Month: June 2019

Adrift at the switch
by Tom Sullivan

Acting president Trump’s rudderless ship of state continues to drift. Only now it is drifting toward war with Iran without a secretary of defense. Another 1,000 U.S. troops are headed to the Middle East somewhere, says National Security Adviser John Bolton, “to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.”

With Trump’s latest acting secretary of defense, Patrick Shanahan, stepping aside “for family reasons” that involve domestic abuse, and the president basking in the glow of his Proud Boy supporters Tuesday night in Orlando, it is not clear who is minding the (prospective) war.

Proud Boys and white power signs in Orlando. pic.twitter.com/t0ELnjtkTB— Philip Crowther (@PhilipinDC) June 18, 2019

The Washington Post reports Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned Iran privately “that any attack by Tehran or its proxies resulting in the death of even one American service member will generate a military counterattack.”

That is a step down from inflammatory rhetoric over attacks on commercial shipping in the Gulf of Oman. But “or its proxies” is a hole big enough to drive an oil tanker through, given Pompeo has already blamed an attack by the Taliban on U.S. troops in Afghanistan on the Iranian state.

The administration wants to cripple the Iranian economy with its “maximum pressure campaign,” the Post continues:

While State Department officials sought to achieve a “sweet spot” that would weaken Iran through sanctions but not push so hard that Iran would withdraw from the nuclear deal, others have argued that Trump’s goal is to destroy the accord at any cost and pursue a more expansive policy that seeks to cripple Iran’s proxy forces throughout the region.

Pentagon and State Department officials have complained, however, about the difficulty of getting an adequate hearing for these debates under Bolton. As a result, arguments about policy frequently are not aired and do not reach the president. The process is “very exclusionary, and Bolton has very sharp elbows,” the senior administration official said.

U.S. allies in Europe have voiced concern about Iran’s activities but also urged both sides to avoid increasing tensions. A German official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Berlin wants the situation to de-escalate and believes the U.S. pressure campaign sparked the Iranian response. The Americans “created this mess, and now they have to find a way to get out.”

The concern is Trump, or more likely his proxies, will decide the only way out is through. Rhetoric from the Trump administration is triggering PTSD episodes among those remember George W. Bush’s fabrications leading to war with Iraq.

This little tidbit from Task & Purpose on the tanker attacks should sound familiar:

While the U.S. government has publicly blamed Iran for recent attacks on merchant vessels in the Gulf of Oman, not a single U.S. official has provided a shred of proof linking Iran to the explosive devices found on the merchant ships.

At an off-camera briefing on Monday, Navy officials acknowledged that nothing in imagery released by the Pentagon shows Iranian Revolutionary Guards planting limpet mines on ships in the Gulf of Oman.

U.S. Central Command has identified a boat from which men detached one of those mines as belonging to Iran, but they were unable to say how that was determined. The boat has no distinctive markings and is flying no flag in pictures released by the Pentagon.

U.S. intelligence expert and and Navy veteran Malcolm Nance is skeptical.

TANKER ATTACK: 1. This new CENTCOM timeline attributing the tanker attack to Iran because 10 hrs later IRGC show skill at removing UXO is thin. Every nation has EOD teams. If this happened mins after the attack it would be very suspicious but 10 hours? That’s normal, not evidence https://t.co/5I1ldS2d08— Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) June 18, 2019

“Nothing says confidence in your position like that simple phrase ‘off camera briefing’,” tweets another veteran.

Trump triples down on the Central Park Five

by digby

If you still don’t think this asshole is a white supremacist:

Holy shit — years after DNA evidence exonerated them, Trump suggests the Central Park 5 are guilty and refuses to apologize for saying they should be executed.

"You have people on both sides of that. They admitted their guilt." pic.twitter.com/Tb8ENrBJ1I— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 18, 2019

He doubled down after the city’s settlement and he hasn’t changed his mind.

The Central Park Five horror was a modern-day lynching and Donald Trump led the charge.

He wanted them dead.

And they were proven innocent through DNA and the confession of a proven serial rapist.

And he has no regrets.

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Xenophobic Breitbart writer Katherine Gorka promoted at DHS

by digby

Yes, she is married to the fascist Sebastian Gorka:

Katharine Gorka, a political appointee at the Department of Homeland Security who has stirred controversy for her views on terrorism and her role in the department’s efforts to combat violent extremism in the US, is expected to be the new press secretary at Customs and Border Protection.
Acting CBP Commissioner John Sanders told CNN Tuesday that Gorka is expected to take the position and he advocated for her to join the agency.

