James Comey's book falls into the hands of reporters days before publication. And here we go.

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

Donald J. Trump asked Director James B. Comey of the F.B.I. to investigate and knock down a lurid but unverified report that placed Mr. Trump years earlier in a Moscow hotel suite with prostitutes, explaining to Mr. Comey that the fantastic story was untrue and was painful and distressing to his wife, Melania Trump.

By Mr. Comey’s accounts, Mr. Trump, then the president-elect, disputed the so-called Steele dossier, a document compiled by a former British intelligence officer that detailed an allegation in which Mr. Trump watched prostitutes urinate on each other. Mr. Comey writes that Mr. Trump insisted that “there’s no way I would let people pee on each other around me” in part because he is a self-professed germophobe. “No way.”

Here was Comey's take on Trump's overall personality: 

“This president is unethical, and untethered to truth and institutional values,” Mr. Comey writes in the book, saying his service to Mr. Trump recalled for him the days when he investigated the mob in New York. “The silent circle of assent. The boss in complete control. The loyalty oaths. The us-versus-them worldview. The lying about all things, large and small, in service to some code of loyalty that put the organization above morality and above the truth.”

Nothing startling about this revelation, we have all seen evidence of that ourselves.

Comey also makes a few other observations:  

“His face appeared slightly orange, with bright white half-moons under his eyes where I assumed he placed small tanning goggles,” Mr. Comey writes of his impressions during that first in-person session. He said Mr. Trump had “impressively coifed, bright blond hair, which upon close inspection looked to be all his.”

Comey also mentions that Trump is smaller in stature than he first thought, and had smallish hands.

He also writes that Trump  builds a “a cocoon of alternative reality” around himself and those who serve him.

Much of the book is devoted to Comey's fear about how the Trump  presidency is damaging the country: 

“We are experiencing a dangerous time in our country,” he writes, “with a political environment where basic facts are disputed, fundamental truth is questioned, lying is normalized and unethical behavior is ignored, excused or rewarded.”

Comey also touches on why he felt he had to announce that the Hillary Clinton email case was reopened only a little over a week before the election.

Courtesy of The Hill: 

Comey has said that he made the public announcement in part because he was concerned concealing the FBI's investigation would imply bias. However, in the book Comey acknowledges that he assumed at the time that Clinton would win the election. 

“Certainly not consciously, but I would be a fool to say it couldn’t have had an impact on me,” he wrote of the assumption, according to ABC News. "It is entirely possible my concern about making her an illegitimate president by concealing the restarted investigation bore greater weight than it would have if the election appeared closer or if Donald Trump were ahead in all polls. But I don’t know.”

So it appears that Comey was concerned about protecting the FBI's reputation, and felt that Clinton was far enough in the lead that his announcement would not change the outcome.

If only that had been true.

There were reports that the Trump team was coming up with a strategy to deal with Comey's book, but it appears that Trump himself went with "unhinged."

James Comey is a proven LEAKER & LIAR. Virtually everyone in Washington thought he should be fired for the terrible job he did-until he was, in fact, fired. He leaked CLASSIFIED information, for which he should be prosecuted. He lied to Congress under OATH. He is a weak and.....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018

....untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI. His handling of the Crooked Hillary Clinton case, and the events surrounding it, will go down as one of the worst “botch jobs” of history. It was my great honor to fire James Comey!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018

Trump might be right about that "botch jobs" comment as anything that might have helped to get HIM elected is likely going to be seen as a humongous mistake.

Not all heroes wear a cape.

Got to meet someone who supposedly represents me today. Not for much longer, though! #BetoForTexas @SenTedCruz @BetoORourke pic.twitter.com/7S4yVR5uAj

— Rebecca (@LazyyMillennial) March 23, 2018

Rebecca could be my favorite person on the internet today.

If Beto O'Rourke actually manages to beat this asshole in November I am going to break my champagne fast and polish off a huge bottle all on my own.

Definitely going to have a champagne headache the next day, but worth it.

So Donald Trump really did call to congratulate Vladimir Putin for stealing another election in Russia. Update!

OMGD! I'm so proud of you! You really put the "dick" in dictator. I wish I was there to kiss your ass in person.

Courtesy of the New York Times:

President Trump on Tuesday congratulated President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on his recent re-election victory, but failed to ask him about either the fairness of the Russian vote, which Mr. Putin won with a lopsided margin, or about allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. 

Mr. Trump also did not raise Russia’s apparent role in a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter on British soil — an act that prompted the United States to join with Britain, France and Germany in denouncing the Russian government for violating international law. 

Instead, in his phone call with Mr. Putin, the president focused on what the White House called “shared interests,” including North Korea, Ukraine and the escalating arms race between the United States and Russia. He said he and Mr. Putin were likely to meet soon to discuss those issues. 

“We had a very good call,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, where he was meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. “We will probably be meeting in the not-too distant future to discuss the arms race, which is getting out of control.”

And why is the arms race getting out of control?

Because these two demagogues are in a dick measuring contest.

So just let this steep in your mind for a moment. This president called the man who interfered in our election, has hacked into our power grid, and is currently having people murdered on British soil, to congratulate him for oppressing his people and stealing their right to choose their own leader.

You know who never would have done that?

Hillary Clinton, that's who!

Hell even John McCain would have had the cojones to do the right thing.

An American president does not lead the Free World by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. And by doing so with Vladimir Putin, President Trump insulted every Russian citizen who was denied the right to vote in a free and fair election. https://t.co/lcQTBi7CA1

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) March 20, 2018

Yeah, no shit!

