Home | emptywheel

We can see, with documentary evidence, what BuzzFeed claimed happened with the Trump Tower deal: Donald Trump dictated a lie, and his staff and family repeated it, including before Congress.

Read more →

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

Jerome Corsi's Gazillion Dollar Lawsuit Against the Same Media Targets that Individual-1 Is Targeting

68 Comments

/

January 23, 2019

/

emptywheel

In amending his already frivolous lawsuit against Mueller yesterday, Jerome Corsi wove in several of the same media targets that Trump is also targeting.

Read more →

2020 Presidential Election, Congress, Trump Administration

Day 32+11H: Trump's Other Wall

26 Comments

/

January 23, 2019

/

Rayne

This post is about a wall. Nope, not about Trump's narcissistic pipe dream made of steel slats and Fox News-borne ego fluffing.

Read more →

Left Theory

A Primer On Ideology

58 Comments

/

January 22, 2019

/

Ed Walker

A few basic concepts from the theory of ideology.

Read more →

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

Rudy Is Relying on Tapes to Claim Buzzfeed Is Phony: But There Aren't Tapes of Everything

193 Comments

/

January 22, 2019

/

emptywheel

Rudy was relying on tapes -- presumably, those that Trump and Trump Organization got to review as part of the Special Master process reviewing privilege claims of the stuff seized in Michael Cohen's raid -- to claim that Thursday's Buzzfeed story is phony. But not everything would be taped.

Read more →

2016 Presidential Election, emptywheel, Mueller Probe

Trump's Lawyers Raised Concerns with Mueller's Office about Testimony They Shouldn't Know Whether Is Phony or Not

45 Comments

/

January 21, 2019

/

emptywheel

Rudy said yesterday he doesn't know whether Trump and Michael Cohen spoken before the latter lied to Congress. Yet somehow, he was so sure the story that Trump told Cohen to lie was phony he wrote a letter bitching about it.

Read more →

Free For All

Open Thread: Don't Shoot the Freezer

156 Comments

/

January 21, 2019

/

Rayne

Looks like the regulars may have cabin fever. Pour some boat drinks and bring your off-topic content here to air it out.

Read more →

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

Rudy Claims Credit for Peter Carr's Correction of BuzzFeed, Which Had the Goal of Tamping Down Impeachment Talk

156 Comments

/

January 20, 2019

/

emptywheel

On Jake Tapper's show, Rudy Giuliani appeared to take credit for Peter Carr's statement Friday pushing back on the Buzzfeed story about Michael Cohen. If that's right, it suggests DOJ's request for a statement may be even more inappropriate under Special Counsel regulations.

Read more →

Football, Trash Talk

Championship Sunday 2019 Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler

66 Comments

/

January 20, 2019

/

bmaz

There are notable football weekends in the year, both for the Pros and the Joes. But nothing matches the conference championship games weekend nor the Super Bowl.

Read more →

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

The House Intelligence Committee Can and Should Subpoena the 18-Minute Gap on the Trump Tower Deal

136 Comments

/

January 20, 2019

/

emptywheel

Over the last few days the following happened: Buzzfeed published a story stating what the evidence already shows: Trump suborned perjury Mueller's spox Peter Carr issued an unprecedented rebuttal to a specific story WaPo, in a story…

Read more →

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

DAG Rod Rosenstein Involves Himself in Mueller's Press Response to Buzzfeed Story

93 Comments

/

January 19, 2019

/

emptywheel

According the WaPo story presenting the official version of what happened with the Buzzfeed story the other day, Rod Rosenstein's office called Mueller's to see if he was releasing a statement. That seems to violate SCO regulations.

Read more →

2016 Presidential Election, Department of Justice, emptywheel, Law, Sanctions, Trump Administration, Unitary Executive

The SCO Statement and Why Cohen Should Not Testify Feb. 7

42 Comments

/

January 19, 2019

/

bmaz

Marcy wrote a great post this morning titled "Peter Carr Speaks". I agree with almost all of it, if not all of it, but feel compelled to add a couple of things. As to what the motivation of Carr and Mueller was, it is, at this date, unclear,…

Read more →

Congress, Trump Administration

Shutdown Day 28+15H: When Negotiations Fail, Add More Hostages

56 Comments

/

January 19, 2019

/

Rayne

Is it really too much to ask for a president and Senate Majority Leader to simply do the right thing by the country and reopen the government without fueling more political conflict?

