Jared and Ivanka use private email/messaging for government business

Hypocrites. Let’s see if Republicans think they should be locked up. I guess this is only bad when Hillary did it. Lol.

Cool, so I imagine this will be a national scandal that dominates the headlines for the next 6 months right? https://t.co/eptQfvBSrA
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) March 21, 2019

When Trump mentioned Clinton 19 days ago during his CPAC speech, attendees bleated, "LOCK HER UP!" referring to her use of a private email server for State Dept. business. https://t.co/rP7XUghrJw https://t.co/AITJ75kpmC
— Alex Kotch 🔥 (@alexkotch) March 21, 2019

BREAKING: In letter to WH, Rep. Cummings reveals that KUSHNER was routinely using WhatsApp to conduct official business as recently as Dec. 2018. Kushner's lawyer told lawmakers he screenshots messages to preserve them.

Cummings wants details by April 4. https://t.co/uOZdCgKGph
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) March 21, 2019

—-> https://t.co/vOliPCihkR
— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) March 21, 2019

Jared Kushner Uses Non-Official Messaging for Official Business, Lawyer Says https://t.co/6SHfOBSllw
— Nicholas Fandos (@npfandos) March 21, 2019

Intercept reported in March 2018 that Kushner was communicating with MBS via WhatsApp: https://t.co/nbSJgR51PR https://t.co/h7kc0CxMWl
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) March 21, 2019

Among the many questions this raises, why is Kushner's private attorney responding to questions about official WH business? He speaks for Kushner, not the WH, so we can't possibly know if his answers are the whole story, as his false answers on Jared's security clearance showed. https://t.co/zwINVfroui
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) March 21, 2019

You may be skeptical but this is gonna break Trump’s support among congressional Republicans.

I was around in 2015-2016 and remember how devoted GOP leaders are to information security best practices. https://t.co/C2jOs4wyO1
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) March 21, 2019

sarcasm

Republicans only think it’s bad when Democrats do it.

Trump continues to attack McCain and tell lies

Trump lied about McCain’s funeral. He did nothing and does not deserve thanks. He also lied about the Veterans Choice law passed in 2014. It was modified under his administration but McCain deserves a lot of credit for the law.

It is shameful how wimpy the Republicans have been. Only Isakson has taken on the president and a few others have defended McCain but not blamed Trump for anything. It’s pathetic how afraid they are of Trump and his cult.

100% right https://t.co/Fy1L6JaSY7
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) March 21, 2019

National Cathedral on Trump comments on McCain: “Only a state funeral for a former president involves consultation with government officials. No funeral at the Cathedral requires the approval of the president or any other government official.” 2/2
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) March 21, 2019

Sen. Lindsey Graham calls John McCain "an American hero" in response to President Trump's attacks on the late senator.

"I think the president's comments about Sen. McCain hurt him more than they hurt the legacy of Sen. McCain" https://t.co/jh7ZeGh0OH pic.twitter.com/3enXuFZNpj
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 21, 2019

This isn’t good enough.

In a particularly brazen bit of lying today, Trump said McCain didn't deliver for veterans, unlike him, Trump, the man who got Veterans Choice passed.

Choice was passed in 2014…and McCain was the key Republican legislator behind the bill. pic.twitter.com/LE3rwa8skD
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) March 20, 2019

Donald Trump admires anti-American dictators like Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping. He resents an American hero like John McCain.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) March 21, 2019

Any particular reason you are thinking about him today, Senator? https://t.co/5QjrrNtLRI
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) March 21, 2019

McConnell is gutless.

I would not wish on my worst enemy the friendship of @LindseyGrahamSC. What a soulless piece of garbage. Claims to be best friends with the late John McCain and yet does nothing while the sitting President pees on his memory every day. What a disgusting and worthless human being.
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) March 21, 2019

Wait, Trump's disparagement of McCain was *on the prompter*. https://t.co/BdShoAKnzx
— Philip Bump (@pbump) March 20, 2019

McCain’s PHX services were overseen by AZ state gov’t and protected by state troopers. Then Congress hosted McCain laying in state. Then Naval Academy hosted burial. All Trump did was allow military flight from PHX to Andrews, carrying McCain. https://t.co/uCDnooKNit
— Paul Kane (@pkcapitol) March 20, 2019

Herr Trump now claims credit for the McCain funeral! He says “as president” he had to “approve” it. BS! Lying in state at the Capitol was up to Congress, not POTUS. This despot has the gall to say a hero’s burial is within his control. What a putz.
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) March 20, 2019

We can talk all day about how vile this is, but in the end, 30 to 40% of the public and a hard-core of grifters, rationalizers, and enablers are going to support this kind of behavior because it makes them feel better about themselves. https://t.co/619WIrlR1k
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 20, 2019

https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/1108417577104171008

Your move, every GOP Senator.