Take a look at this completely surreal moment when Sarah Huckabee Sanders explains why Trump did not say anything to Putin about stealing this election.

Sarah Sanders is asked whether the Russian election was free and fair: "We don't get to dictate how other countries operate." pic.twitter.com/kqEWvNFeOa

— Axios (@axios) March 20, 2018

Wait, what?

AMERICA does not get to dictate how elections in other countries operate?

 Well I bet Afghanistan and Iraq are glad to hear about that.

And she calls herself a Republican. 

I am so far down this rabbit now hole that I am certain I will never see the sun again.

Update: Courtesy of WaPo:  

President Trump did not follow specific warnings from his national security advisers when he congratulated Russian President Vladi­mir Putin Tuesday on his reelection, including a section in his briefing materials in all-capital letters stating “DO NOT CONGRATULATE,” according to officials familiar with the call. 

Trump also chose not to heed talking points from aides instructing him to condemn Putin about the recent poisoning of a former Russian spy in the United Kingdom with a powerful nerve agent, a case that both the British and U.S. governments have blamed on Moscow. 

The president’s conversation with Putin, which Trump called a “very good call,” prompted fresh criticism of his muted tone toward one of the United States’s biggest geopolitical rivals amid the ongoing special counsel investigation into Russia’s election interference and the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russian officials.

I don't know folks. I'm beginning to think there might be something hinky going on between Trump and Putin. 

Or am I just being paranoid?

The FBI has been trying to contact the two prisoners in Thailand who claim to have evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Courtesy of CNN: 

FBI agents have tried to meet a pair of self-styled "sex coaches" detained in a Bangkok jail who claim to have evidence of Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, a senior Thai official told CNN. 

Belarussian citizens Anastasia Vashukevich and Alexander Kirillov sent a handwritten letter last month to the US Embassy in Bangkok asking for help in getting them released in exchange for information on alleged meddling in the US presidential election. 

The FBI agents contacted Thailand's Immigration bureau last week to try to organize the meeting, the highly placed source in the department said. 

The request was refused by Thai officials because only legal representatives and family members of the detainees are permitted access to the detainees, added the source, who is not authorized to speak to media.

As I reported before this Anastasia Vashukevich claims to have taped evidence that Russian oligarch Oleg V. Deripaska participated in the meddling. Deripaska also has close ties to Paul Manafort.

A number of people have tried to dismiss these women out of hand as simply saying anything to get out of that Thai prison, but it appears that the FBI might be taking their claims seriously.

We shall see.

NBC calls Democrat Conor Lamb the victor in Pennsylvania special election.

We have the Washington numbers and NBC is calling Conor Lamb the apparent winner in PA-18

— Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki) March 14, 2018

I tried to stay up and watch this whole thing, but then the wine kicked in and I was done.

Kornacki did a great job though, so I thought I would use his tweet in my post about this amazing race.

Five Thirty Eight also backs NBC's announcement that Lamb is the winner here:

As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, with 100 percent of precincts reporting, Lamb leads by 641 votes, or 0.28 percentage points. And he and Democrats have claimed victory. 

The exact margin will likely change,1 but it’s going to be very difficult for Saccone to make up that deficit. The only votes left to be counted are around 200 absentee ballots in Greene County (expected to be announced on Wednesday) as well as a handful of provisional and overseas ballots, which may take days to finalize. There may not even be 641 ballots left to count. 

Nor is a recount likely to change the final result. Although it would be pretty easy for Republicans to request a recount should they want one, recounts typically don’t shift election margins by that much. That’s especially true in Pennsylvania, where most voting is done on electronic touchscreens; a recount would only reveal errors in the small population of paper ballots.

Of course Saccone is not conceding as of yet, and with it this incredibly close I don't really blame him.

However this whole thing is simply amazing, no Democrat should have even had a chance in this race, and the fact that Lamb won (?) should terrify the Republican party moving forward into 2018.

And this might give them a couple of nightmares as well.

Our election night poll in PA-18 found that health care was a defining issue in the race. 52% said it was either the most important issue or very important in their vote, and Conor Lamb won those voters 62-38: https://t.co/1D00GVRY5k

— PublicPolicyPolling (@ppppolls) March 14, 2018

Do you feel that blue wave a coming?

Because I certainly do. 

Escort with close ties to Russian oligarch claims to have video evidence of Russian meddling in America's election.

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

A Belarusian escort with close ties to a powerful Russian oligarch said from behind bars in Bangkok on Monday that she had more than 16 hours of audio recordings that could help shed light on Russian meddling in United States elections. 

The escort, Anastasia Vashukevich, said she would hand over the recordings if the United States granted her asylum. She faces criminal charges and deportation to Belarus after coming under suspicion of working in Thailand without a visa at a sex-training seminar in the city of Pattaya. 

Ms. Vashukevich, who described herself as close to the Russian aluminum tycoon Oleg V. Deripaska, said that audio recordings she made in August 2016 included discussions he had about the United States presidential election with people she declined to identify. 

Mr. Deripaska, a billionaire with close ties to Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, also has business ties to Paul J. Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman. Mr. Manafort is under investigation by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel looking into the campaign’s connections to Russia. 

“If America gives me protection, I will tell everything I know,” Ms. Vashukevich said on Monday. “I am afraid to go back to Russia. Some strange things can happen.”

Now you may want to discount such an outlandish claim out of hand, but then you have to keep this in mind:  

Her assertion could be easy to disregard were it not for a 25-minute video investigation posted last month on YouTube by the Russian opposition figure Aleksei A. Navalny, which relies heavily on videos and photographs from Ms. Vashukevich.