Read more →

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

Peter Carr Speaks

101 Comments

/

January 19, 2019

/

emptywheel

Robert Mueller has the unenviable task of needing to sustain as much credibility for a bunch of serial liars as possible, starting with Michael Cohen. Buzzfeed's story -- whether generally true or erroneous on details about Trump Organization witnesses or totally wrong -- threatened that effort. And that's why, I strongly suspect, Peter Carr finally publicly spoke.

Read more →

Congress, Department of Justice, Trump Administration

Into Shutdown Day 28: Is the GOP Senate Obstructing Justice?

62 Comments

/

January 18, 2019

/

Rayne

Why is the GOP Senate, at the direction of Mitch McConnell (and possibly Trump), aiding and abetting the obstruction of justice at scale?

Read more →

2016 Presidential Election, emptywheel, Mueller Probe

Compromise: Before Trump Won His First Primary, Putin Collected His First Receipt

134 Comments

/

January 18, 2019

/

emptywheel

I've long argued that the kompromat Putin has over Trump is proof of Trump's willingness to enter into a conspiracy with Russia. Michael Cohen's plea deal makes clear that Putin pocketed his first receipt on Trump even before the first votes were cast.

Read more →

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

About the BuzzFeed Scoop: It's Important, But It Oversells the Lying Part

141 Comments

/

January 18, 2019

/

emptywheel

Buzzfeed has a story that provides concrete details to what we already knew of Michael Cohen's negotiations for a Trump Tower in Moscow. But its hyping of Trump's lies may be counterproductive.

Read more →

Congress, Trump Administration

On the Matter of Mitch: Perhaps Not Where but Why

94 Comments

/

January 17, 2019

/

Rayne

The question becomes not Where's Mitch but Why, Mitch? Or Why Mitch?

Read more →

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

How to Talk about Impeachment: Preventing Harm to the Country

118 Comments

/

January 17, 2019

/

emptywheel

As we enter the fourth week of a shutdown serving only Donald Trump's ego, impeachment needs to be talked of not as a political question, but a question of how to protect what we all share -- this country.

Read more →

It’s Not So Much that Manafort Lied and Lied and Lied, It’s that His Truth Evolved

How Trump “Directed” Don Jr’s June 9 “No Follow-Up” False Statement to Congress

Jerome Corsi’s Gazillion Dollar Lawsuit Against the Same Media Targets that Individual-1 Is Targeting

Day 32+11H: Trump’s Other Wall

A Primer On Ideology

It's Not So Much that Manafort Lied and Lied and Lied, It's that His Truth Evolved

How Trump "Directed" Don Jr's June 9 "No Follow-Up" False Statement to Congress

Jerome Corsi's Gazillion Dollar Lawsuit Against the Same Media Targets that Individual-1 Is Targeting

Day 32+11H: Trump's Other Wall

A Primer On Ideology

Rudy Is Relying on Tapes to Claim Buzzfeed Is Phony: But There Aren't Tapes of Everything

Trump's Lawyers Raised Concerns with Mueller's Office about Testimony They Shouldn't Know Whether Is Phony or Not

Open Thread: Don't Shoot the Freezer

Rudy Claims Credit for Peter Carr's Correction of BuzzFeed, Which Had the Goal of Tamping Down Impeachment Talk

Championship Sunday 2019 Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler

The House Intelligence Committee Can and Should Subpoena the 18-Minute Gap on the Trump Tower Deal

DAG Rod Rosenstein Involves Himself in Mueller's Press Response to Buzzfeed Story

The SCO Statement and Why Cohen Should Not Testify Feb. 7

Shutdown Day 28+15H: When Negotiations Fail, Add More Hostages

Peter Carr Speaks

Into Shutdown Day 28: Is the GOP Senate Obstructing Justice?

Compromise: Before Trump Won His First Primary, Putin Collected His First Receipt

About the BuzzFeed Scoop: It's Important, But It Oversells the Lying Part

On the Matter of Mitch: Perhaps Not Where but Why

How to Talk about Impeachment: Preventing Harm to the Country

Footer column 1

Footer Column 2