Trump’s bad cabinet appointees

They’re sleazy like their boss. Read the whole thread.

In light of the news about Labor Sec. Alexander ACOSTA, herein a list of other current/former Trump cabinet officials who have been involved in controversies or suspected corruption:

—ELAINE CHAO, Transportation: Alleged financial conflicts of interest. https://t.co/ewht3JieS5
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) July 11, 2019

Income inequality update 7/9/19

A roundup of recent articles on one of the biggest problems in the country.

Hey teens! Wealth inequality isn’t fleek or fire 🔥🔥, that’s why I wrote an article to show you that you don’t need fat stacks 💰💰💰 to be radical! 💯💯💯 https://t.co/39UZk7ttlB
— Philip Bump (@pbump) July 9, 2019

Further reminder that regional inequality is not only about the coasts vs interior, but also within regions: the vast majority of growth and prosperity in Texas is accruing to a handful of major cities, while most of the state's smaller cities fall behind: https://t.co/N0JGjaSpzr
— Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) July 9, 2019

This is outrageous. https://t.co/C3vxg4jmdZ
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 5, 2019

The number of billionaires in the United States has more than doubled in the last decade, from 267 in 2008 to 607 last year.

Tax the rich. https://t.co/IRQB95rKpm
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) July 3, 2019

Richest 1% now holding record $303.9 billion, up from under $15 billion before financial crisis. They’re betting on companies that lose $1 billion a year, bonds from Middle Eastern republics, Silicon Valley start-ups with more money than they can handle.https://t.co/TAlChrDg0T
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) June 10, 2019

“I was wrong…[E]ducationism is tragically misguided. American workers are struggling in large part because they are underpaid—and they are underpaid because 40 years of trickle-down policies have rigged the economy in favor of wealthy people like me.” https://t.co/BgOl1R7xAH
— Anand Giridharadas (@AnandWrites) June 10, 2019

income inequality has become the starting point for every economic debate in the 2020 campaign

in this @CNBC video and column, we step back and explain why the gap between the wealthy and everyone else keeps growinghttps://t.co/VrRb0aXFfA
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) June 5, 2019

In Opinion

Joseph E. Stiglitz writes, "The U.S. has the highest level of inequality among the advanced countries and one of the lowest levels of opportunity. But things don’t have to be that way." https://t.co/OPFHnY7wRe
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 20, 2019

Unhealthy air days up nearly 14% under Trump

Trump lies about the environment like he lies about everything else.

FACT: American emissions of carbon-dioxide pollution surged last year, after several years of declines.#ThanksObama https://t.co/LkOAa3Jeyn
— Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) July 9, 2019

Donald Trump called climate change a hoax. Now he's awkwardly boasting about fighting it https://t.co/FuIQ4OUXhy pic.twitter.com/M1HRpf2wKO
— TIME (@TIME) July 9, 2019

Pigtown

Here’s an article on Pigtown, the Baltimore neighborhood where I live. The annual Pigtown Festival is coming in September.

Save the date! The 18th Annual Pigtown Festival is coming your way September 21, 2019. Come check out some of the country's swiftest swine compete in the SQUEAKness races for the chance to bring home the bacon, errrr… gold. pic.twitter.com/aizh60ZCrr
— Pigtown Main Street (@PigtownMainSt) July 9, 2019

Trump campaign pretends people in stock photos are Trump supporters

Trump team uses stock photo models in reelection ads

CNN's Jeanne Moos examines the Trump reelection campaign's use of stock photo models and foreign locations, rather than interviewing Trump supporters in the US. pic.twitter.com/IoRSewTDF2
— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) July 4, 2019

Featured tonight on @chrislhayes: My reporting in https://t.co/Gl6evXRDcZ about Trump's false and misleading Facebook ads (including pretending stock photo models were supporters) pic.twitter.com/hcX1e5KBqR
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 4, 2019

The Associated Press picked up my report last week about the Trump campaign’s deceptive use of stock photo models in online ads https://t.co/MvUQs2RSEg pic.twitter.com/nmjdKf5v3w
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 2, 2019

Speaking of #disinformation, Trump’s Perpetual Disinformation Campaign is already spreading false and misleading ads on Facebook for 2020. Passing photos of happy people like Tracey & Thomas as Trump backers. Except they’re stock photos. Via @allinwithchris @chrislhayes #inners pic.twitter.com/zc04exsth3
— Paula Chertok🗽 (@PaulaChertok) July 4, 2019

Trump may try to add the citizenship question to the census through executive order

Trump has no regard for the law. He bypasses Congress to re-allocate money for his wall. He uses acting officials so they are not subject to congressional approval. He refuses to obey congressional subpoenas and tells even former subordinates to ignore them.

