Trump's former doctor gets raided by Trump's former bodyguard. Feels "raped."

Courtesy of NBC News:  

In February 2017, a top White House aide who was Trump's longtime personal bodyguard, along with the top lawyer at the Trump Organization and a third man, showed up at the office of Trump's New York doctor without notice and took all the president's medical records. 

The incident, which Dr. Harold Bornstein described as a "raid," took place two days after Bornstein told a newspaper that he had prescribed a hair growth medicine for the president for years. 

In an exclusive interview in his Park Avenue office, Bornstein told NBC News that he felt "raped, frightened and sad" when Keith Schiller and another "large man" came to his office to collect the president's records on the morning of Feb. 3, 2017. At the time, Schiller, who had long worked as Trump's bodyguard, was serving as director of Oval Office operations at the White House. 

"They must have been here for 25 or 30 minutes. It created a lot of chaos," Bornstein said, who described the incident as frightening.

According to Bornstein Trump cut ties with him after he blabbed to the press about Trump taking Propecia, which is a drug to prevent hair loss.

Too bad he wasn't on a medication to prevent asshole-itis.

According to Dr. Feelgood, the thugs made off with all of Trump's records, lab results, and charts.

Even the ones under his many aliases.

That's right, Trump even uses aliases when he visits his own doctor.

Apparently Bornstein also told the papers that he wanted to be the White House physician, but when Trump heard about it he had his long time assistant call to deliver the bad news:

"So you wanted to be the White House doctor? Forget it, you're out.' " 

Oh these people are ice cold. 

White House officials claim that chief of staff John Kelly presents himself as a savior and calls Trump an "idiot" behind his back.

What an idiot.

Courtesy of NBC News:  

White House chief of staff John Kelly has eroded morale in the West Wing in recent months with comments to aides that include insulting the president's intelligence and casting himself as the savior of the country, according to eight current and former White House officials. 

The officials said Kelly portrays himself to Trump administration aides as the lone bulwark against catastrophe, curbing the erratic urges of a president who has a questionable grasp on policy issues and the functions of government. He has referred to Trump as "an idiot" multiple times to underscore his point, according to four officials who say they've witnessed the comments.

Officials said Kelly's public image as a retired four-star general instilling discipline on a chaotic White House and an impulsive president belies what they describe as the undisciplined and indiscreet approach he's employed as chief of staff. The private manner aides describe may shed new light on why Kelly now finds himself — just nine months into the job — grappling with diminished influence and a drumbeat of questions about how long he'll remain at the White House. 

"He says stuff you can't believe," said one senior White House official. "He'll say it and you think, 'That is not what you should be saying.'"

Of course since this story broke earlier today Kelly has issued a statement pushing back on the allegations:  
“I am committed to our President, his agenda, and our country. This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administration’s many successes.”

Yeah, okay.

This is not the first time that we have heard that there is tension between Trump and his chief of staff, and apparently Kelly has been greatly marginalized as of late.

And also according to NBC News Kelly's negative remarks about the president are not the only thing that puts his job in jeopardy:

Current and former White House officials said Kelly has at times made remarks that have rattled female staffers. Kelly has told aides multiple times that women are more emotional than men, including at least once in front of the president, four current and former officials said. 

And during a firestorm in February over accusations of domestic abuse against then-White House staff secretary Rob Porter, Kelly wondered aloud how much more Porter would have to endure before his honor could be restored, according to three officials who were present for the comments. He also questioned why Porter's ex-wives wouldn't just move on based on the information he said he had about his marriages, the officials said. 

Some current and former White House officials said they expect Kelly to leave by July, his one-year mark. But others say it's anyone's guess. What's clear is both Trump and Kelly seem to have tired of each other. 

Move over Rex Tillerson it looks like you are about to have a little company in the "We Just Got Shitcanned Hotel."

Disgraced VA Secretary nominee Ronny Jackson, will NOT be returning to his old job as White House physician.

