. You could stay at one of Jared Kushner's properties--the ones with hundreds of violations! 

Who's really the one saying that America is "garbage"?

https://thinkprogress.org/it-sure-sounds-like-trump-thinks-america-is-garbage-b2188399209c/

Chris Wallace has had enough. . . .

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/chris-wallace-grills-mick-mulvaney-about
Chris Wallace Grills Mick Mulvaney About Trump's Racist Slurs: 'The Worst Kind Of Racial Stereotype' . . . Mulvaney argued that Trump should not be called a racist for attacking members of The Squad because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has also had disagreements with them. "You say it has zero to do with race," Wallace pressed. "There is a clear pattern here." Wallace reminded Mulvaney that Trump had attacked Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) and his "crime-infested" district before his inauguration. "Then, two weeks ago he goes after these four members of 'The Squad,' all women of color, and says they should go back to the crime-infested countries from which they come," Wallace continued. "Then he talks about Elijah Cummings and he says his district is rat- and rodent-infested. It sounds like vermin. It sounds subhuman and these are all six members of Congress for People of Color." "I think you’re spending way too much time reading between the lines," Mulvaney replied. "I’m not reading between the lines, I’m reading the lines," Wallace shot back.

More: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mick-mulvaney-on-face-the-nation-defends-trump-tweets-on-elijah-cummings-everything-he-says-is-offensive-to-some-people/
Mulvaney defends Trump's tweets: "Everything" he says "is offensive to some people"

[NB: The Trump gang is experimenting with the following argument: Just because he attacks someone WHO IS black, doesn't mean he's doing it BECAUSE they're black. So it's okay.]

GOP MIA

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-party-of-trump
CHUCK TODD: “Why doesn’t the president think that? Doing this, it’s just stoking racial resentment, left and right. He’s done it multiple times this month alone. He obviously thinks this is good politics, inside the Republican Party. Do you think it’s good politics, inside the Republican Party?”
RICK SCOTT: “Well, Chuck, let’s look at what he said, all right, and why he did it. Congressman Cummings has sat there and attacked our Border Patrol agents, all right?”
CHUCK TODD: “But that justifies a racial resentment tweet in response? Is that presidential leadership?” 
RICK SCOTT: “Well, look, I didn’t do the tweets, Chuck. I can’t talk about why he did what he did. But I’m very disappointed in the people, like Congressman Cummings. . .” 
CHUCK TODD: “It’s not lost on me that you were harsher on Elijah Cummings than you were on the president and of what he’s done. You seem hesitant to do this, to criticize the president, individually, on these things.”

When Cummings met with Trump right after his election

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/07/trump-elijah-cummings/594955/?utm_source=feed
Sitting together in the Oval Office that day, Cummings was blunt. The 13-term congressman told the president that his words were “insulting” and that “most black people are doing pretty good.” Trump didn’t get defensive or angry. He listened quietly, taking it in, Cummings recalled. “Probably nobody has ever told you that,” Cummings told the president. “You’re right—nobody has ever told me that,” Trump replied. They parted on good terms, agreeing to talk more . . .

In investigation news. . . 

"Preliminary"

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/schiff-preliminary-potential-impeachment-against-trump
Adam Schiff Says Dems Are In ‘Preliminary’ Stage Of Potential Trump Impeachment

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/28/nadler-robert-mueller-testimony-1438225
[Jerry Nadler] reiterated that the House has impeachment resolutions before the Judiciary Committee and that the committee is conducting investigations to determine whether they should report them to the House. “We are considering those resolutions and we will make a determination after we get more evidence as to the president’s crimes that we had from the Mueller report, but also as to other things, as to his violations of the emoluments clause, his failure to defend the — to defend the Constitution against continuing Russian attacks,” he said.  

There are still some pretty significant revelations to come that might support an impeachment case. Mueller did very little on Trump's financial entanglements with Russia, aside from the Moscow Trump Tower deal that he lied continuously to conceal. We still don't know about the Deutsche Bank shenanigans. And then there is the obvious connection of his inauguration, and inauguration financing, with Russians and other foreign governments (and. . . . where did the $100 million go?)

https://politicalwire.com/2019/07/28/inquiry-of-trump-friend-focused-on-foreign-lobbying/
Tom Barrack, the longtime friend of President Trump and the chairman of his inaugural, is the subject of a federal probe into influence peddling by foreign governments . . . “Investigators have looked in particular at whether Mr. Barrack or others violated the law requiring people who try to influence American policy or opinion at the direction of foreign governments or entities to disclose their activities to the Justice Department.” 

