Trump, July 2017: Tweet more

Murkowski never came out as a "no" against McConnell's bill.

Or is next week's vote just on straight repeal? It isn't clear to me at all anymore what next week's vote is actually on.

i worry that heller goes chris christie suicide by ballot box

i think next week's token vote is on straight repeal. but the difference is obscure enough to nerds like us that the story will be "gop make mean bill more mean".

"We’re discussing that," Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said when asked whether some version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act was coming back. "I’m more optimistic that that would be the case. But if there’s no agreement, then we’ll still vote on the motion to proceed but it’ll be to the 2015 just-repeal bill."

The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, and supporters of the repeal bill hope that key holdouts and skeptics attend, including Sens. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Rob Portman of Ohio, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. But Collins is skipping it, and it wasn’t clear who would show up.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Seeing Cornyn twist in the wind has been kinda great.

Oh right, Russia

This should generate some news: Manafort, Don Jr., Glenn Simpson and others scheduled to testify next week: https://t.co/Y5Td0QELZ2

— Adam Goldman (@adamgoldmanNYT) July 19, 2017

Plus...

SCOOP: @ABC News has learned Jared Kushner will testify Monday before Senate Intel – private session. More to come from me & @benyc

— John Santucci (@JTSantucci) July 19, 2017

So does all of this mean it is harder to buy the government and get it to do what your really want than you would think? You got to think some of these billionaires are looking at the GOP like a homeowner looks at a contractor coming back for more money to finish off the kitchen the way you wanted.

Minor details!

NYT: Paul Manafort was in debt to pro-Russia interests by as much as 7 million before he joined the Trump campaign https://t.co/wm5WY9Hn63

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) July 19, 2017

It doesn't seem to add much to the information on his legal dispute with Deripaska that was already in the public domain.

Perhaps merely a timely refocusing re next week.

makes you wonder too doesn't it how much comrade combover owes pro-russia interests, and just what's exactly in those tax returns he refuses to make public

lmao https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/politics/trump-interview-sessions-russia.html

WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Wednesday that he never would have appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions had he known Mr. Sessions would recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation that has dogged his presidency, calling the decision “very unfair to the president.”

“Jeff Sessions takes the job, gets into the job, recuses himself, which frankly I think is very unfair to the president,” he added. “How do you take a job and then recuse yourself? If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, ‘Thanks, Jeff, but I’m not going to take you.’ It’s extremely unfair — and that’s a mild word — to the president.”

and that is a mild word

I wish they would just run the full transcript of the interview instead of writing the article. Or write that version for print, and post the full transcript online.

Chris Wray is kinda fucked after this q&a right? Why should they vote for anyone in law enforcement nominated by Trump?

ShariVari's "already in the public domain" reminds me of, uh, some guy I know, pointing to NIST SP 800-177 and saying "well we already told everyone to use DMARC, not sure why you're acting like it's news" after http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/342598-dem-senator-wants-govt-wide-use-of-email-tool-to-thwart-impersonating

less international intrigue but similar concept imo

the president also seems to think the AG is his personal lawyer

yeah i can't imagine his actual lawyer is going to be thrilled with that

Every time I read Trump or someone else saying "just repeal the damn thing now, we'll sort it out afterwards", all I can think of is that alien in Futurama about to steal Fry's organs.

http://imgur.com/n7Y6P

"I take lungs now, gills come next week".

Threatening the investigator not to look into family finances is like telling the cop at the door not to look into the basement.

Also - lol at why would I be under investigation, since I've done nothing wrong?

would be fun if sessions resigned

1) lmao he quit a safe senate seat for this.
2) confirmation of his replacement would take ages all the while someone trump is openly contemptuous of is in charge
3) temporary reprieve from insane criminal justice policies coming out of the DOJ

whoa

Just in from Sen. John McCain's office: doctors have discovered a "primary brain tumor known as a glioblastoma." pic.twitter.com/RTl3fIFecy

— Andrew Desiderio (@desiderioDC) July 20, 2017

Surely talking about adoption with the Russian leader must triangulate off the Magnitsky Act? Did Don Sr just miss that too? He mentions talking about it in that NY Times article.

