Trump plan to not count undocumented immigrants fails

BREAKING: Trump's Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham is stepping down on Jan. 20, months before the end of his term, after whistleblowers complained he was pushing for "statistically indefensible" data.

My report (confirming @Tierney_Megan scoop):https://t.co/lEbwWPTNsX
— Hansi Lo Wang (@hansilowang) January 18, 2021

Trump plan to exclude undocumented immigrants from census totals used to apportion congressional seats is officially dead
Census Bureau announced today that data on apportionment & undocumented population would not be released until after Biden is sworn in https://t.co/ANauKSnPL0
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) January 17, 2021

After trying for all four of its years in office to keep undocumented immigrants from being counted in the 2020 census, and two SCt rulings along the way, the Trump team gives up, leaving it to Biden team to scuttle that plan. Full details at https://t.co/IpKqBOueXw
— Lyle Denniston (@lylden) January 16, 2021

A scheme to strip congressional seats from diverse states has ended with a whimper, the Justice Department admitted. https://t.co/f6Kkpb9C2P
— Slate (@Slate) January 15, 2021

VICTORY: The Trump administration is abandoning its unconstitutional plan to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census count used to determine seats in Congress. https://t.co/3JxeC5C0C6
— ACLU (@ACLU) January 13, 2021

Today the Supreme Court hears arguments in the challenge to President Trump’s attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census count – a move that would have a tremendous impact on reapportionment and federal funding. #SCOTUS
— Kimberly Atkins (@KimberlyEAtkins) November 30, 2020

Republicans in Congress fear their base

The Trump riot showed them what they can do. All members of Congress are right to be scared of the Trump cult now.

“Republicans are no longer just afraid that their base will force them to defend the politically indefensible or send them packing in a primary challenge. They’re afraid that their base, or at least certain elements of it, will literally kill them.” OMG.https://t.co/HbyGdNcNzE
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) January 17, 2021

Rep. Peter Meijer, one of the Republicans who voted to impeach, tells @HallieJackson on @MSNBC that he’s buying body armor and altering his daily routines because his life is in danger.
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) January 14, 2021

I can confirm this.

I spoke with a GOP member moments ago, asking if it is true that there are House Republicans who favor impeachment but fear for their lives/physical safety if they follow through with that vote.

Answer: “Yes.” https://t.co/5XqWVDzwdN
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) January 13, 2021

New: Members of Congress fear for their lives – new details on growing security concerns (via @AnnieGrayerCNN @MarshallCohen and me) @CNNPolitics https://t.co/e1EYVz7W9k
— Jamie Gangel (@jamiegangel) January 15, 2021

WATCH: Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) says majority of GOP "paralyzed with fear" @RepJasonCrow: "I had a lot of conversations with my Republican colleagues. … A couple of them broke down in tears … saying that they are afraid for their lives if they vote for this impeachment." pic.twitter.com/ESEu40WW1P
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) January 13, 2021

Need to know if Republican Members of Congress are being quietly threatened, bribed or blackmailed to side with Trump on impeachment.
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) January 13, 2021

More Trump pardons coming?

People are paying to influence the process.

Exclusive: In the final days before President Trump leaves office, some of his allies are collecting fees from wealthy felons to push the White House for pardons, according to documents and interviews with more than three dozen lobbyists and lawyers. https://t.co/hR8SFL4pKL
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 17, 2021

What could be less surprising than Trump grifters putting pardons up for sale in the last days.https://t.co/OaptfucsbJ
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) January 17, 2021

An emerging market of pardons and access for cash payments has reportedly evolved in the final days of the Trump administration https://t.co/2LcmZ5I4xm
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) January 17, 2021

News: Multiple sources tell me and @jamiegangel WH House counsel Pat Cipollone and former AG Bill Barr have warned @POTUS that they do not believe he should pardon himself. @POTUS has asked about pardoning himself in recent weeks @maggieNYT first reported
— Pamela Brown (@PamelaBrownCNN) January 11, 2021

In 2001, a jury convicted Stephanie Mohr of police brutality after she sicced her police dog on a homeless man as he stood face against a wall with his hands in the air.