That was the YouTube video that you may have heard about which the Russian government kept trying to get taken down, and has now received more than 6 million views.

Now that does not automatically mean that Vashukevich should be taken at her word about all of this, but it also means she cannot be discounted entirely.

Of course the problem is that Vashukevich is seeking asylum in America. And since Donald Trump is currently in charge of our government there is no way that he wants this kind of proof made available to the press.

I would think it might be smarter for Vashikevish to reach out to some of our allies, like Canada, Britain, or Germany and ask them for asylum.

Once she arrives in one of those places, she can tell her story without fear she will wind up suffering the same fate as former Russian spy Sergei Skripal.

Early voting in Texas sees large turnout for Democrats.

Courtesy of AP: 

Democrats in Texas are early voting in large numbers ahead of the first primary elections before the 2018 midterms, stoking party optimism that backlash to President Donald Trump won’t escape the biggest conservative state in the country. 

More Democrats have cast ballots than Republicans since early voting began this week in Texas, according to state election figures released Thursday, and turnout among Democrats is up 46 percent over the last midterm elections in 2014. For Republicans, meanwhile, turnout is basically flat. 

Trump won Texas by 9 points in 2016 and so dominant are Republicans that they haven’t lost a statewide race since 1994. Political strategists cautioned against reading too much into early turnout totals and said a relatively dull slate of GOP statewide primary races isn’t energizing Republican voters like four years ago. 

But the numbers still encouraged Democrats whose best hopes in Texas for 2018 are flipping a few congressional seats as Republicans defend their majorities in the House and Senate. GOP U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is also up for re-election but is a heavy favorite to win another term. 

“It definitely says there was a large number of Democrats who couldn’t wait to get out and vote,” said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University.

Democrats are killing it in the special elections around the country, so the idea that Texas is out of reach for Dems is not exactly a given.

Personally I would LOVE to see that mealy mouthed little POS Ted Cruz go down in flames.

Easily one of the most despicable individuals on the planet.

And he is behind in fundraising.

The White House is pushing the idea that the Russian interference had no impact on the outcome of the 2016 election. But that is false.

Deputy A.G. Rod Rosenstein stated at the News Conference: “There is no allegation in the indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity. There is no allegation in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2018

That tweet is actually part of a longer campaign by the Trump White House to dismiss the impact of the Russian interference by claiming that even if it happened it did not have any effect.

But that is NOT what the intelligence agencies determined.

Courtesy of Politico:  

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Thursday rebuffed a claim by Vice President Mike Pence that intelligence officials concluded that Russian meddling didn't have "any impact on the outcome of the 2016 election," saying it "stretches credulity" to say Moscow's interference didn't affect any voters' decisions.

"The intelligence community has neither the authority nor the capability to make such a judgment as to whether there was or was not impact on the election," Clapper said. "And we did not say that." 

Clapper added that it was "absolutely" possible that foreign influence campaigns had swayed voters, even though authorities had not made a definitive ruling on the matter. 

“I will say now that I’m not in an official position that it stretches credulity, given the magnitude, scope and depth of the Russian efforts, that they didn’t have impact on individual voter decisions," Clapper said. "But again, the intelligence community did not and could not gauge the impact on individual voter decisions.”

And keep in mind that just because these most recent indictments make no allegations that the meddling changed the outcome of the election, does not mean that is the conclusion of the intelligence agencies, or that it will be Mueller's ultimate conclusion.

Wired Magazine certainly disagrees that the Russians did not alter the outcome of the election in an article entitled DID RUSSIA AFFECT THE 2016 ELECTION? IT’S NOW UNDENIABLE: 

The groups and narratives identified in the indictment were integral parts of the frenzied election circus that built momentum, shaped perceptions, and activated a core base of support for now-President Trump—just as they helped disgust and dismay other groups, making them less likely to vote (or to vote for marginal candidates in protest). 

In the indictment, Trump campaign officials are referred to as “unwitting” participants in Russian information warfare. This gives the White House an out—and a chance to finally act against what the Kremlin did. But the evidence presented in the indictment makes it increasingly hard to say Russian efforts to influence the American mind were a failure.

In my mind there has never really been a question of whether the Russians altered the outcome of the election.

Of course they did.

But they also had help from James Comey, the House Republicans with their constant investigations, and the American media.

I am not sure that the Russians could have pulled this off without that extra help, but I do know that with this victory they are only going to amplify their efforts in the elections to come.

Putting in place strong sanctions, and protections, might head that off.

But with Putin's puppet in the White House, we know that will likely not happen.

Rod Rosenstein announces indictments against 13 Russians and 3 Russian companies for interfering in 2016 election.

Courtesy of NBC News:  

Thirteen Russian nationals have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of interfering in the 2016 presidential election — including supporting Donald Trump's campaign and "disparaging" Hillary Clinton, special counsel Robert Mueller announced Friday. 

The indictments — part of Mueller's ongoing investigation — are the first tied directly to Russian meddling in the race for the White House. 

"Some defendants, posing as U.S. persons and without revealing their Russian association, communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump Campaign and with other political activists to seek to coordinate political activities," the indictment says.

Some of those charged also "posted derogatory information" about candidates in the Republican primaries, including Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and supporting Bernie Sanders and Trump. By the time of the general election, the Russians' efforts included "supporting the presidential campaign of then-candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaging Hillary Clinton," the indictment says. 

At a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the defendants allegedly "conducted what they called 'Information Warfare' against the United States, with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general."

Damn!

Rosenstein also stated that there is no allegation in this indictment that these activities changed the outcome of the election.

The key phrase here is "in THIS indictment."

