05 October 19
The Party of Collusion
William Saletan, Slate
Saletan writes: "Trump asked a foreign government for help in an election. Republicans say that's fine."
William Saletan, Slate
Saletan writes: "Trump asked a foreign government for help in an election. Republicans say that's fine."
EXCERPT:
Sen. James Risch of Idaho is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In June 2017, he interrogated then–Attorney General Jeff Sessions at a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. “Collusion with the Russians—or any other government, for that matter, when it comes to our elections—certainly would be improper and illegal,” Risch stipulated. He asked Sessions, “Would that be a fair statement?” Sessions replied, “Absolutely.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina expressed a similar view. At a press conference earlier this year, Graham, who is now the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, explained, “The big thing for me, guys, has always been: Did Trump work with the Russians? And I told him to his face, almost two years ago: ‘If you did, that’s it between me and you. And anything that follows, you deserve.’ I will say that about any politician of any party.”
Sen. Ron Johnson, the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, espoused the same rule. The pivotal question, the Wisconsin senator insisted, was whether “members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government.” The United States “should be investigating, ‘Was there collusion?’ ” said Johnson. In April, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell asked the senator whether he agreed with Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, that “it’s OK for Republican campaign members, for Republican candidates, to welcome support from a foreign adversary, from Russia. Do you feel the same way? Would you welcome support from Russia in your campaign?” Johnson replied decisively, “No.”
IRS building. (photo: unknown)
Political Appointee Interfered With IRS Trump-Pence Tax Audit, Second Whistleblower Says
Jeff Stein, Tom Hamburger and Josh Dawsey, The Washington Post
Excerpt: "An Internal Revenue Service official has filed a whistleblower complaint reporting that he was told that at least one Treasury Department political appointee attempted to improperly interfere with the annual audit of the president's or vice president's tax returns, according to multiple people familiar with the document."
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Jeff Stein, Tom Hamburger and Josh Dawsey, The Washington Post
Excerpt: "An Internal Revenue Service official has filed a whistleblower complaint reporting that he was told that at least one Treasury Department political appointee attempted to improperly interfere with the annual audit of the president's or vice president's tax returns, according to multiple people familiar with the document."
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Joe Biden with his son Hunter Biden. (photo: Getty)
Trump Publicly Urges China to Investigate the Bidens
Peter Baker and Eileen Sullivan, The New York Times
Excerpt: "President Trump, already facing impeachment for pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, publicly called on China on Thursday to examine former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. as well, an extraordinary request for help from a foreign power that could benefit him in next year's election."
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Peter Baker and Eileen Sullivan, The New York Times
Excerpt: "President Trump, already facing impeachment for pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, publicly called on China on Thursday to examine former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. as well, an extraordinary request for help from a foreign power that could benefit him in next year's election."
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Migrant teens line up for a class at a 'tender-age' facility for babies, children and teens, in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019, in San Benito, Texas. (photo: Eric Gay/AP)
Private Sector Seeks to Profit by Detaining Migrant Kids
Garance Burke and Martha Mendoza, Associated Press
Excerpt: "On a recent day in a remodeled brick church in the Rio Grande Valley, a caregiver tried to soothe a toddler, offering him a sippy cup. The adult knew next to nothing about the little 3-year-old whose few baby words appeared to be Portuguese. Shelter staff had tried desperately to find his family, calling the Brazilian consulate and searching Facebook."
READ MORE
Garance Burke and Martha Mendoza, Associated Press
Excerpt: "On a recent day in a remodeled brick church in the Rio Grande Valley, a caregiver tried to soothe a toddler, offering him a sippy cup. The adult knew next to nothing about the little 3-year-old whose few baby words appeared to be Portuguese. Shelter staff had tried desperately to find his family, calling the Brazilian consulate and searching Facebook."
READ MORE
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez fired Detective James 'J.T.' Thomas for racists posts he made in a closed Facebook group. (photo: Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle
Hundreds of Cops Are in Extremist Facebook Groups. Why Haven't Their Departments Done Anything About It?
Will Carless, Reveal
Carless writes: "Prison guard Geoffery Crosby was a member of more than 50 extremist groups on Facebook, including scores of racist groups dedicated to the Confederacy. Missouri Sheriff's Deputy Richard Crites was - and still is - posting anti-Muslim rants on his personal Facebook page. In Georgia, despite warnings from his chief, Abbeville police Officer Joel Quinn continues to post a steady stream of conspiracy theories and right-wing memes on Facebook, including recently sharing an anti-Semitic meme."
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Will Carless, Reveal
Carless writes: "Prison guard Geoffery Crosby was a member of more than 50 extremist groups on Facebook, including scores of racist groups dedicated to the Confederacy. Missouri Sheriff's Deputy Richard Crites was - and still is - posting anti-Muslim rants on his personal Facebook page. In Georgia, despite warnings from his chief, Abbeville police Officer Joel Quinn continues to post a steady stream of conspiracy theories and right-wing memes on Facebook, including recently sharing an anti-Semitic meme."
READ MORE
Hamid Yahya al-Oud, the father of Raja, 14, who died during a cluster bomb strike. (photo: Guardian UK)
A Father's Grief and the Made in USA Bomb Dropped in Yemen
Bethan McKernan, Guardian UK
McKernan writes: "Raja died on 23 March 2018. But the story of the bomb that is believed to have killed her stretches back decades earlier. Using the serial number and other technical information on the CBU-52 B/B's outer shell, the Guardian traced the munition from its manufacture in Milan, Tennessee, to Sahar farms, in north Yemen, where it ended a child's life."
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Bethan McKernan, Guardian UK
McKernan writes: "Raja died on 23 March 2018. But the story of the bomb that is believed to have killed her stretches back decades earlier. Using the serial number and other technical information on the CBU-52 B/B's outer shell, the Guardian traced the munition from its manufacture in Milan, Tennessee, to Sahar farms, in north Yemen, where it ended a child's life."
READ MORE
Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Washington. (photo: Elaine Thompson/AP)
Inside America's Most Toxic Nuclear Waste Dump, Where 56 Million Gallons of Buried Radioactive Sludge Are Leaking Into the Earth
James Pasley, Business Insider
Pasley writes: "The Hanford Nuclear Reservation is the most polluted area in the United States. Buried beneath the complex is 56 million gallons of radioactive waste that need to be dealt with."
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James Pasley, Business Insider
Pasley writes: "The Hanford Nuclear Reservation is the most polluted area in the United States. Buried beneath the complex is 56 million gallons of radioactive waste that need to be dealt with."
READ MORE