It didn't make the evening news, but last week, Trump pardoned her for her crime. https://t.co/SuibQD6Xwn
— Rebecca Kavanagh (@DrRJKavanagh) December 30, 2020

The complete list of Donald Trump’s pardons and commutations https://t.co/E2gynSqkey pic.twitter.com/DZe1DaZ9wC
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) December 25, 2020

This will get lost in shuffle, but Trump also pardoned a former Maryland police officer who had a horrific, and racially tinged, record of ordering her police dog to attack unarmed black & Latino men. https://t.co/oj147yDAT0
— Craig Whitlock (@CraigMWhitlock) December 24, 2020

JUST POSTED: A case study in how to get out of jail–if you are rich and have been convicted of largest Medicare fraud case in US history. Donate money to a charity. Get them to intervene with Trump. Boom. You are free. With @kenvogel & @JesseDrucker https://t.co/LBthFcQeT2
— Eric Lipton (@EricLiptonNYT) December 24, 2020

“The pardoning of convicted war criminals puts our national security at risk, is contrary to our vaunted American ideals of justice and is an affront to every honorable service member.” https://t.co/BXnXl00zMZ
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) December 24, 2020

Absolutely. The SSCI report makes clear that Trump lied in his written testimony to Mueller about his conversations with Stone. Stone stonewalled Mueller about those conversations, with Trump publicly cheering him on. The commutation and the pardon were the payoffs. https://t.co/A8jsk1ivfz
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) December 24, 2020

Trump is discussing pardons with advisers today but isn’t likely to publicly issue them, several officials say. Expect at least one more slate in the next 65 hours.
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) January 17, 2021

Pardons for sale.
Anyone who gives or receives money for a presidential pardon is guilty of bribery, which is a felony.

New York Times: Trump allies have collected tens of thousands of dollars from pardon seekers – CNNPolitics https://t.co/h1dRrTZmO2
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) January 17, 2021

Trump weighing a pardon for Steve Bannon https://t.co/1lNMu6gwiu via @politico
— Skeptical Brotha 💛🐝🌈 (@skepticalbrotha) January 18, 2021

Former Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh, who was convicted of fraud and tax evasion in a scheme involving her children's book series, is asking Trump to commute her three year prison sentence https://t.co/I9cq2gPfcQ
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) January 18, 2021

Covers: I’m into Something Good

“I’m into Something Good” was made popular by Herman’s Hermits in 1964. The original version by Earl-Jean was also from 1964. The song was written by the husband and wife team Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Goffin got Earl-Jean pregnant!

from Wikipedia: Carole King has said that in writing the song she was inspired by Brian Wilson: “I make no bones about it, that song was influenced by Brian’s music”.^[5]

Retracting the Seth Rich conspiracy theory

After four years of silence and a settlement with Fox News, Seth Rich's parents are ready to talk about the harm conspiracy theories do

My interview, from NPR’s @MorningEdition https://t.co/2Zz89BSLMP
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) June 15, 2022

New: Two prominent Seth Rich conspiracy theorists have retracted and apologized for false statements as part of a lawsuit settlement. https://t.co/aSmdEd9DNB
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 14, 2021

If we are still extinguishing a four-year-old baseless conspiracy theory, how long will it take to extinguish Trump’s election lie? https://t.co/Y3if2DlYQx
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) January 14, 2021

Ed Butowsky, the wealthy conservative who was involved in Fox News's fallacious story on murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich, is apologizing to Rich's brother Aaron for suggesting he stole Democratic emails. The retraction is presumably part of an upcoming legal settlement. pic.twitter.com/YNt6TjD4cV
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) January 13, 2021

Welcome news for Seth Rich's family & anyone who values truth and decency.

Ed Butowsky sued me for $60M for reporting on his role in a discredited Fox News story about Rich. He sued other journos too. He agreed to dismiss those cases late last year. NPR stood by its reporting. https://t.co/hPzh1HnAES
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) January 14, 2021

Update: Butowsky appears to have deleted his Seth Rich retraction, after initially burying it under a bunch of retweeted cute animal videos.
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) January 13, 2021

Fox insisted the settlement with the family of Seth Rich had to be kept secret for a month — until after the Nov. 3 election, writes @benyt. "Why did Fox care about keeping the Rich settlement secret for the final month of the Trump re-election campaign?" https://t.co/dHcEZnyPYd
— John Schwartz (@jswatz) January 18, 2021

Trump last-minute political appointee at NSA

update 4/17/21

For those outside DC, there is such a thing called “burrowing,” where an outgoing Prez places political appointees in career positions, making it very difficult for that employee to be removed by the next admin. Trump tried to burrow Ellis the day before he left office. https://t.co/or4jhQ74Ww
— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) April 18, 2021

He’s doing everything he can to make things hard for Biden.