In other news . . . 

Many observers commented on the performance of Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) at the Mueller hearings. Now we know: he's going to replace DNI Dan Coats, who's being forced out. And another position of independent competence is being put in the hands of a partisan Trump loyalist

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-successful-audition
A Successful Audition

https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2019/07/welp-there-goes-last-vestige-of.html
Welp, there goes the last vestige of independence in the Intelligence Community

More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/dni-dan-coats-step-down-director-national-intelligence
DNI Head Dan Coats Will Reportedly Resign 

https://www.vox.com/2019/7/28/1499627/coats-trump-fired-intelligence-north-korea-iran
But the likely reason Trump was so disappointed in his intelligence chief isn’t that he did his job badly — it’s that he did it well. [read on]

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/07/dan-coats-out/594952/
Dan Coats Spoke Truth to Trump. Now He’s Out.

Interesting: GOP pros fear Kamala Harris the most

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/baltimore-sun-oped-trump-vermin-response-twitter-attacks

What's wrong with these headlines?

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/7/26/1874597/-Media-reporting-on-Trump-s-approval-rating-has-become-absurd
"Trump reaches highest approval rating of presidency in latest poll" (NBC News)
"Poll: Trump's approval rating hits highest point of presidency" (The Hill)
"President Trump's job approval rating reaches high mark in NPR/PBS/Marist poll after racist tweets" (USA Today)
"Trump’s approval rating hits record high: poll" (New York Post) [read on]

[NB: This "high point" is about 44% nationally. The real story is that Trump remains historically unpopular, and the numbers have been remarakably steady. But the headline writers make it sound like GREAT news]

 
Republicans are headed to the exits: here's #4

https://politicalwire.com/2019/07/28/tennessee-lawmaker-suddenly-quits/

Theocracy watch

https://thinkprogress.org/south-dakota-public-schools-must-display-in-god-we-trust-in-a-prominent-place-according-to-law-3988e23b1794/
South Dakota public schools must display ‘In God We Trust’ in a prominent place, according to law

Oh, Trump and the right wing were excited about the lawsuit by the MAGA hat-wearing student who confronted a Native American in DC. It was supposed to expose the venality of the "fake news." Well, oops. . .

https://www.salon.com/2019/07/28/judge-dismisses-maga-hat-teenagers-lawsuit-against-the-washington-post/

There are no boundaries any more: Fox World is part of the Trump administration and part of the Republican party

https://www.salon.com/2019/07/27/foxs-jeanine-pirro-is-doing-another-gop-fundraiser-in-violation-of-networks-supposed-policy_partner/

Granted, certain questions were predictable, but look at this side-by-side of Fox World and GOPers at the Mueller hearings

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/watch-video-proves-fox-news-scripted

Bonus item: John Oliver introduces us to new PM Boris Johnson

https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-oliver-exposes-uk-prime-minister-boris-johnson-there-is-no-reason-for-much-hope-here

***If you enjoy Progressive Blog Digest 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.***

LIARS POKER

Trump is asked about Mueller's explicit statements that Trump and his aides lied -- and in lying interfered with the investigation. Trump responds with lies that lots of other people lied, and accuses the reporter of lying too. But, strangely, he doesn't answer the question

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-marine-one-departure-54/

Q: Mr. President, what do you say at the — Robert Mueller, he said that he — that lying from your inves- —
THE PRESIDENT: Let me just tell you something.
Q:  — Mr. President, he says that lying —
THE PRESIDENT: I know, you’re always — you always have a question.
Q:  — he says that lying — he said that lying by White House aides and campaign aides —
THE PRESIDENT: You mean my White House aides lied?
Q: They said that your White House —
THE PRESIDENT: What about his aides? What about — what about Mueller’s aides?
Q: He said that White House aides and campaign aides lied and that your answers were generally untruthful. What do you say to that? He’s accusing you and your campaign of lying.
THE PRESIDENT: He didn’t say that at all. You’re untruthful when you ask —
Q: He specifically said, “generally untruthful.”
THE PRESIDENT: You are untruthful. When you ask that question —
Q: He completely said that.
THE PRESIDENT: When you ask that question, you’re untruthful. And you know who —
Q: But quoting, “generally untruthful.”
THE PRESIDENT:  — else is untruthful? You know who else is untruthful? His aides. 