However some on the Right are taking this to mean that Trump is free and clear, while I know nothing could be further from the truth.

Trump himself jumped on the fact that the Russians launched their campaign in 2014.

Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President. The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong - no collusion!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 16, 2018

Of course the problem with that is that Trump started talking about his presidential run way back in 2013.

Mr. Trump, you told the Russians you'd be running for president in Moscow in November 2013—and indeed it was that declaration that led to the anti-U.S. campaign in early 2014. Cohen had made clear by mid-2013 you were running; you confirmed it to the Agalarovs and Yulya Alferova. https://t.co/UyjT9QMqbE

— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) February 16, 2018

I think through this indictment is the first time that we are learning that the Russians actually had boots on the ground here in American during this time period, and were not simply conducting an online election interference campaign.

The time period in which they really ramped things up by the way, the summer of 2016, also coincides with Trump asking Russia to release Hillary's emails, and with his son meeting with Russian operatives in Trump Tower.

And while the Russian operation focused mainly on the easily manipulated deplorables in order to help Trump win, they also used other methods of damaging Hillary Clinton's chances.

Courtesy of Vox:

Friday afternoon, the Justice Department released an indictment that’s part of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election led by special counsel Robert Mueller. 

The indictment outlines the lengths Russia went to influence the election in favor of Donald Trump and against Hillary Clinton — including by supporting Bernie Sanders (and, later, Jill Stein). 

The Russian operations on social media were meant to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton and other candidates, including Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. And they were supposed to support Sanders and Trump. 

“Use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump—we support them),” they were directed, according to the indictment.

So once again I have to remind people that the ONLY way you know the Russians did not manipulate you in some way is if you voted for Hillary Clinton, because that was the ONE person they were desperate to see defeated.

And look, they were successful.

The Russians wanted to see America destroyed, just like ISIS and just like Al Qaeda, the only difference is that they came up with the ultimate weapon of mass destruction.

This man. 

The Republican's conspiracy theory about FBI agent Peter Strzok seems to have run aground.

Courtesy of Think Progress:  

For weeks, Republicans have been obsessed with FBI agent Peter Strzok, suggesting that he was part of a cabal inside the agency who sought to rig the 2016 presidential election for Hillary Clinton. To support this theory, the GOP has seized upon texts between Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page that were sometimes critical of Trump. (Strzok and Page were having an affair.) 

Last week, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) suggested that Strzok and Page formed a “secret society” to undermine the Trump campaign. “What this is all about is further evidence of corruption — more than bias — but corruption of the highest levels of the FBI… There is so much smoke here,” Johnson said. 

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump accused Strzok of “treason.” If you watch Fox News, the supposed anti-Trump bias of Strzok is discussed daily, if not hourly. 

But on Wednesday, CNN reported that Strzok supported reopening the Hillary Clinton email investigation days before the election — and wrote the first draft of the letter from former FBI Director James Comey that made the decision public. 

"Strzok, who co-wrote what appears to be the first draft that formed the basis of the letter Comey sent to Congress, also supported reopening the Clinton investigation once the emails were discovered on disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s laptop, according to a source familiar with Strzok’s thinking. The day after Strzok sent his draft to his colleagues, Comey released the letter to Congress, reigniting the email controversy in the final days of the campaign."

The letter drafted by Strzok played a key role in swinging momentum back to Trump in the closing days of the campaign. 

That letter is credited with essentially handing the 2016 election to Donald Trump.

So if Strzok was actually playing for "Team Hillary" why the fuck would he sabotage her chances at victory? 

We Democrats should be the ones calling for this guy's head on a platter, but due to a few private emails with his girlfriend, it's the Republicans who are stabbing their savior in the back.

Today is the deadline for Donald Trump to sign off on the Russia sanctions. Think he'll do it? Update!

Courtesy of Politico:

President Donald Trump’s willingness to crack down on Russia will be seriously tested come Monday. 

Trump faces a major deadline to use the Russia sanctions power that Congress overwhelmingly voted to give him — and it’s anybody’s guess as to whether he’ll comply on time after missing the last deadline. 

Scrutiny is high, amid lingering suspicion of Trump’s eagerness to mend fences with Russia and with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation still digging into election meddling by Moscow. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle remain keen to get tough on Vladimir Putin’s government. 

And they have reason to worry about whether the popular sanctions package Trump reluctantly signed in August will be implemented just as hesitantly. The Russia provisions of the bill were designed as a response to Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 election, which the president himself has downplayed. 

Furthermore, the last time Trump’s administration confronted a deadline to set in motion penalties against Putin’s government, it took more than three weeks — and a nudge from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) — for Trump’s team to comply.

I have heard some pundits suggesting that there is no way that Trump will let this deadline pass without his signature, but I am not so sure.

So far there does not seem to have been a really serious consequence for his past hesitation, and clearly Trump is more focused on pleasing his Russian pullet master than he is the American people, so I could definitely see him refusing to put his John Hancock on this bill.

Besides the fact that he waited this long is a clear sign that he is far more concerned with angering Vladimir Putin than he is with protecting American democracy.

Update: Nope, he didn't do it.

The Trump admin has notified Congress that last year’s bipartisan Russia sanctions bill is serving as a “deterrent” and as such, specific sanctions aren’t needed at this time. From a State Dept spox: pic.twitter.com/rwkd6Vzh66

— Elana Schor (@eschor) January 29, 2018

Okay does anybody still believe this guy is not working for the Kremlin?

Russian bots retweeted Donald Trump nearly half a million times during the final days of the 2016 election, while also setting up political events on Facebook to sow the seeds of divisiveness.