Pelosi gets involved in Michael Ellis hiring. She sent a letter to the sec def and spoke to him this am. pic.twitter.com/trYBQXE4Aa
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 18, 2021

In a move that is raising eyebrows, Michael Ellis, a Trump loyalist, has been named general counsel at the NSA. @LMartinezABC breaks down the concerns, the practice of ‘burrowing’ and its longterm implications. LISTEN: https://t.co/OCNTZFdcey pic.twitter.com/com8Bflrad
— Start Here – The Daily Podcast from ABC News (@StartHereABC) January 18, 2021

More on Ellis at NSA. Trump met with Pentagon Acting chief Miller on Friday, ahead of order to install him by Saturday. W/@EricSchmittNYT & @nytmike https://t.co/riBKIRH8LW
— Julian E. Barnes (@julianbarnes) January 17, 2021

Cannot agree more. The individual case is important but the ground rules even more so. President has broad discretion to ensure the country is being safeguarded and not undermined by a stunt like this. It's wrong. Remove him on day one, figure out the technicalities later. https://t.co/hzcvzyMhIg
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 17, 2021

At this point, no one should extend this selection process the benefit of the doubt. By all indication, the Trump admin is violating civil service rules and politicizing an apolitical role. If Ellis is installed tonight, Biden should remove him on Day One. https://t.co/fiiXJC3qK0
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) January 17, 2021

New: NSA spox says it is putting Michael Ellis in the role of NSA general counsel: "Mr. Ellis accepted his final job offer yesterday afternoon. NSA is moving forward with his employment."

Backstory on the standoff over Ellis' hiring here: https://t.co/Xwc2Fg6tlW
— Jeremy Herb (@jeremyherb) January 17, 2021

Under pressure from Trump White House, Acting Secretary of Defense has ordered NSA to “immediately” install Republican party ex-operative (and Devin Nunes ex-aide) as NSA general counsel, reports Washington Post.
With less than four days to go of Trump’s Presidency? Why?
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) January 17, 2021

One additional bizarre feature of this story is why Miller is involved at all. The NSA General Counsel is selected and hired by the DOD General Counsel, not the Secretary of Defense. https://t.co/I1e8fHyiD8
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) January 17, 2021

I wrote about the problems with Ellis's selection when it was first announced after the election and cautioned that the new administration should investigate thoroughly and then decide how to proceed. After this, they should not wait a single day. https://t.co/cYWeOxnHgG
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) January 17, 2021

Ellis can appeal adverse personal action to the Merits System Protection Board or can avail himself of other remedies he is entitled to pursue. But Nakasone and the men and women of NSA need and deserve a president prepared to take a stand against such egregious wrongdoing.
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) January 17, 2021

4. I have been thinking and concerned about Ellis in positions of power for a long time.

I wrote this in March 2020.👇

"Michael Ellis, a White House lawyer accused of serious ethical misconduct in the Ukraine scandal …"https://t.co/ivU3ZKTGrT
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) January 17, 2021

Let’s not pretend to believe Republicans when they pretend to be outraged that Biden fired him. https://t.co/3mcgAihy8m
— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) January 17, 2021

There’s still a big Trump cult

Polls show he has many supporters even after the riot he incited. They still think he won the election.

Republicans on future of GOP via ABC/Washington Post poll:

60% follow Trump's leadership
33% lead party in different direction
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) January 17, 2021

NEW: Interviews with 40+ Republicans found Trumpism is ingrained in the party at state and local levels, leading to steadfast support post-Capitol riot and offering a vision of what the next generation of the GOP in Washington will look like.

w/@llerer https://t.co/gWxottirb8
— Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) January 14, 2021

Republicans across the U.S. are siding with President Trump over Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — big time — according to a new Axios-Ipsos poll. https://t.co/jqkhRlfE6O pic.twitter.com/CgnV3xLttp
— Axios (@axios) January 14, 2021

Just awful.

A new CNN poll finds that 75% of Republicans, and 85% of those who approve of Trump, believe Biden didn't legitimately win enough votes to win the presidency:https://t.co/qatpn19z2f

The extent of the Big Lie's hold on Republicans is becoming depressingly clear: https://t.co/reCFweaEK6
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) January 17, 2021

New NPR/PBS/Marist poll on trust in 2020 election results:

Biden voters:
97% accurate
2% not accurate

Trump voters:
12% accurate
86% not accurate
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) January 16, 2021

80% of Trump voters over 50 years old incorrectly believe Trump “definitely” won the election; 67% of Trump voters who are college grads hold that view; and 82% of Trump voters without college degrees falsely think he won, per Pew survey
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 15, 2021

Republican Party leaves with far lower marks than Trump himself, per this WSJ-NBC poll. https://t.co/DPCShb2Weq
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) January 17, 2021

New CNN polling just landed: Trump ends his presidency with 34% approval, "down from 42% in a pre-election poll and one point below his previous low point in CNN's polling." https://t.co/YIf1HmfVdn
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 17, 2021

Something is screwy in Poll World again. Just-released NBC News survey has Trump’s job approval at 43%—pretty much the norm for Trump, as though nothing has happened. But @pewresearch poll has Trump at 29% job approval, his lowest ever.
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) January 17, 2021

