Is Trump criticizing the Fed because of the impact of rate increases on his own finances?

Trump should not be criticizing Jerome Powell, who he appointed to lead the Federal Reserve. One issue is how much of his criticism is motivated by the impact on his own finances.

Every time the Fed raises rates, Trump’s payments on some $340 million in variable-rate loans go up https://t.co/j8pHHlADCB

— Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) December 22, 2018

Trump is obstructing justice again

Trump is angry at Whitaker for not controlling prosecutors investigating his businesses. This is an even more obvious case of obstruction of justice than when Trump wanted Comey to stop the Flynn investigation. At least, Trump and Whitaker haven’t ordered the investigation to stop. That would really be bad. I hope Trump gets indicted if he is guilty (which I think he clearly is).

Exactly right, @renato_mariotti. The bright red lines Trump crossed in telling Whitaker he needs to be more loyal to POTUS in the SDNY vis-a-vis Michael Cohen make the impropriety of Clinton’s silly chat with Lynch turn pale pink by comparison @JRubinBlogger https://t.co/5E4eabG8NQ

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) December 23, 2018

This is Trump yelling at the acting Attorney General for not doing enough to obstruct justice https://t.co/gV4QEdlTxw

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) December 22, 2018

Does anybody really believe that President Trump wasn’t trying to influence an ongoing criminal investigation when he vented his frustration to acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker? pic.twitter.com/oGD3e2RCvn

— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) December 22, 2018

On the one hand, it’s appalling that Trump is trying to influence the acting AG. On the other hand, it seems encouraging that despite this pressure, even a toady like Whitaker hasn’t hampered investigations into the president. https://t.co/5PLY5Gqrm7

— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) December 22, 2018

Remember when the #GOP went berserk because Hillary's spouse had a casual conversation with AG Lynch at the airport?

Waiting for GOP to go berserk again because @POTUS is now having direct conversations to influence acting AG Whitaker on investigations that implicate him …. https://t.co/q6WD9dZ4Lo

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) December 22, 2018

When @realDonaldTrump reportedly discussed the Cohen investigation with the acting Attorney General and pushed him to control New York prosecutors, was he trying to “work out a deal?” Is the system “totally rigged & corrupt?” pic.twitter.com/PL8zWhCppG

— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) December 22, 2018

This is crossing the red line again, worse than his conversations with Comey: “Trump pressed Whitaker on why more wasn't being done to control prosecutors in New York who brought the charges in the first place.” https://t.co/8KKOT3gVTN

— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) December 22, 2018

Folks concerned about Bill Clinton talking to Loretta Lynch on the tarmac during HRC probe may want to look at this https://t.co/W6Igz1nZha

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 22, 2018

Trump makes Putin happy by withdrawing troops from Syria

update 12/29/18

Russia, Turkey discuss coordination in Syria after U.S. withdrawal https://t.co/cZL6yPYoYH pic.twitter.com/jHuzNrinav

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) December 29, 2018

update 12/23/18

Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria defied the warnings of his senior advisers — including Bolton, Mattis and Pompeo — while blindsiding U.S. allies, from @missy_ryan and @jdawsey1 https://t.co/jPvqVYdf3Z

— Alan Sipress (@AlanSipress) December 20, 2018

more stuff since yesterday:

Vladimir Putin Welcomes U.S. Withdrawal From Syria https://t.co/HJwk43BYxj

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) December 20, 2018

Trump gave Putin a big Christmas present this year: Syria.

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) December 19, 2018

This is ghastly. https://t.co/lW77oA7K7h

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) December 19, 2018

This giveaway to Russia must be evaluated in the context of the emerging evidence of Trump's quid pro quo with Putin. Trump & his team clearly asked for and got Russian business and election help. Did he & they signal policy concessions in exchange–& is this another example? https://t.co/nVr6lE7yyU

— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) December 19, 2018

Trump abruptly announces withdrawal of troops from Syria against the advice of General Mattis and the Pentagon.

Three questions:

1. Why is Trump doing this?

2. Why is Trump doing this now against the advice of his own Generals?

3. Who does this benefit and who does this hurt?

— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) December 20, 2018

So, Trump talked to Erdogan, and Netanyahu…
…but not the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Tell me more about how anthem kneeling disrespects the military. https://t.co/OxiujTvmwq

— Kevin Baron (@DefenseBaron) December 20, 2018

Putin applauded Trump's decision to begin pulling U.S. forces out of Syria https://t.co/TV1dsg2vDS

— POLITICO (@politico) December 20, 2018

It is not FAKE NEWS that Russia, Iran, and Assad are unhappy about our decision to withdraw from Syria.