Courtesy of Newsweek:

Russian bots retweeted Donald Trump nearly half a million times in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign, and more than 60,000 Americans RSVP’d for Facebook events created by Kremlin-linked trolls, the social media giants revealed in congressional documents this month. 

In written statements to two congressional panels investigating Russia’s election interference, the companies revealed new details about the extent of the Kremlin disinformation that reached more than 120 million Americans during the presidential race. The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Russia launched an unprecedented series of cyber attacks and fake news floods to sow division and sway voters ahead of Trump’s surprise victory. 

Twitter revealed that Russian-linked bot accounts recirculated Trump’s tweets more than two million times between September 1 and November 15, 2016, with nearly 500,000 of those coming in the campaign’s final stretch. The automated accounts retweeted Republican candidate Trump 10 times more often Democratic contender Hillary Clinton, and accounted for 4.25% of all of Trump’s retweets in the race’s final days, according to Twitter’s statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

They also fired off nearly 200,000 retweets in the same time for WikiLeaks, which exposed stolen information from Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee that U.S. intelligence agencies have traced to Russian hackers.

Facebook, meanwhile, told the Senate Intelligence Committee last week that Russian trolls posing as American activists created 129 political events between 2015 and 2017, which were seen by more than 300,000 Facebook users and in some cases drew demonstrators to the streets en masse. About 62,500 users said they would attend one of the events and another 25,800 users expressed interest in going. 

The events often preyed on divisive political or cultural issues, and sometimes set up demonstrations that would directly oppose each other or conflict with plans from actual activists. In one instance, according to Facebook, a fake page called “Heart of Texas” that called for the state to secede from the country promoted a “Stop Islamization of Texas” protest in May 2016 for the opening of an Islamic Center’s library. Another Kremlin Facebook group, “United Muslims of America,” promoted a “Save Islamic Knowledge” event for the same time.

This is what results from simply wanting to be spoon fed the news, and not utilizing our critical thinking skills. 

The Russians recognized that Americans had become sheep and they helped to herd us right over a cliff.

Joe Biden says that the Obama Administration wanted a bipartisan response to the Russian interference in the last election but were blocked by Mitch McConnell.

Courtesy of Politico:  

Joe Biden said Tuesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stopped the Obama administration from speaking out about Russian interference in the 2016 campaign by refusing to sign on to a bipartisan statement of condemnation. 

That moment, the former Democratic vice president said, made him think “the die had been cast ... this was all about the political play.” 

He expressed regret, in hindsight, given the intelligence he says came in after Election Day. "Had we known what we knew three weeks later, we may have done something more,” Biden, a potential 2020 presidential candidate, said. 

Biden was speaking at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, a block from his old office at the Old Executive Office Building, to discuss his new article in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, “How to Stand Up to the Kremlin.”

As you might expect McConnell disagrees strongly with this characterization of eventts.

However I reported this exact same event back in December of 2016: 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is rejecting bipartisan calls for a special committee to investigate Russian interference in the U.S. election, which American intelligence says was aimed in part at helping Republican Donald Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. 

What's more a former Obama White House staff echoed Biden's version of events:  

“Our administration's interest in making sure the response was bipartisan wasn't for the sake of being bipartisan. It was necessary because we needed the buy-in from state and local election administrators (many of whom were Republican partisans and/or skeptical of federal government),” the official argued in an email. “Unfortunately, as is well documented, Senator McConnell was unwilling to help — only making matters worse.”

Let's face it Mitch McConnell does not care about protecting American election integrity just so long as the meddling benefits his party's candidate.

More about Donald Trump's affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels.

As it turns out there was a reporter from Slate working on the story about Trump and Daniels before the election.

Jacob Weisberg did not post that story because he did not feel he had enough corroboration to write it with confidence that it could stand up to scrutiny.

Now that the Wall Street Journal has written their account of Daniels receiving $130,000 in hush money Weisberg has written about what he learned during multiple interviews with Daniels.

From the article: 

Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, did indeed have a story about Trump, which she related to me in a series of phone conversations and text exchanges that took place between August and October of 2016. 

Daniels told me she’d gone to Trump’s hotel room after meeting him at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada in 2006. There they’d begun a sexual relationship, which continued for nearly a year. They’d met in New York and more than once in Los Angeles. In early 2007, Trump had invited her to a party to promote Trump Vodka, where she was photographed. He’d also invited her to his Miss USA pageant that year. 

In our conversations, Daniels said she was holding back on the juiciest details, such as her ability to describe things about Trump that only someone who had seen him naked would know. She intimated that her view of his sexual skill was at odds with the remark attributed to Marla Maples.

You may remember that Maples reported that it was "The Best Sex" she had ever had.

You know just like Trump is the least racist person you have ever met, the best businessman in history, and the healthiest person to ever occupy the White House.

Weisberg sort of glossed over the more prurient details and instead focused on what was then a pending financial agreement between the lawyers for Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels' attorney: 

Daniels said that, through intermediaries, she and Trump had worked out an agreement for the presidential candidate to pay her a six-figure sum to keep quiet. More specifically, she said her lawyer Keith Davidson, a Beverly Hills–based attorney who specializes in claims against celebrities, had worked out the terms with Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen. 