The move comes as President Donald Trump continues his rhetoric against undocumented immigrants and the increasing number of migrants crossing the southern border and claiming asylum.

Trump issues vague threat to begin deporting ‘millions’ of undocumented immigrants next week
Customs and Border Protection is the agency responsible for policing the US borders and facilitating legal trade and travel. It is also the frontline agency dealing with the surge of migrants at the southern border. If Gorka steps into this new role, she will be taking on the public face of the agency at the center of the President’s attention, which has been struggling with capacity and resource issues.

The Department of Homeland Security has also seen a major turnover in senior staff in the wake of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s forced departure in April. Several CBP officials joined Kevin McAleenan at DHS headquarters when he was named acting Homeland Security secretary.

CNN has reached out to Gorka for a response to her new post and past controversies.

Gorka is married to Sebastian Gorka, the former deputy assistant to Trump, who was an outspoken and combative defender of the President’s national security agenda, known for his dire warnings of Islamic terrorism while writing for Breitbart.
Sebastian Gorka left the White House in August 2017, in the wake of chief White House strategist Steve Bannon’s forced departure.

Both Gorkas wrote for Breitbart, where Bannon served as an executive before and after his time at the White House.

In a 2014, Breitbart story, Katharine Gorka, under the name Katie Gorka, wrote that “Presidents Bush and Obama both publicly declared Islam to be a religion of peace, which has struck a sour chord for many. “

“To date, American and Western leaders have preemptively shut down any debate within Islam by declaring that Islam is the religion of peace and that terrorism has nothing to do with Islam,” she wrote.

In another 2014 article, she wrote that the Obama administration “narrowly defined the enemy as only the most violent jihadists: first Al Qaeda and now ISIS.”

“This inaccurate assessment of the enemy has its roots in left-wing theories about social movements,” she wrote in part.

Her hubbie is this guy, as you know.

He was fired from the White House because he couldn’t get a security clearance. Apparently, when push comes to shove they actually stop full-blown Nazis, pictured in uniform, from having permanent jobs in American government. Whew.

Sebastian Gorka defends Trump's "Access Hollywood" comments: "He said that when he was a Democrat" pic.twitter.com/4IO6pz8RB5— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) June 17, 2019

Gorka, a conservative radio host and ex-Breitbart editor who was deputy adviser on national security during Trump’s first eight months, came to the president’s defense when Jane from Atlanta called into his show, “America First,” with concerns about Trump saying he had groped women “while he’s actually married.”
[…]
Gorka immediately went on the defensive when Jane raised her concern.

Talking over her, Gorka sternly said: “Jane, stop talking … How do you know he actually did that? Remember he said that when he was a Democrat. So, let’s not forget that. How do you know he did that?”

He seems nice.

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The Alt-Right is alive and well. In the mainstream of the Republican Party

by digby

Right-wing Watch:

Maine Republican Party Vice Chair Nick Isgro warned viewers of a livestream on Facebook that abortion providers were given subsidies “so we can kill our own people” while “global elites” bring immigrants into America “to be used for our own destruction.”

In a Facebook Live video uploaded to the “Restore Maine’s Future” page on Facebook last weekend, Isgro told viewers that the state of Maine was suffering an “absolute crisis.” Isgro said that sanctuary city policies in Portland, Maine, were a threat to the rest of the state.

“We keep being told that we need more workers at the same time that we’re expanding and giving massive subsidies, now, to the abortion industry so we can kill our own people, but we have to import all these people so that we can continue to have a stream of cheap labor,” Isgro said. He went on to refer to asylum-seeking immigrants in Maine as “human pawns in a game that is being played by global elites.”

“Don’t let them pull on your heartstrings. They use a lot of emotional arguments. We have compassion on people who are being used as human pawns, but we cannot allow that to be used for our own destruction,” Isgro said. “We need to prioritize Mainers first.”

Isgro’s comments echo the sentiments “great replacement” conspiracy theories spread in white nationalist circles, which allege that wealthy elites (often used in those circles as a code-phrase for Jews) are bringing immigrants into Europe and North America with the intention of destroying the “homelands” of white people.