Now, he is thinking of an executive order to get the citizenship question on the 2020 census. The Supreme Court declared the administration’s reason was not valid. The administration lied and said it was for administering the Voting Rights Act. Even though there is not sufficient justification to add the question which obviously helps Republicans, Trump and his cult won’t give up. They are now using different lawyers.

As we've reported, White House lawyers and Justice Dept lawyers have been deeply skeptical about the executive action approach. As recently as last Wednesday it was not considered an option. But President Trump & influential outside lawyers (chiefly Judge Luttig) had other ideas. https://t.co/hfSeLl35Xt
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) July 8, 2019

This will intensify the concerns of those who felt John Roberts wasn't really trying to block the citizenship question on #Census2020 but only feared handing down another party-line 5-4 decision that clearly benefited the GOP on the same day he wrote the 5-4 gerrymandering ruling https://t.co/FZjtkuAmfu
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) July 8, 2019

House Democratic leaders have decided to pursue criminal contempt against Barr and Ross for defying subpoenas for info about the census citizenship question https://t.co/BXvhcuKdkC
— POLITICO (@politico) July 9, 2019

This development is ominous.
It almost certainly means the career attorneys working for the Department of Justice refused to go along with what Trump wants to do now with the citizenship question on the census. https://t.co/sWmE0Rd4Iy
— Rick Hasen (@rickhasen) July 8, 2019

Now: Justice Department names its new legal team for the census litigation.https://t.co/psWs3QFx6I pic.twitter.com/S7ETJ5x1EL
— Ryan Barber (@cryanbarber) July 8, 2019

The Justice Department will switch legal teams in the Census-rigging case.

But it gets worse: The administration's *own lawyers* may have concluded they can't hatch a new rationale for the citizenship question without it being obviously fake.

My piece:https://t.co/vZ1MZUWpCF
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) July 8, 2019

EDGEFIELD, S.C. (AP) — Attorney General William Barr said Monday that he sees a legal path to adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census, despite a Supreme Court ruling that blocked its inclusion, at least temporarily.https://t.co/aWGuTEl9BA
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) July 8, 2019

Trump today criticized the Census itself as overly expensive, saying the $15 billion cost is "ridiculous": "I don’t know why we can't do that through the computers of the world because, frankly, that’s the way you can do a census today, and probably a lot more accurately."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 8, 2019

The thing to watch for when the new team is identified is whether any career DOJ attorneys are members of the team, or if it is all political appointees. https://t.co/Ynb2tcxqzV
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) July 8, 2019

Trump again says he can act administratively on citizenship question despite SCOTUS ruming. “We can do a memorandum we can do an executive order .. but there are other alternatives, and again I believe our AG is a fantastic man and I think he’s got it very well under control.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 7, 2019

The 2020 elections are important for drawing maps

It’s about a lot more than who wins the presidential election. It’s about reducing gerrymandering.

"It’s Not Just the White House in 2020. The Power to Draw Maps Is Also at Stake." by MITCH SMITH and TIMOTHY WILLIAMS via NYT https://t.co/FdJOCDCGZA pic.twitter.com/naRYNxcFfo
— Digital Marketing (@lolamayfarms) July 5, 2019

More Trump lies – 7/8/19 update

Trump lies and lies. I assume he is lying at this point until someone else proves what he said is true. Here are some recent lies.

The media helps Trump when they don’t refer to his lies as lies. Trump’s state TV, Fox News, lies often too.

In 2016, all that free air time, and not calling a lie a lie, tilted the scales. Are we looking at a repeat performance? https://t.co/eslh5BqBWN
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) July 1, 2019

"The Pulitzer Prize-winning website PolitiFact found that nearly 60 percent of the statements it checked on Fox News were either mostly or entirely false. Another 19 percent were only half true." https://t.co/iw2XgPWFpi
— Cheri Jacobus (@CheriJacobus) July 1, 2019

The president just tweeted an imaginary Ronald Reagan quote about him. https://t.co/MTCtzvUbog pic.twitter.com/7DLBRH44DB
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 8, 2019

FACT CHECK: Trump promotes fake Ronald Reagan quote about him

While the photo is real, the supposed quote is fake. Reagan never said of Trump, "…when I met that young man, I felt like I was the one shaking hands with the president." https://t.co/nCrYsHxOaT
— CNN (@CNN) July 8, 2019

President Trump retweeted a photo of himself shaking hands with Ronald Reagan with a fake quote attributed to Reagan that read, "I felt like I was the one shaking hands with a president."