You served with John McCain. He was your colleague, your friend. Whether you found him inspiring or irascible, whether he was friend or foe, you respected his conviction, his honor, his service.

Find your spine and slap back at the President. Now. https://t.co/XD620AP0uH
— David Jolly (@DavidJollyFL) March 20, 2019

Fact-checking President Trump's claim that John McCain misled the White House on his Obamacare repeal vote https://t.co/KIc0Eg2tmo pic.twitter.com/LezKLX7tKO
— CNN (@CNN) March 20, 2019

“I am really stunned that more Republicans aren't pushing back,” former @RepCharlieDent says about President Trump’s comments on John McCain. https://t.co/Xq3cGlqAWa pic.twitter.com/3lTM0AR8iE
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) March 20, 2019

https://twitter.com/AaronBlake/status/1108430598467735553

.@MeghanMcCain: "If I had told my dad 7 months after you're dead, you're going to be dominating the news & all over Twitter, he would think it was hilarious — that our president was so jealous of him that he was dominating the news cycle in death as well" https://t.co/86XL0xuRHY
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 20, 2019

After Trump's most recent attacks on McCain, Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson has mounted the most forceful defense yet within the Senate GOP of the late Arizona senator https://t.co/b5Bq9Vwop1
— POLITICO (@politico) March 20, 2019

https://twitter.com/JamesFallows/status/1108190963682430977

A former McCain aide says Trump was lying when he claimed today the senator had misled the WH and said he was going to support “repeal and replace” effort before changing his mind. “Nope. Never happened,” the former aide said. “You’re surprised Trump lied?” the ex-aide added.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) March 19, 2019

Trump is just angry at McCain because the Hanoi Hilton has a better Yelp rating than any of his hotels
— Matt Oswalt (@MattOswaltVA) March 20, 2019

Trump organization selling merch with the White House on it

I don’t know if it’s illegal. I do know it’s not appropriate.

Trump Org now selling merch with the White House on it. Nice work by @Z_Everson. https://t.co/zCQ3WrEeaG
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) March 21, 2019

They are not among the six items in the Trump Store's Made in the USA page: https://t.co/szjg8Ymbtu https://t.co/5Pz1oGa3NV
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) March 27, 2019

Here's one of the White House-branded coffee mugs being sold by @trump Org. I have added arrows, for illustrative purposes. pic.twitter.com/uriySOUhXR
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) March 27, 2019

Concentrate on gerrymandering and voter suppression

The Democrats in the House passed HR 1, a huge voting overhaul that has no chance at all in the Senate.

I think it would be better if they chopped it up into pieces. It would be easier to explain to the public if they concentrated on one item at a time.

I would start with gerrymandering. It is easy to show examples like Wisconsin and North Carolina. (Yes, Democrats did it in Maryland but this is almost entirely a Republican problem.) The public will understand and approve of the idea of fairness. Democrats also need to emphasize that when districts are redrawn like in Pennsylvania, it’s to promote fairness, not Democrats.

Since the Republicans won’t do anything, it should be easy to tag them as being opposed to fair elections. See the tweet below for a new study that shows obvious problems.

Same for voter suppression. Everyone should understand that all people who are eligible to vote should be able to vote. Republicans have made extensive suppression efforts in places like Georgia.

An analysis of 2018 election results from @AP finds Republicans had a built-in advantage in how political districts were drawn that helped reduce Democratic gains. https://t.co/rqk4jPTghl
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 21, 2019

Trump turns presidential events into political rallies

He did it again this week in Ohio. It was totally inappropriate. We are so numb to his violations of norms that this doesn’t get enough coverage. His campaign (which started on his first day in office) should pay for these events, not taxpayers. I can’t remember them all but some others were speeches at the CIA and Boy Scouts. It’s just wrong.