Daniels told me that agreement involved a complicated arrangement to shield the real names of the parties. She texted me an unsigned two-page document spelling out this arrangement, the title of which was “Exhibit ‘A’ to the Confidential Settlement Agreement and Release: Assignment of Copyright and Non-Disparagement Agreement.”* The document she texted me indicated that in the main agreement—a document I never saw—“Stephanie Gregory Clifford aka Stormy Daniels is referred to by the pseudonym ‘Peggy Peterson,’ and ___________ is referred to by the pseudonym ‘David Dennison.’ ” 

The document Daniels sent me included two additional pseudonyms, “David Delucia” and “RCI,” but did not indicate which person and/or entity those pseudonyms referred to. Another provision in the document I saw stated that only Daniels’ lawyer Keith Davidson and a lawyer for the other party would be allowed to retain copies of the side-letter agreement identifying the parties by their actual names.

About a week before the election Daniels stopped responding to texts and emails, likely due to the fact that she had reached that financial agreement which the Wall Street Journal reported on recently.

Now it is very unlikely that this story by Weisberg would have changed the outcome of the election, because let's face it unless this was gay sex, or sex with a black person, Trump's deplorables would not be bothered in the least.

However, as has been pointed out by a number of commentators, this story would have DESTROYED the candidacy of any other politician that we can think of, and that right there tells us just how far away from our moral center we have drifted since Donald Trump rode down that escalator to announce his candidacy.

In Touch got even more information about this fling from Daniels back in 2011. Here is their story:

Stormy told In Touch, “[The sex] was textbook generic,” while discussing the fling they had less than four months after Donald’s wife, Melania, gave birth to their son, Barron. “I actually don’t even know why I did it, but I do remember while we were having sex, I was like, ‘Please, don’t try to pay me.’” 

At one point, Stormy told In Touch, she excused herself to go to the bathroom. “When I came out, he was sitting on the bed and he was like, ‘Come here.’ And I was like, ‘Ugh, here we go.’ And we started kissing.” After having sex, Stormy said, “We hung out for a little while and he just kept saying, ‘I’m gonna call you, I’m gonna call you. I have to see you again. You’re amazing. We have to get you on The Apprentice.’” 

Of course Trump never did get Daniels that gig on "The Apprentice" or kept any other promises that he made to her.

However he DID pay her off, which is why she is denying all of this now.

On a final note the fellow adult film star that Stormy Daniels invited to a threesome with Donald Trump appeared on the Megyn Kelly show to tell her side of things.

I do not typically post video of Kelly's show, but I think you will like this.

“Picture this: Donald Trump chasing me around the bedroom in his tighty whities isn’t something you forget.”

And now none of us will be able to forget it, or that such an embarrassing POS is occupying the People's House. 

Right before election adult film star was paid $130,000 to stay quiet about her affair with Donald Trump.

Courtesy of CNN: 

President Donald Trump's longtime attorney denied that Trump had a sexual encounter with a porn star after a report by The Wall Street Journal on Friday alleged the lawyer helped facilitate a six-figure payment to the actress in October 2016 in exchange for her silence. 

Michael Cohen, Trump's personal attorney, said the President "vehemently denies" the encounter, but did not address the alleged payment in a statement to CNN. 

The story, which cites people familiar with the matter, says Cohen arranged a $130,000 payment to Stephanie Clifford -- whose stage name is "Stormy Daniels" -- a month ahead of the election. Cohen denies the sexual encounter took place.

"These rumors have circulated time and again since 2011," Cohen said in a statement to CNN. "President Trump once again vehemently denies any such occurrence as has Ms. Daniels." Cohen, once one of Trump's most trusted aides, is no longer in regular contact with Trump -- a distance forced by the Russia investigations, in which Cohen has been entangled. 

A White House official said in a statement: "These are old, recycled reports, which were published and strongly denied prior to the election."

I am kind of irritated with myself because I actually typed up more than half of a post on this story yesterday, but then thought that I had already written one about it right before the election, so I deleted it.

However I actually got this story confused with the story about the former Playboy model Karen McDougal, which I really did write about in October 2016.

In that post McDougal was paid by the National Enquirer to write a story about her affair, that apparently they then killed in order to protect Trump.

You can understand my confusion.

However this Stormy Daniels story is a new one, and according to author Michael Wolff, probably just another one of many.

Courtesy of Business Insider:  

Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump's former top strategist, alleged in journalist Michael Wolff's tell-all book about the Trump White House that the president's longtime attorney, Marc Kasowitz, "took care" of 100 women during the presidential campaign. 

"Look, Kasowitz has known [Trump] for twenty-five years. Kasowitz has gotten him out of all kinds of jams," Bannon reportedly said. "Kasowitz on the campaign — what did we have, a hundred women? Kasowitz took care of all of them." 

This apparently off-hand remark may take on new significance after The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that another lawyer for the president, Michael Cohen, sent $130,000 to a porn star just weeks before the 2016 presidential election to keep her silent about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump.

So apparently not only has Trump cheated on his wife Melania, but he has done so constantly.

Some of Trump's supporters have questioned the legitimacy of the Wall Street Journal's reporting, but according to the Daily Beast they have three sources that confirm the account, including one porn star who was invited to a threesome with Trump and Stormy: 

According to fellow porn star Alana Evans—who was not only Daniels’ neighbor and close friend at the time, but also happened to be staying in the area—Daniels confided in her that she and Trump were more than just friends. 

“It was the second day of our trip, we were in a hotel with a tattoo parlor, and the hotel had huge windows so you could see people outside. When I saw Stormy, I was like WTF? I opened the door, called out to her, and she joined me while [my colleague] got a tattoo,” recalls Evans. “Stormy said she met Donald Trump and then tells me about the golf tournament and how she’s supposed to hang out with him later that night, and she invited me. Stormy said Donald knew exactly who she was and wanted to meet her.” 

