Over 70 former intelligence executives and officers defend free speech

They oppose Trump’s revocation of security clearances for political reasons. There’s a letter from 60 former CIA officials which followed a letter now signed by over a dozen former intelligence executives.

Over 70 former intel officers and leaders denounce Trump's threat to revoke clearanceshttps://t.co/OBWOAcL2rw pic.twitter.com/qkZyuQJr6D

— Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) August 17, 2018

Robert Gates, who served eight presidents, adds his name to the list of a dozen former intelligence officers who signed a letter criticizing Trump for revoking John Brennan's security clearance. https://t.co/coogfdUopx

— Axios (@axios) August 17, 2018

Trump shouldn’t comment on the Manafort trial while it is going on

And the Manafort team thanked him. I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump pardons Manafort. The Republicans won’t do anything and Democrats are powerless.

.@PaulCallan pulls no punches about Trump speaking out today on the #Manafort case: “If Jeff Sessions said it rather than Donald Trump, if a lawyer said it, he’d be held in contempt of court…” pic.twitter.com/bIROHRJ7C7

— Brooke Baldwin (@BrookeBCNN) August 17, 2018

UPDATE: Judge in Manafort trial says has received threats related to case, is being protected by U.S. Marshals https://t.co/vzu1h66JxR

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) August 17, 2018

Manafort’s lawyer probably knows that his comment about Trump’s support for Manafort violates Virginia Rule of Professional Responsibility 3.6 (below). Judge Ellis will admonish him for the ethical violation, but there is no practical way for the damage to be undone. pic.twitter.com/yIl8cMK0RR

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) August 17, 2018

Remember when conservatives were not-at-all fake-mad about Obama saying Hillary Clinton didn't endanger national security during the email investigation, but then mysteriously didn't care when Trump praised Paul Manafort while his jury was deliberating?

— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) August 17, 2018

This sounds suspiciously like Trump is sending Manafort a message to stay strong and not cut a plea deal with the government while the jury is out. Because he has, you know, that pardon power. https://t.co/xm5IgC7zTD

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) August 17, 2018

Trump lies again

It would be good news even if he told the truth. He just can’t be honest. It makes it hard to give him credit when he exaggerates. Sad!

Ok, the facts:
Growth in 2016 (pre-Trump) = 1.6%
Growth in past 12 months = 2.9%

Growth has definitely picked up, but it hasn't doubled. #economy https://t.co/tKX8oasbxc

— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) August 17, 2018

N-word debate bingo!

.@jemelehill said somebody needs to make a n-word debate bingo board, so of course we had to do it!!! pic.twitter.com/qyqMiIF4vM

— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) August 17, 2018

Has Russia infiltrated Florida’s election systems?

Trump should just ask his pal Putin.

Three people familiar with the intelligence tell NBC there's a classified basis for Nelson's assertion that Russians have penetrated Florida's election systems. https://t.co/xr4NhuYQAD

— NBC Investigations (@NBCInvestigates) August 17, 2018

The Washington Post criticized Nelson for not providing any evidence.

Bill Nelson is awarded an impressive Four Pinocchios for his claims about Russian infiltration of FL election records: https://t.co/ye6PoGw2Yl pic.twitter.com/baOOTVwpnJ

— Liam Donovan (@LPDonovan) August 17, 2018

Broidy is under investigation to see if he sought to sell influence with Trump

update 12/12/18

what a scumbag!

A SCOOP from me: Disgraced Trump fundraiser Elliott Broidy tried to use GOP and White House contacts to score “billions” in Africa. Please read and and share….https://t.co/BKYBN0Y0X5

— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) December 12, 2018

DOJ is investigating whether longtime Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy sought to sell his influence with the Trump admin by offering to deliver U.S. government actions for foreign officials in exchange for tens of millions of dollars, WaPo reports.https://t.co/JQo5rbRJlM

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 17, 2018

Republican congressman appears on anti-Muslim radio show

https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/1030195656810475520

The press is not the enemy of the people

About 350 newspapers across the US have at least one thing in common today: a statement supporting the free press and decrying President Trump's attacks on the media https://t.co/59Ys7MpHZa pic.twitter.com/l6oTIhQ6YR

— CNN (@CNN) August 16, 2018

We are not the enemy of the people https://t.co/U05ShM03EE

— Mara Gay (@MaraGay) August 16, 2018

Over 300 news publications across the U.S. are joining together to denounce President Trump's ongoing attacks on the news media and defend the role of a free press. https://t.co/BmpP1TFDkv

— NPR (@NPR) August 16, 2018

.@PostBaron: "The way I view it is, we’re not at war with the administration; we’re at work. We’re doing our jobs.”https://t.co/SdbeDbvnz6

— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) August 16, 2018

The 4 techniques Trump uses to undermine the press:
1) Berate the media and turn the public against it.
2) Limit media access.
3) Threaten the media.
4) Bypass the media and communicate with the public directly. pic.twitter.com/9djHbOIOwx