They are ECSTATIC! https://t.co/7cZgEDBbdT

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 20, 2018

So much for Trump’s conceit that he is the most pro-Israel president ever. A U.S. withdrawal from Syria will entrench Iran on Israel’s doorstep. That damage vastly outweighs the empty symbolism of moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. My latest: https://t.co/0gdlRq5x7S

— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) December 19, 2018

It's almost as if abandoning allies has consequences https://t.co/cxYdqmvKd1

— Dan Byman (@dbyman) December 20, 2018

First Syria, now Afghanistan?

JUST IN: Trump administration is considering a significant reduction in U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan – two officials tell Reuters pic.twitter.com/idmC8Wslto

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) December 20, 2018

update

"The US has about 14k troops in Afghanistan, most of which are present as part of larger NATO-led mission to train, advise and assist Afghan forces. Any withdrawal would be complicated by the fact that the U.S. is part of NATO's Resolute Support mission." https://t.co/LXg9GIo3Jz

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) December 20, 2018

OUR SCOOP: Trump wants to pull a significant number of troops, as many as 3k, out of Afghanistan as early as next month. me with @jessdonati @nancyayoussef https://t.co/8QMo8BDjxb

— Gordon Lubold (@glubold) December 20, 2018

JUST IN: White House has ordered the Pentagon to draw up plans for a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, 2 defense officials and a person briefed on the matter tell @NBCNews. https://t.co/yQXYAOQJVk

— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 20, 2018

Whitaker disregarded a recommendation to recuse himself from the Russia investigation

Whitaker’s team wrongly claims no AG has ever recused to avoid an appearance of conflict. It’s actually happened at least 3 times:

1. Ashcroft in Valerie Plame leak investigation (h/t @nycsouthpaw)

2. Holder in John Edwards investigation.

3. Holder in AP leak investigation. https://t.co/4LwTSIwBBH

— Eric Columbus (@EricColumbus) December 20, 2018

Typical of Trumglodytes: ask a question of the relevant experts and follow their advice — unless you don’t like it. Remember when Trump said he’d abide by the 2016 election results — unless they said he lost. Heads I win, tails you lose. I fear for 2020.https://t.co/ZRB8L0V32C

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) December 20, 2018

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker will go against an ethics official's advice and will not be recusing himself from the Russia investigation. He will have final say over any of the inquiry's major developments. https://t.co/wagKEF8uAZ

— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 20, 2018

New information on Whitaker/ethics review:
– he never sought a formal recommendation on whether to recuse from Mueller, he did get guidance on the applicable rules
– ethics thought it was a close call on the *appearance* of a conflict, but found no actual legal conflict

— Laura Jarrett (@LauraAJarrett) December 20, 2018

This ethics opinion must be shared with Congress. Now.

DOJ officials must avoid not only actual impropriety but the appearance of impropriety.

Given Whitaker’s prejudicial comments about Mueller, the public can have no confidence in him. We will scrutinize his every action. https://t.co/0Jxbn1eJSP

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) December 20, 2018

This is turning into an enormous scandal. Ethics officials told Whitaker they would recommend recusal, so he set up a different group of officials (probably political appointees, but unclear) to make a different recommendation. What in the hell is going on at DOJ? https://t.co/gYBeY3RoGP

— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) December 20, 2018

It gets better. DOJ won't even disclose the identify of the team they assembled to countermand the ethics recommendation that Whitaker recuse: "The senior official who described the Whitaker discussions refused to identify the particular Justice Department employees involved." https://t.co/6wPqm0s6Ha

— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) December 20, 2018

The unwinding of the initial backward spin on this story is (finally) making it clear what happened.

WaPo headline here is long, but gets it:

"Ethics officials said Whitaker should recuse from the Mueller probe, but his advisers told him not to"https://t.co/2Vk4gKT8fA

— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) December 20, 2018

If it’s a “close call,” in these circumstances, Whitaker should recuse. https://t.co/CLoL70LTf5

— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) December 20, 2018

Trump at war with Justice. Crony refuses to follow Ethics decision that he should recuse himself. https://t.co/QnjASMYbGt

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) December 20, 2018

This is about as outrageous as it gets. I cannot imagine any AG I have worked for or known disregarding ethics advice in this way. https://t.co/WbXE7wEUfx

— Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) December 20, 2018

Nixon went to Mar-a-Lago

Richard Nixon went to Mar-a-Lago a month before he resigned the Presidency, July 1974: pic.twitter.com/gtetmj1AJu

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) December 20, 2018

The First Step Act

I don’t think much of Trump but I commend him for promoting this bill which is a start on prison reform. McConnell didn’t want to have a vote on it but it passed the Senate by 87-12 with support from liberals and conservatives.