Later that evening after returning to her hotel room, Evans said Daniels kept calling, asking her to come join the party. But Evans wasn’t interested and made up reasons not to go.

“Stormy calls me four or five times, by the last two phone calls she’s with Donald [Trump] and I can hear him, and he’s talking through the phone to me saying, ‘Oh come on Alana, let’s have some fun! Let’s have some fun! Come to the party, we’re waiting for you.’ And I was like, ‘OMG it’s Donald Trump!’ Men like him scare me because they have so much power and this was way before his presidential nomination. So I bailed on them and turned my phone off.”

Boy you can sure see how Trump managed to attract all of that Evangelical support, can't you?

Kris Kobach, head of Trump's bullshit election integrity commission, is upset because he cannot get to any meetings due to all of the pending lawsuits.

Courtesy of The Topeka Capital-Journal: 

President Donald Trump’s controversial commission on election integrity should meet again in January after being delayed for months because of eight lawsuits demanding its staff’s time, the group’s de facto leader, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, said this week. 

Trump set up his Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity earlier this year after claiming he lost the popular vote to his opponent, Hillary Clinton, because of 3 million to 5 million illegal votes. The group has drawn criticism from organizations that believe it to be a tool for voter suppression. 

Eight lawsuits sit in federal court opposing the commission from plaintiffs including one of the commission’s own members and groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. 

“I’m not aware of any presidential commission that has encountered so much litigation from special interest groups,” Kobach said.

Kobach said his commission hasn’t met since September, largely because of that litigation. 

“Much of the past few months has been spent by commission staff answering discovery requests for information and drafting affidavits and things that like — going through the legwork of litigation, and that takes time,” Kobach said. “We have a very small staff in Washington, D.C., and that staff has been bogged down in litigation.”

Aww, poor baby!

 I would like to feel sorry for this doucheknozzle, but I don't.

This is a bullshit commission, based a fake problem, that Trump insists be investigated because he is determined to prove he won the popular vote in 2016.

He didn't.

And nothing this Kris Kobach fellow manufactures is going to prove otherwise.

However if he is successful in getting it up and running, it will of course be used by Trump in 2018 and 2020 to discard Democratic votes and try and steal those elections.

Roy Moore files legal complaint to prevent Doug Jones from being sworn in as Alabama's newest Senator, citing already debunked allegations of election fraud.

I don't understand math.

Courtesy of WaPo: 

Roy Moore, the Republican nominee who lost Alabama’s closely watched Senate race this month, has filed a last-minute legal complaint alleging “election fraud” and asking the state not to confirm the victory of Democrat Doug Jones. 

In the complaint filed in state court, Moore’s campaign argues that Alabama “will suffer irreparable harm if the election results are certified without preserving and investigating all the evidence of potential fraud.” It cites rumors of election fraud that have already been investigated and refuted by the Alabama secretary of state, argues that high Democratic turnout in key areas was statistically unlikely, and reports that Moore himself has taken a polygraph test — an attempt to disprove allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances on teenagers when he was in his 30s. 

Moore’s lawyers filed the complaint at 10:33 p.m. Wednesday night and announced it to reporters less than two hours later. At 1 p.m. Thursday, Alabama’s election officials — all Republicans — are scheduled to certify the election. Early Thursday morning, they gave no indication that they would delay that process. In Washington, leaders of both parties expect Jones to take his oath of office when the Senate returns next month.

Unfortunately for Moore and his alternative reality living supporters the Alabama Secretary of State says there are no plans to alter the will of the people.

Courtesy CNN:

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill confirmed Thursday morning that Democrat Doug Jones will be certified the winner of the Alabama special Senate election despite Republican Roy Moore's refusal to concede and request for a new election. 

"Will this affect anything?" Merrill said on CNN's "New Day," referring to Moore's challenge. "The short answer to that is no." 

Merrill said he would meet Thursday afternoon with Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and the state Attorney General Steve Marshall to certify Jones' win, and that Jones would indeed be sworn in when the Senate returns in January. 

"We will sign the documents certifying him as the senator for the state of Alabama," Merrill said. "He will be sworn in by Vice President Pence on January 3 when the Senate returns."

This is something that I never thought I would say but in the case of Roy Moore, being a pedophile may not have been his worst personality trait.

This guy is a straight up asshole through and through.

The Senate really dodged the bullet on this one.

I cannot imagine that this douchebag works and plays well with others.

Update: It looks like a judge just rejected Moore's challenge, and Jones is about to be certified as the new Alabama Senator. 

Update 2: Doug Jones was just now certified as the winner of this election.

So now pedophile Roy Moore can just jump on that poor horse of his and ride off into the sunset. 

Assuming that horse does not throw him off onto his ass of course.

The Washington Post dives deep to explore Donald Trump's overwhelming desire to be Vladimir Putin's buddy and his skepticism concerning American intelligence.

The following is courtesy of WaPo.

Trump angrily resisted having to admit that the Russians hacked the DNC:

But as aides persisted, Trump became agitated. He railed that the intelligence couldn’t be trusted and scoffed at the suggestion that his candidacy had been propelled by forces other than his own strategy, message and charisma.

Told that members of his incoming Cabinet had already publicly backed the intelligence report on Russia, Trump shot back, “So what?” Admitting that the Kremlin had hacked Democratic Party emails, he said, was a “trap.” 

As Trump addressed journalists on Jan. 11 in the lobby of Trump Tower, he came as close as he ever would to grudging acceptance. “As far as hacking, I think it was Russia,” he said, adding that “we also get hacked by other countries and other people.” 

As hedged as those words were, Trump regretted them almost immediately. “It’s not me,” he said to aides afterward. “It wasn’t right.”