Right – the question is what happens when he does it outside of rallies. This felt like a rally in some respects but it was a taxpayer event. The answer may be nothing happens – but it was a different reaction than he's gotten from crowds. https://t.co/tcwWw6GyZ1
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 21, 2019

CIA employees were so disturbed by Trump’s speech before the Memorial Wall that they left flowers at the site, something that officials had only seen happen in the aftermath of a tragedy at the agency. https://t.co/iA4z2XvH8Q
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 19, 2018

46/ After Trump’s 40-minute speech to Boy Scouts in 2017, @YAppelbaum remembers it as “such a breach of tradition and decorum that the chief scout executive rushed to apologize for the ‘political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree.’” https://t.co/NcNBVmfc9L
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) January 14, 2019

Fact Check: In a speech to law enforcement, President Trump misrepresented crime data, Obama-era policing policy and how the diversity immigration visa program works. https://t.co/H6EP38XuaG
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) December 16, 2017

NEW —> Trump says Chicago police should use controversial ‘stop-and-frisk’ tactics to curb shootings. My latest on the president’s hard-edged and at times overtly political speech to law enforcement chiefs today. https://t.co/O7ItdjwAfz
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) October 8, 2018

Mary Sway has identified some of the sheriffs who applauded Trump’s attack on NYTimes. According to David Nakamura the LEOS clapped bc Trump “tipped some ass”. SMH https://t.co/ixA81EF1Qa
— ☘️deb☘️ (@Deb4Democracy) September 7, 2018

On September 5, 2018, in front of a group of sheriffs visiting the @WhiteHouse, #tRump responded to anonymous op-ed in New York Times by demonstrating his dire needs for approval & success and, correspondingly, his irrational fears of rejection & failure. https://t.co/Zh6FpTQ4oe
— Jeffrey Guterman (@JeffreyGuterman) September 6, 2018

The IRS is auditing EITC recipients instead of high earners

Because of pressure from Manafort's party, the IRS devotes 36% of its audit resources chasing EITC recipients who typically earn about 20K per year and account for a fraction of income tax evasion. Reduces chances that the Manafort's of the world are ever captured. https://t.co/GN9rF5y1lt
— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) March 8, 2019

Follow the money: Trump and Deutsche Bank

Great investigation by the New York Times.

It’s too bad that all of the information on Trump’s sleazy dealings, payoffs to women and tax avoidance wasn’t known before the election.

This is the inside story of how Deutsche Bank officials – including 2 CEOs – were so eager to do business with @realDonaldTrump that they ignored years of internal warnings about the risks.

Based on interviews with 20+ bank execs w/ direct knowledge. https://t.co/5kD4vCXm7y
— David Enrich (@davidenrich) March 18, 2019

Trump’s History With Deutsche Bank: how their symbiotic bond was born of necessity &ambition on both sides: a real estate mogul made toxic by polarizing rhetoric &a pattern of defaults, and a bank w. intractable financial problems & a history of misconduct https://t.co/hEETrw3biY
— Michiko Kakutani (@michikokakutani) March 19, 2019

If true, @realDonaldTrump lied to Deutsche Bank to get a loan. That constitutes bank fraud.

In fact, one reason Michael Cohen is going to prison is because he lied to a bank to get a loan. https://t.co/2h4VxJgmms
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) March 19, 2019

Trump reportedly lied about assets, worth to get Deutsche Bank loans https://t.co/qLaxH4XOfU
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) March 19, 2019

At the end of 2017, Trump waived punishment for Deutsche Bank.
Trump owes Deutsche Bank over $100 million. #flashbackfriday https://t.co/XuxMaJ4OmC
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) March 16, 2019

This is what Deutsche Bank now fears, on top of everything else: That ⁦@POTUS⁩ will decide to stop making payments on the loans he took out—and the bank will have to sort it out in public. https://t.co/xUzK6AhL46 pic.twitter.com/W46sEInrHd
— Emily Flitter (@FlitterOnFraud) March 18, 2019

According to the new NYTimes report, if Donald Trump was inflating his assets in order to persuade Deutsche Bank to give him a loan, Deutsche Bank apparently didn't mind. pic.twitter.com/t4CEVA501P
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) March 19, 2019

When my lawyers inquired about how Trump calculated his net worth, he said his self-assessment went “up and down with markets and with attitudes and with feelings, even my own feelings.” He noted later that “even my own feelings affect my value to myself.” https://t.co/lQPxxS7okm
— Tim O'Brien (@TimOBrien) March 19, 2019

"Deutsche Bank, George Conway, and the gravitational pull of Trump's corruption." Some thoughts on what new revelations about Deutsche and @gtconway3d's relationship with Trump tell us about the orbit of corruption around him, from @paulwaldman1 and me:https://t.co/FnJFp2OkIo
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) March 19, 2019

Pompeo briefed faith-based media

The State Department wouldn’t provide details on the event. They’re taking after Trump since he wouldn’t make information on his meetings with Putin available. This should not be acceptable. Sad!