[NB: As Seth Meyers says, why do they even bother asking him questions?]

Don't tell me that the man who called for the death penalty for the Central Park Five cares two flying figs for A$AP Rocky. That's not what this is about

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/07/ap-rockys-trial-sweden-what-it-means/594847/

Trump gets back at widely respected Dem congressman Elijah Cummings by attacking his home district. Oh, and he's black, though I'm sure that has nothing to do with it

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/7/27/8933106/elijah-cummings-donald-trump-rat-rodent-infested-mess-baltimore-racist-lawmaker-color 

A moving moment: https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/Victor-Blackwells-emotional-response-trumps-unchecked
Victor Blackwell's Angry, Tearful Rant About Trump's Attack On Rep. Cummings

Yes, let's talk about the problems of Baltimore

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jared-kushner-elijah-cummings-donald-trump-baltimore-kushnerville_n_5d3cf3e0e4b0c31569ebebf6
After a series of vicious attacks on their home by their own president, proud Baltimoreans are standing by their city. But there is something local they would likely be happy to ditch: decrepit “Kushnerville” housing provided by Donald Trump’s own son-in-law, who has been blasted by tenants in the press as a “slumlord.” . . . Kushner’s many Baltimore area housing projects — which he continues to own even as he works as a senior White House adviser — racked up hundreds of building-code violations creating the kind of conditions that Trump hints at. . . .

"Something is missing." I've been saying this for a while

https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2019/07/this-president-is-inhuman-something-is.html
I don't think I've ever seen anything so painfully insensitive from a political leader . . . [read on] 

The head of the FBI notes the serious problem of far-right white nationalism as a terrorist threat, and Trump responds,  What about Antifa?

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/antifa-terror-organization-trump-far-right-killings_n_5d3cc877e4b0ef792e0d1ecc

In Investigation news

Robert Mueller is famous for shifting the FBI, post 9/11, from crime-fighting to more of a counterintelligence focus. That explains a lot about his testimony. Whatever else happened, he made crystal clear that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, that they continue to do so, and that their efforts were welcomed and facilitated by Trump and his people. That's what he really cares about. Obstruction is a serious crime, of course, and the report made clear that Trump is guilty -- but in many ways the bigger picture is more important, now and for the future. People gripe over what Mueller didn't say -- but he definitely said THAT

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/07/25/robert-mueller-hearing-was-awesome-227478

Ken Starr is a complete tool

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/ken-starr-mueller-refusal-exonerate-trump
Ken Starr: Mueller Refusal To Exonerate Trump ‘Payback’ For Not Getting Interview . . . Starr also made the ridiculous assertion that there was not an impeachable offense "as there was during the Clinton administration."

More: https://politicalwire.com/2019/07/24/ken-starr-says-mueller-has-done-disservice-to-country/
 

In other news . . . 

The Dems are trying to make Mitch McConnell pay for blocking election protection legislation

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/454967-mcconnell-under-fire-for-burying-election-security-bills-in-legislative-graveyard

Here's the best news you can get about Trump's re-election campaign: Boy Genius Jared Kushner is in charge

https://politicalwire.com/2019/07/27/the-hidden-hand-of-the-trump-campaign/
“[Kushner] has asked Bill Stepien, a senior political adviser to the campaign, to provide him with a 10-year plan outlining how Republicans can win inner-city voters. . . . And when Kushner suggested that the campaign bring on Kayleigh McEnany as its national press secretary, Parscale made the hire.”  

“Some allies liken Kushner to a de facto campaign manager, saying his role in Trump’s reelection bid is akin to Karl Rove for President George W. Bush or James Baker for President George H.W. Bush. . .”

[NB: Trump likes giving BG utterly impossible tasks -- first, Middle East peace, next winning black voters over to a racist party (hey, but he has TEN YEARS to do it). Kayleigh McEnany, known as Mack-a-Ninny here, is a terrible choice as campaign spox. And talking about Kushner in the same breath as Rove and Baker, experienced and savvy election pros, is just hilarious.]

Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez get together and say all is cool between them

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/26/pelosi-aoc-private-meeting-1436847

Bonus item: SNL, the old days

https://slate.com/culture/2019/07/snl-victoria-jackson-dennis-miller-dance-depression-away.html

***If you enjoy Progressive Blog Digest 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.***

A TALE OF TWO PARTIES

The Repubs don't care about election security. There's really only one explanation

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-price-partisanship-gop-indifferent-russias-election-attack

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/everyone-seems-so-shocked-gop-non-response

More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/scarborough-moscow-mitch-election-security

[NB: One only has to imagine what the Repubs would be saying and doing if interference from a foreign adversary had installed a Democratic president, or if the net effects of social media disinformation and trolling were hurting their candidates.]

The Dems can't stop fighting about impeachment

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/25/impeachment-democrats-mueller-1436433
Pro-impeachment Dems not backing down after Mueller

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/five-more-democrats-impeachment-mueller
Five More Dems Join Team Pro-Impeachment After Mueller Hearings

[NB: Let me just point out that despite these numbers, the pro-impeachment group ISN'T EVEN A MAJORITY OF THE DEM CAUCUS YET. And none of the current pro-impeachment Dems are facing the prospect of being voted out because of it -- whereas a lot of other Dems would be.]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/25/politics/impeachment-window-democrats/index.html
Democrats worry window closing for impeachment probe

https://www.thedailybeast.com/jerry-nadler-and-nancy-pelosi-are-on-a-collision-course
‘There Is Constant Battling’: Nadler and Pelosi Are on a Collision Course

More: https://politicalwire.com/2019/07/26/pelosi-rebounds-after-week-of-infighting/
Pelosi Rebounds After Week of Infighting

https://politicalwire.com/2019/07/26/pelosi-to-meet-with-ocasio-cortez/
Pelosi to Meet With Ocasio-Cortez 

Impeachment Lite? 

https://www.salon.com/2019/07/26/house-judiciary-chairman-says-his-committee-is-pursuing-a-de-facto-impeachment-inquiry-against-trump/ 

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/house-takes-step-towards-impeachment-with-mueller-doc-demand

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/26/nancy-pelosi-donald-trump-impeachment-1437530 

The "Dems are socialists" tagline is stupid -- but it's working

https://politicalwire.com/2019/07/26/fears-of-socialism-sparks-gop-fundraising/

A tale of two parties: Trump is already proclaiming his invincibility, and it hardly seems worthwhile even having an election (he's also talking about third and fourth terms). This despite the mountain of lies, failures, corruption, incompetence, and scandal that has been his legacy in office. His approval numbers seem locked in, well below 50%. In fact, a clear majority of people say they will NEVER vote for him. Nevertheless he projects boundless confidence. Meanwhile, the Dems have a number of appealing candidates, several of whom poll consistently higher than Trump in key swing states and in national polls -- and the recurring theme of story after story is, "Oh my god, we're going to blow it!"

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/iowa-2020-election-democrats-taibbi-858522/ 

The Repubs seem to believe that once they kill the ACA, the Dems will be forced to sign on to whatever half-assed replacement they come up with. And they know they will need Dem support because a lot of their own members won't support anything. Why they think Dems will save them from the consequences of their own destructive actions is beyond me

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/7/25/1874435/-Republicans-think-they-can-pass-a-new-health-bill-in-an-election-year-if-ACA-is-overturned

The budget deal shows yet again that the Dems believe in responsible governing -- and the Repubs don't

https://politicalwire.com/2019/07/26/what-we-learned-from-the-budget-deal/

“[I]t’s no coincidence that extended government shutdowns have happened in 1995-1996, 2013, and 2018-2019. They all began with Republican majorities in the House. So did the debt-limit brinkmanship of 2011. . . .” [read on]

The Commerce Dept LOWERED its estimate of GDP for 2018, from the 3% that Trump has been crowing about to 2.5%. And now Trump is crowing about . . . 2.1%. All news is good news!

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/26/economic-growth-2018-trade-gap-1436630

Trump: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1154763413358370816 

More: https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2019/07/private-sector-gdp-growth-is-kind-of-anemic/
Private Sector GDP Growth Is Kind of Anemic

[NB: Boy, those tax cuts sure unleashed the power of growth, didn't they?] 