The account that originally posted the meme was later suspended. https://t.co/6tFPxX4nkx
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 9, 2019

AOC was not mentioned on any cable news program until June 26, 2018 (the day she was elected). Shockingly, Donald Trump is lying about this. https://t.co/GCzjGsf2wF
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) July 7, 2019

I'm finding one reference on Fox News or Fox Business to Ocasio-Cortez before the AP called her primary race. It's a Fox & Friends "Primaries to Watch Today" segment the morning of the primary, and features a Republican pollster saying of Rep. Joe Crowley, "He's gonna win." https://t.co/wxEPZqQsxB
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) July 7, 2019

"The Pulitzer Prize-winning website PolitiFact found that nearly 60 percent of the statements it checked on Fox News were either mostly or entirely false. Another 19 percent were only half true." https://t.co/iw2XgPWFpi
— Cheri Jacobus (@CheriJacobus) July 1, 2019

An especially egregious category of untruth: https://t.co/6J4IJuVcX9
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 3, 2019

Why isn’t the truth enough? https://t.co/HCpL4gtUzj
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) July 1, 2019

The president appears to have fabricated a claim that Barack Obama was “begging” to meet with Kim Jong Un and was turned down.https://t.co/g30I23t3W9
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) July 1, 2019

Indeed, there’s zero evidence of Obama or any previous president begging for a meeting with a North Korean dictator. The pitiful “begging” opponent is a staple character of Trump’s fabrications. https://t.co/ffHcADro7n
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) June 30, 2019

Independent experts and former Obama officials say Obama not only didn't "beg" for a meeting with Kim Jong Un or Kim Jong Il, he never considered seeking one in any way. My fact check on Trump's latest imaginary history: https://t.co/SwiK1tentb
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 1, 2019

Trump told the troops in South Korea yesterday that he got them their first raise in nearly a decade.

The troops have gotten a raise every calendar year since 1983. It’s every year since 1961 if you ignore an administrative quirk.

My fact check: https://t.co/M3ORYFa1wi
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 1, 2019

Trump: "I never thought about being a politician until two days before I decided to run. A little before that.”

In fact, he volunteered to run as Bush’s vice president in 1988, launched a campaign for president on Reform Party ticket in 2000 and considered runs in 2004 and 2012.
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) June 29, 2019

https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1148327900938231808?s=11

Not disingenuous, just lying again. Trump defends environmental record that critics call disastrous https://t.co/5sj1v9mWCi
— John Podesta (@johnpodesta) July 9, 2019

This will shock you so you might want to sit down but…
Donald Trump did some lies tonight https://t.co/3C86mVzcKU
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) July 9, 2019

Did Trump stop the relocation of the FBI headquarters

It would hurt his hotel if the current building was replaced by a competing hotel. Finally, there is an investigation of this potential corruption. This could be another example of Trump helping himself through the power of his office. Sad!

The Trump administration scrapped bipartisan plans to relocate the FBI headquarters.
We have a theory about why, and this IG investigation could produce answers:https://t.co/3VAZgvFU6S
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) July 8, 2019

Moving the FBI headquarters to the suburbs could've brought thousands of jobs to Maryland. Now the Department of Justice's Inspector General is investigating why it didn't happen. https://t.co/U7xLou6jnr
— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) July 8, 2019

The Justice Department's inspector general is investigating the FBI's decision to scrap plans to relocate its headquarters. We've been investigating what influence Trump might have had on the decision in order to prevent competition with his hotel: https://t.co/qMMnsQGmKw
— American Oversight (@weareoversight) July 8, 2019

Another fake right-wing photo

Trump supporters are using a March for Our Lives photo and saying it was from Trump’s July 4th speech. We know they don’t care about the truth just like their cult leader.

An image being used by #MAGA supporters, stating it was the crowd gathered outside of the National Mall for President Trump's July 4th celebration, is from the "March for Our Lives" rally held in March 2018.

Notice people wearing winter clothing – Not something you see in July. pic.twitter.com/sfRVjsW4YC
— Travis Akers (@travisakers) July 5, 2019

This is from March for Life in 2018. https://t.co/9f54Bo69CR
— Caroline Orr (@RVAwonk) July 5, 2019