State dept defending @SecPompeo limiting briefing today to “faith based media” saying they regularly do targeted media and “other engagements are more targeted or designed for topic, region, or audience-specific media.” Can’t recall religion being a test before for journalists
— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) March 19, 2019

This is absolutely not OK. Cabinet officials are public servants. They work for us. When they speak to reporters on the record everything they say — in its entirety — needs to be released at the earliest appropriate time. That’s proper accountability. That’s what we deserve. https://t.co/OBJht2BaAK
— John Kirby (@johnfkirby63) March 19, 2019

Strange situation over at the @StateDept: The department's press corps was barred from a "faith-based media" briefing with @SecPompeo, and no transcript or attendee list is being released https://t.co/GPC57Q3ltt
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 19, 2019

Beating Trump is most important for Democrats

A recent poll shows that it’s more important than a candidate’s views on issues. I agree. Any Democrat is better than Trump. We have to vote him out if he’s still in office by then.

Pretty clear that LOTS of Dems – whose views are not reflected on Twitter – just want to win & don’t have strong feelings about what winner’s presidency should focus on.

Note: that doesn’t mean Biden or Beto is favored. Voters have different views of electability than pundits. https://t.co/3nRUXE65UB
— Justin Slaughter (@JBSDC) March 19, 2019

Views of Dems: They think Biden can win but align with Bernie
Beat Shares
Trump Positions
Biden 32% 21%
Sanders 14% 31%
Harris 16% 7%
O’Rourke 11% 11%
Warren 6% 5%
Kerry 4% 4%
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 19, 2019

Lukewarm take: the conventional wisdom is right that Biden, Bernie, Harris, Beto are the 4 candidates most likely to win the Democratic nomination in some order. https://t.co/VogcZrTbsf
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) March 19, 2019

Caveat to the CNN poll: 59 percent of Dems say it's too early for them to say who they might support.
— Philip Bump (@pbump) March 19, 2019

Facebook must be investigated

I am on Facebook but don’t use it much anymore.

My account has been hacked several times.

I don’t approve of their role in the 2016 election.

I don’t approve of how they handle personal data.

My Op-Ed: It’s time for a real investigation into Facebook. https://t.co/rTJFtckyOG
— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) March 19, 2019

Breaking News: U.S. federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into data deals Facebook struck with some of the world’s largest tech companies https://t.co/ijmZ3jppME
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 13, 2019

There is a data-industrial complex, and this is what it looked like, writes @alexismadrigal: https://t.co/UXcZ2Un6qp
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) December 23, 2018

Facebook's audience evolved from being pretty left-leaning in 2012 to more or less down the middle in 2016. Not unreasonable to assume it will be right-leaning by 2020, especially for news, as right-leaning content has been overperforming there since last algorithm tweaks. https://t.co/4AWSGGL6oI
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) March 19, 2019

Facebook's News Feed algorithm seems to be surfacing more fake news than ever. https://t.co/7b1OMXFlBY pic.twitter.com/L1J6yYgJKF
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) March 16, 2019

This new report by NewsWhip is really troubling. Look at the most shared and most commented stories on Facebook in 2019 to date… Some real news, but a whole lotta lies and rage and fear-mongering https://t.co/LGs3IUnL7p pic.twitter.com/m5PWhN0c1w
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 16, 2019

What you don't know about Facebook is even worse than what you do https://t.co/7EEayTToeq
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) December 5, 2018

There were 100 instances in the last six months of Facebook users advocating to shoot or kill others, immigrants and people of color in particular https://t.co/1rlzWoBNu0
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) December 4, 2018

"Did we ask them to do work on George Soros? Yes." Facebook took responsibility for hiring a lobbying company that pushed negative stories about Facebook’s critics. https://t.co/vpcMGa4nlO
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 23, 2018