"PS...I am NOT going anywhere. Xoxoxo"
BY PRIYANKA ARIBINDI, BRIAN BEUTLER
& CROOKED MEDIA
Tuesday, March 20, 2018 | | |
Today the Senate Intelligence Committee offered bipartisan recommendations on how to better defend the United States against Russian efforts to meddle in our elections, including switching to paper ballots, securing voting databases, and “clearly [communicating] to adversaries that an attack on our election infrastructure is a hostile act.” Seems wise! Trump responded by promising swift action calling Russian President Vladimir Putin to congratulate him on his “re-election,” and choosing not to follow specific instructions from his national security advisers: “DO NOT CONGRATULATE.” Should have had Fox & Friends read it on the air. Oh well. This did not go over well with Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham (SC). McCain said, “An American president does not lead the Free World by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections.” In response, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said “We don’t get to dictate how other countries operate...We can only focus on the freeness and the fairness of our elections…” Sadly, no one told Vice President Mike Pence that, because he’s set to deliver a speech tomorrow calling on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to hold free and fair elections. We are confident this inconsistency will shake Trump to his core. | ONCE MORE UNTO THE DATA BREACH | Cambridge Analytica, the data firm tied to the Trump campaign, suspended CEO Alexander Nix in the wake of undercover reports that show him discussing bribery and entrapment. Meanwhile, Facebook held a meeting today to allow employees to ask about their involvement with Cambridge Analytica after news broke that the data firm mined information on 50 million facebook users. Mark Zuckerberg was nowhere to be found…
From Brian Beutler: This week’s revelations about the lawlessness of Trump’s data firm, Cambridge Analytica, are stunning in their own right but blend seamlessly into the culture of impunity Trump has built around himself. Pluck nearly any Trump-administration outrage out of the litany—his self-enrichment and openness to bribery, his cabinet full of grifters bilking the public for ludicrous travel perks and other dubious expenses, his campaign’s collaboration with Russians subverting the election—and it fits a picture of continued indifference to rules and the well-being of people outside his circle. The pivot to serving the public interest never happened.
Read more from Brian Beutler’s latest →
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New developments in the ongoing Stormy Daniels saga include the following (brace yourself): • Daniels said she passed a lie-detector test in 2011 saying she had unprotected sex with Trump, and her lawyer had paid $25,000 to buy the rights to footage of her taking the test. • Daniels’ lawyer has also claimed that she was threatened physically to keep quiet about her relationship with Trump, which Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen denies. • Daniels tweeted this incredible statement: “Technically I didn't sleep with the POTUS 12 years ago. There was no sleeping (hehe) and he was just a goofy reality TV star. But I digress...People DO care that he lied about it, had me bullied, broke laws to cover it up, etc. And PS...I am NOT going anywhere. Xoxoxo” Hugs and kisses, indeed. • Meanwhile, ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal is suing to get out of a legal agreement she made with the National Enquirer’s parent company to pay her in exchange for exclusive information about her alleged affair with Donald Trump. AND a New York judge ruled that former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos’ defamation suit against Trump related to sexual harassment allegations may go forward. When it rains, it pours, huh? | Authorities are looking at two more packages—one that exploded this morning, and another that was discovered later—to determine if they are connected to four earlier bombings in Austin. Tonight authorities responded to another explosion. Government funding runs out Friday night and Republicans still have not finalized a spending bill, with congressional leaders debating provisions including Trump’s border wall and protections for Special Counsel Bob Mueller. Now, the possibility of another continuing resolution is being discussed because there are “too many obstacles to tackle.” Speaking of Mueller, Republicans continue to urge Trump to allow him to finish the investigation. While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he didn’t think legislation to protect him was necessary, he added “I don’t think Bob Mueller is going anywhere. I think there’s widespread feeling, and the President’s lawyers obviously agree, that he ought to be allowed to finish the job.” Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) continued, “begging” Trump not to fire Mueller and “create a constitutional crisis.” Here’s an idea: Pass a law to protect the special counsel. How much darker do the clouds have to get before you dummies pack an umbrella? A school shooting at Great Mills High School in Maryland has left two students injured, and a third, the suspected gunman, dead. The sheriff says there’s an “indication that a prior relationship existed between the shooter and the female victim.” Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold may resign before his term is up. Late last year, we learned Farenthold used $84,000 in taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against him. Pennsylvania GOP State Rep. Cris Dush is introducing legislation to impeach the four Democrats on the state’s Supreme Court who redrew the state’s gerrymandered congressional maps. The Supreme Court rejected Republican efforts to challenge the new map earlier this week. Danity Kane singer Aubrey O’Day is rumored to have had an affair with Don Jr. during her season of “The Celebrity Apprentice” and people think she wrote this masterpiece, entitled "DJT," about him. Gross. | | |
On Pod Save the People: DeRay and the news crew discuss the Austin bombings, Marielle Franco’s assassination, public officials who profit off of prison nutrition systems, and more. | | |
So far in 2018, legislators have introduced at least 206 bills to expand voting access in 30 states.
Automatic voter registration in particular is expanding around the country, with Washington becoming the 11th state to adopt the policy since 2015. Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed an election reform package that also includes Election Day registration, pre-registration for 16 and 17-year-olds, and a state version of the national Voting Rights Act. Good news for once!
| Fifteen years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a veteran of the Iraq war reflects on the question “What were we doing in Iraq anyway?” Read → | We give Facebook a TON of information about us the minute we sign up, and even more with every single click, like, share, search, and word we enter into the platform. BuzzFeed recaps the incredibly simple ways we end up giving away so much, and what to do if you find that mild to majorly concerning. Protect yourself, people.
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