He added, “Everything that we love and hold dear as Mainers is under attack and this influx of immigrants is all part of the plan to continue to do that, in order to undermine our ability to band together and put an end to what’s going on.”
[…]
Isgro’s remarks follow a long series of hateful statements documented by Maine Beacon, a website created by progressive group Maine People’s Alliance. On Facebook, Isgro has frequently used terminology associated with the surge of the so-called “alt-right” in 2016; he called anti-sexual harassment legislation “cucked shit,” and frequently shared posts attacking Muslim and Somali immigrants.

You will recall that the “Great Replacement” theory was one of the stated motivations of the white supremacist shooters at the Tree of life and Christchurch Mosque terrorist attacks.

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They don’t need no stinkin’ secretaries

by digby

Key Trump admin. vacancies with acting leaders:

Acting Defense secretary
Acting DHS secretary
Acting UN ambassador
Acting SBA administrator
Acting chief of staff
Acting FEMA director
Acting ICE director
Acting USCIS director
Acting FAA administrator https://t.co/VryNVynCHl— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 18, 2019

Keep in mind, the reason for this is that they can’t find anyone who can be confirmed by the (GOP!) Senate and for those jobs that don’t require it, they can’t find people who are docile or stupid enough to carry out this toxic barbarian’s incoherent impulses.

Oh, and the Shanahan story is astonishing.

He sure knows how to pick ’em.

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Corrupt all the way down

by digby

This is a truly stunning development:

Paul J. Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman who is serving a federal prison sentence, had been expected to be transferred to the notorious Rikers Island jail complex this month to await trial on a separate state case.

But last week, Manhattan prosecutors were surprised to receive a letter from the second-highest law enforcement official in the country inquiring about Mr. Manafort’s case. The letter, from Jeffrey A. Rosen, Attorney General William P. Barr’s new top deputy, indicated that he was monitoring where Mr. Manafort would be held in New York.

And then, on Monday, federal prison officials weighed in, telling the Manhattan district attorney’s office that Mr. Manafort, 70, would not be going to Rikers.

Instead, he will await his trial at a federal lockup in Manhattan or at the Pennsylvania federal prison where he is serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for wide-ranging financial schemes, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

A senior Justice Department official said that the department believed Mr. Manafort’s treatment was appropriate, but several former and current prosecutors said the decision was highly unusual. Most federal inmates facing state charges are held on Rikers Island.

The intervention of Mr. Rosen was just the latest twist in the case of Mr. Manafort, whose campaign work for Mr. Trump and political consulting in Ukraine put him in the cross hairs of a two-year investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election.

He was convicted last year of financial fraud in two separate federal cases that came out of the investigation, which was led by the former special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III.

While that might have been the end of his criminal problems, in March, he was indicted on 16 New York state felonies, including mortgage fraud and falsifying records to obtain millions of dollars in loans. The indictment, which was based on some of the same actions in one of the federal cases, was brought by the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., in an effort to ensure Mr. Manafort would still face prison time if Mr. Trump pardoned him for his federal crimes.

According to all the legal experts I’ve seen, this is unprecedented and a sign that the corruption of the Barr’s DOJ is going to be far more blatantly corrupt than just carrying out Fox News’ Hillary Clinton fever dreams.

The only good news in this is that the Supremes ruled on Friday that New York will be able to prosecute Manafort on state charges due to its opinion that the double jeopardy rule does not apply to state charges, meaning a presidential pardon will not get him out of jail. I don’t think Trump is going to be able to do anything about Manafort beyond helping him stay out of Riker’s Island. Maybe that’s all Manafort needs to keep his mouth shut, but you have to wonder …

In any case, William Barr and the rest of Trump’s henchmen they’ve installed at the DOJ are proving to be exactly the kind of corrupt partisan players they accuse those who saw Trump’s Russia connections to have been. Surprise …

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A smart argument for impeachment

by digby

Today I wanted to speak directly to the people of CA-45. There's been a lot of noise in D.C. and in the press about impeachment, so I wanted to share my thoughts with you. pic.twitter.com/ceri6lHwbY— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) June 18, 2019

She’s a law professor. And like one of her professors before her, Elizabeth Warren, she read the report and considered the facts. And came to the only conclusion you can come to if you do that.

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Migrants with limpet mines
by Tom Sullivan

The president plans a big crackdown on immigrants next week. He’ll deport millions. It will be yooge. You will want to tune in. He’s bringing back Sweeps Week.

“Next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States,” Donald Trump tweeted Monday night. “They will be removed as fast as they come in.”