Courtesy of Politico:  

White House physician Ronny Jackson will not return to his role as the president’s personal physician, according to two senior administration officials, after a string of allegations caused the Navy rear admiral to withdraw his nomination last week to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sean Conley, a Navy officer who took over Jackson’s role as the president’s personal doctor last month, will continue in the role, the officials said. 

Jackson bowed out last week after Montana Sen. Jon Tester, the top Democrat on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, released a document summarizing allegations by current and former colleagues that Jackson overprescribed pills, drank on the job and created a hostile work environment. Jackson has denied the allegations and has returned to work in the White House Medical Unit.

Now the White House claims that these accusations had no merit and Trump went after Senator Tester hard on Twitter. 

Allegations made by Senator Jon Tester against Admiral/Doctor Ron Jackson are proving false. The Secret Service is unable to confirm (in fact they deny) any of the phony Democrat charges which have absolutely devastated the wonderful Jackson family. Tester should resign. The.....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 28, 2018

....great people of Montana will not stand for this kind of slander when talking of a great human being. Admiral Jackson is the kind of man that those in Montana would most respect and admire, and now, for no reason whatsoever, his reputation has been shattered. Not fair, Tester!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 28, 2018

Secret Service has just informed me that Senator Jon Tester’s statements on Admiral Jackson are not true. There were no such findings. A horrible thing that we in D.C. must live with, just like phony Russian Collusion. Tester should lose race in Montana. Very dishonest and sick!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 28, 2018

Of course the question to ask is if these allegations are so unfounded, then why is Jackson not being reinstated as the White House doctor?

And that question should be followed up by one asking if there is no validity then why is Trey Gowdy suggesting an investigation by the House?

Courtesy of Politico: 

House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy on Sunday said some of the allegations against President Donald Trump’s ill-fated pick for secretary of Veterans Affairs should be investigated. 

Appearing on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” the South Carolina Republican said, “I think some of those allegations do warrant being investigated,” referring to a series of allegations levied against the White House physician and now-withdrawn VA secretary nominee, Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson.

Yeah, something still stinks about all of this.

Also keep in mind that Senator Tester was not making these allegations himself but rather passing on information delivered to him by White House and military members who had witnessed these incidents.

I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that neither Ronny Jackson, nor the White House really want Congress to investigate these allegations.

Just a feeling I have.

Trump's Twitter targets for today, the WHCD and Michelle Wolf.

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner was a failure last year, but this year was an embarrassment to everyone associated with it. The filthy “comedian” totally bombed (couldn’t even deliver her lines-much like the Seth Meyers weak performance). Put Dinner to rest, or start over!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2018

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is DEAD as we know it. This was a total disaster and an embarrassment to our great Country and all that it stands for. FAKE NEWS is alive and well and beautifully represented on Saturday night!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2018

I would just first like to point out that if Trump thinks he is hurting Michelle Wolf's career in any way by going after her on Twitter he is dead wrong.

She is launching a new show on Netflix, and she has just gone from a comedian that only a few people know about, to a national figure who is the subject of tweets by the president of the United States.

There is no way this hurts her professionally.

And that goes for the attacks by the conservatives, and some self identified "liberals," as well.

Which by the way are completely without merit.

Courtesy of Vulture:

As soon as Michelle Wolf finished delivering her blistering White House Correspondents’ Dinner roast of the Trump administration and the members of the press that cover it, she was, not surprisingly, criticized for much of what she said. Oddly, however, a lot of that criticism zeroed in on something that Michelle Wolf did not actually say: a joke about Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s appearance.

The two jokes that seemed to irk critics were her Handmaid’s Tale dig — “I have to say I’m a little starstruck. I love you as Aunt Lydia in The Handmaid’s Tale” — and the aforementioned line about Sanders’s smoky eye, which went like this: “I actually really like Sarah. I think she’s very resourceful. She burns facts, and then she uses the ash to create a perfect smoky eye. Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s lies. It’s probably lies.”