Two-thirds of Americans now say the country is headed in the wrong direction, a double-digit jump since last month, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll finds. https://t.co/mkt7A1NHZM
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) January 17, 2021

CNN Poll: Republican Party favorability dips as most want party to move on from Donald Trump https://t.co/m95EeuMrm1 pic.twitter.com/3MjDGKUb40
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) January 17, 2021

ABC/Washington Post poll:

66% Trump acted irresponsibly after election
62% no evidence of voter fraud
60% disapprove of Trump job
59% Trump is below average POTUS
57% Trump bears responsibility for attack
56% remove and disqualify Trump
54% charge Trump for inciting riot
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) January 17, 2021

What have I been telling you, for years? This is not about the "forgotten towns" and the "forgotten men" and "globalization anxiety." It's middle class white people who resent a culture that doesn't share their lumpenized values, including racism. https://t.co/NpX0cIpT36
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 15, 2021

new Pew Research poll on how Americans view President Trump’s job performance five days before he leaves office:

whites w/no college degree
44% approve
52% disapprove

everyone else
19% approve
79% disapprove
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) January 15, 2021

Trump is leaving the White House with the lowest job approval of his presidency — 29%, per ⁦@pewresearch⁩ poll. The share of his own supporters who describe his conduct since the election as poor has doubled over the past two months, from 10% to 20% https://t.co/XJKuEvy0Io
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) January 15, 2021

52% of Americans in new @ABC News/WaPo poll say Republican leaders who supported Pres. Trump’s effort to overturn the election “went too far”—a position held by just 16% of Republicans. https://t.co/52Ns87P5ki
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 15, 2021

He lied about the election being fixed. He incited an attack that left five dead at the U.S Capitol. He got impeached. Twice. But polling indicates Republicans still have his back — and views — by vast majorities. https://t.co/DO9CsdiPEU
— Axios (@axios) January 14, 2021

Horrifying that inciting an insurrectionist mob to storm the US Capitol only moved Trump approval down to the mid-30s. The political penalties for encouraging extremism and attacking democratic norms are dangerously weak. https://t.co/W1Sq2Qen1X
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) January 13, 2021

Trump lies update 1/18/21

Hope this is the last or next to last one

Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims as president. Nearly half came in his final year. https://t.co/rMLcsUTJdK
— Post Politics (@postpolitics) January 23, 2021

It was hard, but I’ve picked the 15 most notable lies of Donald Trump’s staggeringly dishonest presidency: https://t.co/vzYC1Cajoe
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 16, 2021

OFF THE RAILS: Trump’s refusal to believe the election results was premeditated. He had heard about the “red mirage” — the likelihood that early vote counts would tip more Republican than the final tallies — and he decided to exploit it.https://t.co/dYGgWmDQqZ
— Axios (@axios) January 16, 2021

"Lying has worked out very well for Donald Trump: He does not ever seem to have paid any sort of price for his lies.[But] once he became president his lies ceased to be private lies and became public lies, with consequences for both America and the world."https://t.co/E6fY0uwIDl
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 13, 2021

I am right now doing a line-by-line analysis of the speech for inclusion in our Trump claims database and this is totally false. It was designed to rile up a mob, with likely 90+ falsehoods and misleading statements and constant references to "fight" –> https://t.co/HQCqiXdioY
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) January 12, 2021

Trump last night released a 14-minute Facebook video full of lies about the election, and, like his tweets on the subject, it’s too bonkers, repetitive and irrelevant to bother fact checking at this point.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) December 23, 2020

Trump is averaging more than 50 false or misleading claims a day #FactChat https://t.co/bnU5azcyRn
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) October 22, 2020

When we next update the database, Trump will have falsely claimed more than 400 times that he created the best economy in U.S. history (or world history). It wasn't true before the coronavirus and still not true now. But he can't let go of it. https://t.co/GwBIbheEk0
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) October 18, 2020

In Brooklyn this weekend, @radiofreebk erected a 50-foot-long mural featuring every claim listed in our database of Trump's false or misleading claims, color-coded by subject. The database is also the source of our best-selling book, "Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth" pic.twitter.com/ey70JZ3Feh
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) October 4, 2020

great!

From a personal standpoint, I'm fine with this. Just four more days of maintaining the Trump false/misleading claims database. I had figured it would be a torrent of falsehoods at the end. Instead, it's been a whimper of silence.
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) January 17, 2021

Covers: Twistin’ the Night Away

“Twistin’ the Night Away” is a great Sam Cooke song released in 1962. The much more passionate 1963 live version from the Harlem Square Club wasn’t released until the 1980s. The most popular cover is Rod Stewart’s version on his excellent 1973 album Never A Dull Moment.