Regarding possible obstruction charges for Nunes

If Swalwell knows what he's talking about, I assume that means a target in the obstruction portion of the investigation.  I sure hope Nunes gets fitted for his own orange jumpsuit.

Periodic reminder

So how's the family vacation going?

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — President Donald Trump said Thursday that Speaker Paul Ryan called him the other day and said he’d “never ever seen the Republican Party so united.”

  Politico

Trump's world is always superlative.

Trump tried to talk past those differences with a speech promoting Republican solidarity. “There is a great coming-together that I don’t think either party has ever seen for many, many years,” he declared.

[...]

ny sense of harmony evaporated in short order, when Trump left without taking any questions from lawmakers that might have provided clarity on the most pressing issues they’re facing.

He just dropped in to say hello.  They're not allowed to ask what he wants done, because he has no earthly idea beyond he wants to "win".

Republicans are united behind Trump politically. But age-old ideological and tactical differences between the House and Senate — and the president’s silence or lack of guidance on how to bridge them — remain a major problem for accomplishing big-ticket items.

[...]

After spending barely 24 hours together at a ritzy resort here in the West Virginia mountains, Senate Republicans bade farewell to their House counterparts on Thursday afternoon with no clear path forward on immigration, infrastructure or how to raise the debt ceiling. House Republicans spent part of the getaway regurgitating long-running gripes with the Senate filibuster.

[...]

"Are we united on issues? No. We never are. It’s not going to change now,” [Representative] Dent said.

[...]

Standing shoulder to shoulder at a news conference Thursday, No. 3 Senate Republican John Thune of South Dakota and No. 4 House Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state contradicted each other in real time over how Republicans would deal with Dreamers.

McMorris Rodgers said heightened border security, restrictions on family migration and an end to the diversity visa lottery program were essential to any deal, a statement of support for the president’s framework. But moments earlier, Thune floated the idea of cutting Trump’s four-pronged immigration approach in half: border security in exchange for a path to citizenship.

Apparently there wasn't one subject on which they could agree amongst themselves - no budget, not immigration, not ingrastructure. Buckle up.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

What's up with Gates?

On January 24, reports were that Rick Gates had brought in a new lawyer - Tom Green. Speculation was that he might be changing his not-guilty plea. I figured it was jumping the gun to so speculate. Now, I don't know:

There could be several reason why he'd change his lawyers, and I guess changing his plea is one. If he wants to cooperate with Mueller, I'm all for it.

The level of intelligence in the House Intelligence Committee

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

The Mitt is back in town

I understand Mitt Romney is looking to get back in the Senate.



...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Has Missouri nothing better to offer?

We should just cover our heads and slink out of the country.

We've got Grietens, Sykes, and this guy:

Missouri's attorney general, who is a Republican candidate running for US Senate, is facing criticism for a December speech in which he blamed the sexual revolution for human trafficking.

"The sexual revolution has led to exploitation of women on a scale that we would never have imagined," Josh Hawley said in a December 7 speech to Christian pastors at an event hosted by the Missouri Renewal Project.

[...]

"You know what I'm talking about, the 1960s, 1970s, it became commonplace in our culture among our cultural elites, Hollywood, and the media to talk about -- to denigrate the biblical truth about husband and wife, man and woman," Hawley said.

[...]

Hawley, who announced his candidacy last October, has the support of President Donald Trump, and Vice President Mike Pence even personally called him back in July to encourage him to jump into the race.

  CNN

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Good luck to Preet Bharara and Christine Todd Whitman

It’s not enough to fret. We're launching a bipartisan project to mend the gaps in our system and make sure our government is competent and trustworthy.

One year into the Trump presidency, it’s clear that the norms and boundaries traditionally guiding American political behavior have deeply eroded. That matters greatly. A workable democracy can thrive only when there are basic rules, often unwritten, that curb abuse and guide policymakers. Though the two of us are from different political parties, we both believe that now is the time to ensure the president and all our public officials adhere to basic rules of the road. It’s time to turn soft norms into hard law.

[...]

Everyone in the political process must act as if limited by invisible guardrails to avoid abuse of power. But at moments of stress or executive impudence, what was assumed to be a solid restriction on improper conduct turns out to be flimsy, relying too much on goodwill or unspoken understandings.

[...]

Public confidence in our institutions is plummeting, and with an ever-quickening news cycle that turns on every tweet, we have to take on these challenges in short order.

[...]

Today, we’re launching an independent democracy task force at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's School of Law to holistically review these informal rules, which ones should remain guidelines, and perhaps which ones should be enshrined into law. We’ll examine norms surrounding financial conflicts, political interference with law enforcement, the use of government data and science, the appointment of public officials and any other issues that may arise in the coming months. We will be joined by experts and former officials from both parties. The goal is to issue a set of recommendations, policies that can be enacted that mend the gaps in our system and ensure we have a government that functions ably, competently and with the trust of the American people.

[...]

Already some leaders — at least outside Washington — are having these conversations. Legislators in Massachusetts and California have proposed bills that would require the disclosure of tax returns to appear on the state’s presidential election ballots (though California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed one of those attempts). While we may not agree with their proposed solutions, the fact that states — our laboratories for democracy — are beginning to generate their own debates about norms gives us hope that there’s room to have these discussions on a national level.

  USA Today

I think it is extremely optimistic to hope there will be biparrtisan agreement on these things. In the past, after serious abuses of power, there may have been, but we're several presidents past any bipartisanship on anything other than war and corporate/financial deregulation. And, given Jerry Brown's reaction to something as tame as tax return disclosures, I think it's pretty fair to say that anything this panel comes up with will be vetoed by the president.

But I wish them the very best of luck.

I feel your pain

Things must be slow at the LA County Sheriff's Department

Actor Robert Wagner has been named a "person of interest" by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in the case of the 1981 death of his wife, actor Natalie Wood.

[...]

As part of a preview for CBS News' 48 Hours special airing Saturday, Lt. John Corina, who is investigating the case, said for the first time that Wagner was a person of interest.

"As we've investigated the case over the last six years, I think he's more of a person of interest now," Corina said. "I mean, we know now that he was the last person to be with Natalie before she disappeared."

  Buzzfeed

Pretty sure you knew that when the incident occurred.

Nothing said about Chris Walken, who was also on that boat. Or the boat's captain.

While Corina said that Wagner has still not been classified as a suspect, he did say the 87-year-old actor has not been consistent with his story of what happened that night.

"I haven't seen him tell the details that match all the other witnesses in this case," Corina said. "I think he's constantly changed his story a little bit. And his version of events just don't add up."

I do hope they're not relying on questioning Wagner now. He's 87 years old, for chrissakes. How's he supposed to remember details after 40 years? Especially if he was telling conflicting stories back then.

Additionally, two new witnesses from a neighboring boat have come forward to investigators to say they saw Wagner argue with Wood the night before she died.

They didn't think it was necessary to come forward before now? Did Wagner piss them off lately?

Investigators also told CBS that Wood's autopsy indicated there were fresh bruises on her body.

"She looked like a victim of an assault," said Detective Ralph Hernandez.

"I think it's suspicious enough to make us think that something happened," Corina said.

And just because he fought with her and maybe bruised her up the night before, that doesn't mean he killed her. If that's all you've got after all this time, put your resources into something current. Jesus.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.