Awesome piece by @JDiamond1 and @arogDC on how the criminal justice reform bill happenedhttps://t.co/oPDLrYSNDo

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) December 19, 2018

Breaking: House backs overhaul of criminal justice system in bipartisan win for Trump https://t.co/hlQHnl2MbE

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 20, 2018

There is some good news amidst the chaos: the Senate passed a bipartisan sentencing reform bill. While there is still much more to do, it is a step in the right direction to make our system more just and our communities more safe.

— Sally Yates (@SallyQYates) December 19, 2018

After yrs of bipartisan work w Sens Durbin & Lee The First Step Act passed the Senate 2night w a big bipartisan victory 87-12 vote Historic criminal justice reform happens once in a generation Now on its way 2 House & Pres Trump waiting w a pen to sign

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) December 19, 2018

12 Republicans voted No on FIRST STEP Act:
Barrasso
Cotton
Enzi
Kennedy
Kyl
Murkowski
Risch
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Shelby
Sullivan

— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) December 19, 2018

The First Step Act would make about 2,660 prisoners who were sentenced for crack-related crimes before 2010 eligible for release, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. https://t.co/cVL6xuymzr

— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 20, 2018

House passes bipartisan criminal justice reform bill "First Step Act" https://t.co/NyJDh9GT5n

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) December 20, 2018

The FIRST STEP Act is not perfect—but we are in a mass incarceration crisis, and it will help undo some of the many harms caused by our broken criminal justice system.

We look forward to working with Congress in 2019 to build a system that serves all Americans equally. https://t.co/Tqh019Tlqa

— ACLU (@ACLU) December 20, 2018

Landmark criminal justice reform bill clears the Senate https://t.co/pZqvghplEX pic.twitter.com/0evYleesZl

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 20, 2018

Professor Longhair’s 100th Birthday

Professor Longhair is my favorite New Orleans musician. His piano playing is amazing and the rhythms are always pushed by the percussion. There are lots of good albums but my favorite is Rock’N’Roll Gumbo which was recorded in 1974 but not released in the US until the mid-1980s. His albums have huge overlaps on songs but that’s fine because the versions are always unique and worth listening to.

Today would have been Professor Longhair's 100th birthday. In his honor, some of those who knew Fess well, performed with him or were influenced by his unique style share their memories of the great Fess https://t.co/MGim3Q6rwq

— OffBeat Magazine (@OffBeatMagazine) December 19, 2018

One hundred years ago today, New Orleans piano legend Henry Roeland Byrd aka Professor Longhair was born. 🎹🎶 #Fess100 pic.twitter.com/5RaciyElk3

— New Orleans Jazz Museum (@nolajazzmuseum) December 19, 2018

PROFESSOR LONGHAIR – Big Chief Parts 1 & 2 – WATCHhttps://t.co/Kbv1nfKrHZ

— 広瀬もず (@mono_hoshi_zao) December 20, 2018

To celebrate Professor Longhair's 100th birthday, here’s Dr. John telling Clint Eastwood in “Piano Blues” about his hero, and Fess playing Tipitina! #Fess100 https://t.co/E2Dpa7aA1Z

— Dr. John (@akadrjohn) December 19, 2018

Plane crashes into Baltimore Memorial Stadium 12/19/76

On December 19, 1976, a small plane crashed into the upper deck of Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium.

Fortunately, the football game was over and nobody was seriously injured.

The photos are amazing.

Donald Kroner crashed a plane into Baltimore's Memorial Stadium in 1976 after a Colts vs. Steelers game. Nobody was injured, but it made for a crazy story the next day. 👇 https://t.co/nutNHtaSx3
— Ghosts of Baltimore (@GhostsofBmore) August 28, 2022

A single-engine plane crashes into the upper deck of Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium

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Trump/Russia Clue board game

Two great tweets:

I want credit (and a share of the profits). pic.twitter.com/SAk01MjZD1

— Middle Kid (@MiddlKid) December 20, 2018

hellooooo…. pic.twitter.com/KrwIVdvRH2

— matt grow (@MattMtbtms) December 20, 2018