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-gops-entire-rationale-corporate-tax-breaks-unravels
The GOP’s entire rationale for corporate tax breaks unravels

https://www.vox.com/2019/7/26/8931569/gdp-q2-trump-tax-failed
New GDP data confirms Trump’s tax cuts aren’t working 

Supreme Court tells Trump he can raid military funds to build the Wall™

https://politicalwire.com/2019/07/26/supreme-court-says-trump-can-build-border-wall/

Trump's utter failure in North Korea

https://politicalwire.com/2019/07/26/north-korea-has-ramped-up-its-nuclear-arsenal/
North Korea Has Ramped Up Its Nuclear Arsenal

Trump responds: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/26/trump-north-korean-missile-tests-1437868

Swedish Ex-PM tells Trump to butt out of their legal affairs

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ex-swedish-prime-minister-carl-bildt-trump-asap-rocky_n_5d3b51cbe4b0ef792e0bfd50

“The rule of the law applies to everyone equally and is exercised by an independent judiciary,” Bildt tweeted. “That’s the way it is in the US, and that’s certainly the way it is in Sweden. Political interference in the process is distinctly off limits! Clear?”

In investigation news . . .

Here's what we know: obstruction WORKED. Lies, withheld testimony, destroyed documents, and the (illegal) use of encrypted text apps on non-government servers all meant that Mueller couldn't make the criminal case against Trump and his associates

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/joyce-vance-obstruction-what-kept-mueller

The asymmetric information war

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/7/26/1874566/-Asymmetric-information-war-Trump-and-Barr-are-feeding-information-to-whoever-they-want

Trump's WH now says it has been PROVEN that Russia had no effect on the 2016 election. That is a complete fabrication, and an insult to our inteligence

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/7/26/8931950/trump-russia-meddling-mueller-gidley-no-impact

In other news . . .

How the media has embraced Trump's reality show politics -- and how this affected their coverage of the Mueller testimony

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/press-tires-russiagate/594874 

Trump wants an investigation of Obama's book deal

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/454953-trump-calls-for-probe-of-obama-book-deal 

More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-obama-book-deal
What prompted the book deal reference is anyone’s guess. But it could be that Trump, a man obsessed with setting records, is stung that former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama received an unprecedented $65 million advance . . . 

Trump tells Fox: you can't run polls that show me losing! That's not your job!

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/26/trump-fox-news-biden-poll-1437265 

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/trump-viciously-ttacks-fox-news-over-their

Trump's new Treasury appointee is a birther and Islamophobe

https://www.salon.com/2019/07/26/trump-treasury-appointee-accused-obama-of-being-loyal-to-islam-and-pushed-birther-smears/
Trump Treasury appointee accused Obama of being "loyal to Islam" and pushed birther smears

And more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ex-miss-michigan-kathy-zhu-joins-trump-campaign_n_5d3b3f51e4b0a6d6373f21e7
Ex-Miss Michigan Joins Trump Campaign After Being Dethroned For Social Media Posts

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/7/26/1874661/-Border-Patrol-chief-admits-being-in-vile-Facebook-group-but-claims-she-didn-t-know-it-was-vile
Border Patrol chief admits being in vile Facebook group but claims she didn't know it was vile

ANOTHER GOP Rep. steps down -- that's three just this week 

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/7/26/1874654/-Republicans-have-only-13-women-in-the-House-A-second-one-just-called-it-quits 

A conservative PAC raised $10 million -- but only gave $48,400 to candidates

https://www.propublica.org/article/conservative-majority-fund-political-fundraising-pac-kelley-rogers

The saga of how politically connected fundraisers used one of the nation’s leading conservative organizations as a springboard for fundraising that mainly benefited the fundraisers themselves sheds light on the growing problem of so-called scam PACs — organizations that take advantage of loosened campaign finance laws to reap windfalls for insiders while directing only a small portion of receipts to actual political advocacy. . . .  [read on] 

The GoFundMe campaign to build some Wall has been racked with incompetence at every stage. Now it turns out that their wall. . . . is on Mexican territory! 

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/in-awesome-twist-gofundme-border-wall-spills-into-mexico

Hilarious: how the fake presidential seal ended up behind Trump during his Turning Point USA speech (blame Google!)

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/454732-turning-point-usa-aide-fired-after-trump-appears-in-front-of-altered
TPUSA had reportedly been planning to use event branding on background screens during Trump's speech. But the team was told just hours before the event to replace the branding with a presidential seal, CNN reported. "One of our video team members did a Google Image search for a high-res png (file) presidential seal," a source familiar with the incident said. The source said that the individual "did the search and with the pressure of the event, didn't notice that it is a doctored seal."

Bonus item: Sam Bee on the Mueller hearings

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/samantha-bee-recaps-mueller-hearings

Seth Meyers: https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/seth-meyers-takes-closer-look-trumps-lies

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