Well that explains you comey ramblings

Also quick google search says that his replacement is appointed by AZ GOV (mother of fucking hell...) and must be of the same party (fuckshit)

US in 2017 just a perfect storm of bullshit.

Little cash here, a little there

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/pro-trump-tv-pundits-firm-took-undisclosed-payments-from-trump-campaign/2017/07/19/a7ae21f8-6bef-11e7-b9e2-2056e768a7e5_story.html?utm_term=.713c6eccbb4c&tid=sm_tw

Whoops!

MORE NEWS from the Times: Trump's finances are under investigation and Mueller may get Deutsche Bank records. https://t.co/fUIdtSHFOW pic.twitter.com/6WUGrCAc3M

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) July 20, 2017

It's a slow motion tipping point, ultimately, but I suspect it's happening.

I'm assuming every time a Russian official talks about adoption to a Trump associate it is in reference to Putin blocking US adoption of Russian children. It was one of his reactions to the expulsion of various Russians and imposition of sanctions by the Obama regime as a result of the election interference. I thought that adoption block was well known.
So an attempt to talk about adoption is also an attempt to talk about associated subjects such as the sanctions etc etc. & seems to be picked up by both Dons as only representing an area not of immediate interest to a family man. When that is just the codeword, synecdoche or whatever trope for a more widespread sensitive subject.

Great legal mind expressing great doubt Don Don will actually testify next week.

Minds. like Tribe and Bhahara.

Bharara.

It is, strictly speaking, an invite, not a command. Turning it down will leave what impressions it does.

Hm. Fun times!

ANOTHER break, this one from AP: Trump's advisors are venting about his overtures to Putin. https://t.co/76dLUOBJ6D

What a crazy night. pic.twitter.com/CL7liVoRrn

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) July 20, 2017

McMaster expressed his disapproval of Trump’s course to foreign officials during the lead-up to his trip to Germany. The general specifically said he’d disagreed with Trump’s decision to hold an Oval Office meeting in May with top Russian diplomats and with the president’s general reluctance to speak out against Russian aggression in Europe, according to the three foreign officials.

Guess he reread his book.

Maybe going forward I shouldn't stay up late watching the Diamondbacks night games. Or have an undiagnosed glioblastoma.

More from that NYT interview

Excerpts from the NYT interview with President Trumphttps://t.co/kDEN64uBE6

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 20, 2017

And a good point

The main story says the only aide in the room for this interview was Hope Hicks. He has a platoon of personal lawyers, but they're absent.

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) July 20, 2017

JESUS TAPDANCING CHRIST.

Trump thinks the FBI reports directly to him and only started reporting to DOJ as "courtesy" after Watergate. pic.twitter.com/ZJxbwi5zTb

— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) July 20, 2017

Byron York's turned into a Trump lickspittle but he's got his contacts, and this thread is of interest -- matches with other things I've seen over the past couple of hours.

Hearing negative reaction from conservatives on Trump's comments re: Sessions… 1/

— Byron York (@ByronYork) July 20, 2017

Also, on the wonkier tip, but some interesting bits in here.

Here's my litigator's take on letters sent by the Senate Judiciary today to Junior and Manafort basically asking for the same thing. 1/ pic.twitter.com/VvhEpX1IQp

— Paul Dickinson (@prdickinson) July 20, 2017

man when you campaign on thinly veiled (or unveiled) white nationalism and you lose steve king, who do you have?

Did Trump's advisers think it was a good idea for him to do this interview with the Times?

Why would he care what they think

a lark

TRUMP: Not much. Not even that I remember. He was sitting, and I don’t remember even talking to him about any of this stuff. He said I asked people to go. Look, you look at his testimony. His testimony is loaded up with lies, O.K.? But people didn’t — we had a couple people that said —

ARABELLA KUSHNER: [enters room] Hi, Grandpa.

TRUMP: My granddaughter Arabella, who speaks — say hello to them in Chinese.

KUSHNER: Ni hao.

[laughter]

TRUMP: This is Ivanka. You know Ivanka.

IVANKA TRUMP: [from doorway] Hi, how are you? See you later, just wanted to come say hi.

lol @ Trump doing an interview for a paper he has tried so hard to delegitimize