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) August 16, 2018

The Los Angeles Times is not participating in today's nationwide editorial page protest against Trump's attacks on the press. Here's why https://t.co/5zqcCgRtbw (via @latimesopinion) pic.twitter.com/qeoycNBCOh

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) August 16, 2018

Senate adopts resolution backing free press after Trump attacks https://t.co/I4KJj5t5Hk

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) August 16, 2018

note that @WSJ among few large newspapers today that refused join nationwide campaign to stand up to Trump's war on press.

also, @WSJ gets exclusive Trump interview.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence

— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) August 16, 2018

Let’s be clear: @realDonaldTrump’s authoritarian impulses and disdain for the First Amendment have real and dangerous consequences. We’ve been keeping record, and we won’t stop now. https://t.co/4UY91noUTJ

— ACLU (@ACLU) August 16, 2018

1 of 7 appeals judges are Trump appointees

update 11/6/18

Democrats could win the House on Tuesday. They may recapture the Senate and White House in 2020. But they’re losing the federal courts for the long term. https://t.co/lMsvDsKpLU

— POLITICO (@politico) November 6, 2018

update 10/23/18 another lie about judges

Trump lies that he's appointed a higher percentage of federal judges than any president but George Washington. From last month: pic.twitter.com/NueMXTMyXl

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 23, 2018

The greatest untold story of trump impact. Arguably more impact on culture than even scotus https://t.co/5PpG1PjtM2

— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) October 14, 2018

Donald Trump has successfully appointed more federal appeals court judges so far in his presidency than Barack Obama and George W. Bush combined had appointed at the same point in theirs. https://t.co/yjIaUwI3Bs pic.twitter.com/Pqzax448eI

— Pew Research Fact Tank (@FactTank) August 10, 2018

The Senate confirmed two more Trump nominees as appeals court judges today. Here's the number of appeals court judges confirmed by Aug. 16 of each president's second year in office:

Trump: 26
Obama: 10
Bush: 13
Clinton: 13
Bush: 18
Reagan: 17
Carter: 11https://t.co/j7oUJHSF6S

— John Gramlich (@johngramlich) August 16, 2018

With 26 circuit judges confirmed under Trump (with major assist from McConnell Grassley et al), one out of every *seven* appeals court judges was picked by Trump. Pretty remarkable.

— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) August 16, 2018

A little sampling of Trump's confirmed circuit judges:

Andrew Oldham, who has a record of attacking voting rightshttps://t.co/q2Mhvj2dDT

Amy Barrett, who questioned Roe v Wadehttps://t.co/DJpsZi27Xm

L. Steven Grasz, rated "not qualified" to servehttps://t.co/Fq6EsAl3Tf

— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) August 16, 2018

Georgia Republicans shut down 75% of black voting sites

It’s the local GOP’s fault. The Republican candidate for governor, Brian Kemp, has opposed it even though it will help him.

Brian Kemp’s bid for governor depends on erasing the black vote in Georgia. It’s working: https://t.co/sEjqpAEUWs pic.twitter.com/kLzJQSsmEc

— Slate (@Slate) August 17, 2018

Terrified of the Blue Wave, Georgia Republicans Shut down 75% of Black Voting Sites https://t.co/qIGSDu7A6h

— Thomas Edsall (@Edsall) August 16, 2018

Georgia wants to close 75% of polling places in a mostly-black area. This is just old timey Jim Crow type stuff. https://t.co/sWDTvyYAv1

— Adam Serwer 🍝 (@AdamSerwer) August 16, 2018

The Trumper Republicans subject democracy to death by a thousand cuts. If you can’t win, stop people from voting. If respected national security leaders dissent, punish them. If the press reports the truth, call it lies. This isn’t conservative; it’s radical and authoritarian. https://t.co/MkgwBB3dwS

— Robert Shrum (@BobShrum) August 18, 2018

Election officials have proposed closing 7 out of 9 polling locations in Randolph County, Georgia where 60% of residents are African American. https://t.co/W1dZB60iPu

— Let America Vote (@letamericavote) August 18, 2018

It would be interesting to check out polling places in white Republican counties to see if there any that are not ADA compliant. I bet they aren’t shuttering those! https://t.co/AUdNJkijYV

— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) August 20, 2018

It appears it is not Kemp’s fault

If you're talking about the closing of polling locations "because they violate the ADA," look to the local election board, not Kemp. Both Kemp and Abrams have denounced the decision

— Clayton County GOP (@CCGARP) August 18, 2018

This article has a quote from Kemp opposing the closings:

Stacey Abrams is 1st ever black woman running for Governor in GA. Brian Kemp, her opponent, is Secretary of State in GA, so he oversees elections

Unsurprisingly GA is closing 75% of the polling stations in a majority black county

This is Jim Crow in 2018https://t.co/ojVeFHY3S1

— Marc Whitmire (@whitmire2018) August 18, 2018