This has left America essentially defenseless against further Russian cyber attacks:  

Nearly a year into his presidency, Trump continues to reject the evidence that Russia waged an assault on a pillar of American democracy and supported his run for the White House. 

The result is without obvious parallel in U.S. history, a situation in which the personal insecurities of the president — and his refusal to accept what even many in his administration regard as objective reality — have impaired the government’s response to a national security threat. The repercussions radiate across the government. 

Rather than search for ways to deter Kremlin attacks or safeguard U.S. elections, Trump has waged his own campaign to discredit the case that Russia poses any threat and he has resisted or attempted to roll back efforts to hold Moscow to account.

In fact rather than look for ways to protect America and punish Russia for their interference, the Trump Administration has worked to  roll back some of the sanctions put in place by the Obama Administration and to resist the implementation of newer ones.

Trump also seems almost desperate to form an alliance with Putin and the Kremlin:  

Trump’s stance on the election is part of a broader entanglement with Moscow that has defined the first year of his presidency. He continues to pursue an elusive bond with Putin, which he sees as critical to dealing with North Korea, Iran and other issues. “Having Russia in a friendly posture,” he said last month, “is an asset to the world and an asset to our country.” 

His position has alienated close American allies and often undercut members of his Cabinet — all against the backdrop of a criminal probe into possible ties between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

Overall the Kremlin is pleased with the results of their interference:   

Moscow has not achieved some its most narrow and immediate goals. The annexation of Crimea from Ukraine has not been recognized. Sanctions imposed for Russian intervention in Ukraine remain in place. Additional penalties have been mandated by Congress. And a wave of diplomatic retaliation has cost Russia access to additional diplomatic facilities, including its San Francisco consulate. 

But overall, U.S. officials said, the Kremlin believes it got a staggering return on an operation that by some estimates cost less than $500,000 to execute and was organized around two main objectives — destabilizing U.S. democracy and preventing Hillary Clinton, who is despised by Putin, from reaching the White House. 

The bottom line for Putin, said one U.S. official briefed on the stream of post-election intelligence, is that the operation was “more than worth the effort.”

“Putin has to believe this was the most successful intelligence operation in the history of Russian or Soviet intelligence,” said Andrew Weiss, a former adviser on Russia in the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations who is now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “It has driven the American political system into a crisis that will last years.”

Well gee, isn't that great?

When it came time to sign the new Russian sanctions bill that the Congress overwhelmingly approved, Trump almost could not bring himself to do it:

In the final days before passage, Trump watched MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program and stewed as hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski declared that the bill would be a slap in the face to the president. “He was raging,” one adviser said. 

“He was raging mad.” 

After final passage, Trump was “apoplectic,” the adviser recalled. It took four days for aides to persuade him to sign the bill, arguing that if he vetoed it and Congress overturned that veto, his standing would be permanently weakened. 

“Hey, here are the votes,” aides told the president, according to a second Trump adviser. “If you veto it, they’ll override you and then you’re f---ed and you look like you’re weak.” 

Trump signed but made his displeasure known. His signing statement asserted that the measure included “clearly unconstitutional provisions.” Trump had routinely made a show of bill signings, but in this case no media was allowed to attend.

After the sanctions bill passed into law the Russian Prime Minister taunted Trump on Facebook, and called him "impotent," which of course only further angered Trump.

There is a lot more to the article, and I urge you to read it.

Once you finish I am sure you will agree with me that we desperately need to find a way to remove this asshole from office as soon as possible.

Roy Moore was trounced last night in Alabama, but that does not mean he is ready to concede.

Man after listening to that speech you would think that God was running on the ticket right along with this accused pedophile.

Courtesy of AL.Com: 

Roy Moore has frequently said, in social media posts, that he will never give up the fight. 

And after he lost the Alabama Senate election on Tuesday to Democrat Doug Jones, Moore is sticking with that mantra -- refusing to concede the race to Jones. 

He waited more than a hour after the race was called to address supporters in downtown Montgomery late Tuesday night, then told them to wait some more. 

"Realize when vote is this close, it's not over and we still have to go by the rules," Moore told the crowd, which cheered when he appeared on stage. 

Even as Moore refused to surrender, Alabama GOP Chair Terry Lathan issued a statement late Tuesday night acknowledging Jones' win -- concluding her statement with "now that this race has ended."

An automatic recount only comes into play if one candidate beats the other by less than 1 percent of the vote, but since Jones beat Moore by 1.5 percent that will not come into play here.

And if Moore thinks he will get any support from Donald Trump, well he has another think coming.

The reason I originally endorsed Luther Strange (and his numbers went up mightily), is that I said Roy Moore will not be able to win the General Election. I was right! Roy worked hard but the deck was stacked against him!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2017

That Mr. Moore is known as being thrown under the bus. (Say hi to Reince Priebus, George Papadopolous, and Michael Flynn while you're down there.)

Now while we are all celebrating the people of Alabama (Actually the black people of Alabama.) for rejecting this teen girl assaulting asshole, keep in mind that over 650,000 Alabamans voted for his racist ass.

So perhaps we should keep the victory parade a little short, and then recognize that there is still much work to be done.

But as Julian Castro pointed out there are those who certainly need to be aware that something is coming.

Be afraid, @tedcruz . Be very afraid.

— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) December 13, 2017

Best cover ever!

Bama bucks the perv! https://t.co/9ZaMFXw7aA

An early look at Wednesday's front... pic.twitter.com/HkiiBl4v0V

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) December 13, 2017

That is worthy of framing.