The president’s pitching this is news to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and new director Mark Morgan, a former FBI and Border Patrol official. ICE does not like having its immigrant roundups telegraphed. “U.S. officials with knowledge of the preparations have said in recent days that the operation was not imminent,” reports the Washington Post, “and ICE officials said late Monday night that they were not aware that the president planned to divulge their enforcement plans on Twitter.”

Trump urged then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to consider prosecuting Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf last year for alerting citizens of an impending federal raid. Publicizing a future operation is “unheard of at ICE.” But like fictional Russian Premier Dimitri Kissoff, Trump loves surprises.

Here’s another, per the Post:

The family arrest plan has been considered even more sensitive than a typical operation because children are involved, and Homeland Security officials retain significant concerns that families will be inadvertently separated by the operation, especially because parents in some households have deportation orders but their children — some of whom are U.S. citizens — might not. Should adults be arrested without their children because they are at school, day care, summer camp or a friend’s house, it is possible parents could be deported while their children are left behind.

Supporters of the plan, including [Stephen] Miller, Morgan and ICE Deputy Director Matthew Albence, have argued forcefully that a dramatic and highly publicized operation of this type will send a message to families that are in defiance of deportation orders and could act as a deterrent.

Just the thought forced “senior immigration adviser” Miller to pull his mechanical arm back down onto the armrest of his wheelchair.

As a practical matter, deporting “millions” is likely more of Trump’s empty boasting. ICE is already stretched thin managing detainees at the southern border with Mexico. But Morgan hopes to expand enforcement of deportation orders in the country’s interior. Morgan took over after Trump rescinded the nomination of acting ICE director Ronald Vitiello in April in favor of someone who would take the agency in a “tougher direction.” Vitiello and former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen had opposed the sweeps planned in 10 major cities over concerns of public backlash and worries the raids would divert resources from the border. Trump purged both in April.

Trump dropped announced plans to impose tariffs on all Mexican goods after the country agreed to step up its own efforts to stem migrant flow through its territory. The administration announced plans on Monday to cut millions in aid to “Northern Triangle” countries for not doing more to prevent migration of citizens fleeing “rampant poverty, deep-rooted political instability and widespread insecurity“:

Aid workers spearheading efforts to remedy these systemic problems in the region have warned the decision will backfire, penalizing poor and working-class Central Americans for the failures of their elected leaders and fueling more migration to the U.S. Most of the aid allocated by the U.S., including by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is sent directly to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), not governments in the Northern Triangle.

An avid golfer, Trump keeps only sticks in his bag, no carrots. He’s all about toughness, punishment, and the rule of law enforced against others. Heightening fears of violent invaders from the south is what helped him win election in 2016. He’s running the same plays again for 2020. His Monday evening surprise comes ahead of his reelection launch rally in Orlando, Florida Tuesday night.

Give him time. He’ll accuse “caravans” of African migrants from Central America of smuggling limpet mines for attacking U.S. shipping. And once again, Stephen Miller will walk.

by digby

This is the worst thing we could possibly do to stem the surge of asylum seekers from Central America. So, of course, we are doing it:

The State Department announced Monday afternoon that it is cutting off any further aid to Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador until the countries take “concrete actions to reduce the number of illegal migrants coming to the U.S. border.” 

Why it matters: The purpose of the U.S. foreign assistance targeted by Trump is to address the “root causes” of migration through governance reforms, security assistance and economic development, according to Axios Expert Voices contributor Erol Yayboke. 

Cutting off that aid could exacerbate conditions in the Northern Triangle and lead to even more migration.

The big picture: This move has been in the works since March, with President Trump ramping up pressure on the three Central American nations to slow the surge of migrants. The State Department will work with Congress to reprogram the hundreds of millions of dollars in aid it provides to Central America elsewhere, according to spokesperson Morgan Ortagus.

Now read this awful story:
The youngest child separated from his family at the border was four months old. It will make you sick.

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The Trumps are in a New York state of panic


by digby

Or, at least, they should be. They are all officers of the Trump Organization, a New York Company that has come under serious scrutiny by the state Attorney General.

Via Crooks and Liars:

So that takes care of the Trump pardon problem. The Supreme Court decided 7-2 today that states have the right under the dual sovereignty provision to charge defendants already convicted of federal crimes. ABC:

In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday has upheld an exception to the Fifth Amendment’s ban on “double jeopardy,” allowing a state and the federal government to each prosecute an individual for the same action if it violates both state and federal laws. 

The case could have incidentally expanded the presidential pardon power by ending the exception, but the court did not take that step.