Somehow this was misconstrued to be an attack on Huckabee Sander's appearance, which it clearly was not.

In stead it was an attack on her honesty, which, let's face it, was more than appropriate.

However both conservatives and some in the media spouted their faux outrage all over Twitter.

That @PressSec sat and absorbed intense criticism of her physical appearance, her job performance, and so forth, instead of walking out, on national television, was impressive.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 29, 2018

And of course Mika Brzezinski also had to give her two cents.

Women who use their government positions to spread lies and misinformation deserve to face the same withering criticism as men. But leave our looks out of it. Watching from home, I hurt for Sarah, her husband and her children.

— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) April 29, 2018

All of this seemed to puzzle Michelle Wolf who responded with this:

Why are you guys making this about Sarah’s looks? I said she burns facts and uses the ash to create a *perfect* smoky eye. I complimented her eye makeup and her ingenuity of materials. https://t.co/slII9TYdYx

— Michelle Wolf (@michelleisawolf) April 29, 2018

Exactly.

Look if you are a conservative then misrepresenting the facts and participating in faux outrage is kinda what you do.

But if you are supposed to be a "journalist" of some kind you are expected to adhere to the facts, and there were several media types who failed to meet that expectation.

And like I said all of this does nothing but help Michelle Wolf's career, and ensure that when her Netflix show drops on May 27 that it will have a lot more folks tuned in.

So keep it up conservatives (And Mika Brzezinski) cause all it does is put money in her pockets.

Keep in mind that these are the people supposedly scandalized by Michelle Wolf's WHCD performance.

“how dare that lady comedian be so vulgar” says the crowd that’s clearly delicate like doilies pic.twitter.com/wWTRd8XnKF

— shauna (@goldengateblond) April 29, 2018

Yeah, such delicate sensibilities.

During "Meet the Press' interview James Comey dismisses report by House Intelligence Committee and suggests that Trump will lie under oath.

Courtesy of NBC News: 

Former FBI Director James Comey on Sunday dismissed the findings of a GOP report claiming there is no evidence President Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with Russians during the 2016 election. He added that, as a former prosecutor, he has “serious doubts” about Trump’s credibility as a potential witness. 

Comey called the recently released report by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee “a political document” during an interview on “Meet The Press.”

“That is not my understanding of what the facts were before I left the FBI and I think the most important piece of work is the one the special counsel's doing now,” Comey added.

Asked whether the committee has served a good investigative purpose overall, Comey said, “not that I can see.” 

The former FBI director also said politicization has “wrecked the committee, and it damaged relationships with the FISA Court, the intelligence communities. It's just a wreck.”

Yeah it's hard to argue with Comey on this.

The House Intelligence Committee with Devin Nunes in charge was NEVER going to find anything problematic about Trump's interactions with Russia.

Comey also weighed in on Trump's seeming inability to tell the truth:

“I have serious doubts about his credibility,” Comey said of Trump, adding that he worries about whether the president would be truthful under oath or not.

“Sometimes people who have serious credibility problems can tell the truth when they realize that the consequences of not telling the truth in an interview or in the grand jury would be dire,” Comey said. “But you'd have to go in with a healthy sense that he might lie to you.”

In other words Trump will almost certainly lie under oath, and that will essentially be his undoing.

Which is something that probably EVERYBODY knows, with the possible exception of Trump himself. 

The National Enquirer, fervent Trump propaganda outlet, turns on lawyer Michael Cohen.

Courtesy of Mediaite:

The National Enquirer has taken a swing at President Donald Trump‘s embattled attorney, Michael Cohen. 

The tabloid has long had a reputation of serving as Trump’s media fixer, running salacious headlines such as “Hillary Framed Trump Family!” and “Proof! FBI Plot to Impeach Trump!” however, it is the first time it has turned on Trump’s legal fixer, Cohen. 

The publication’s parent company, American Media Inc., run by Trump-pal David Pecker, is also currently being sued by Playboy model Karen McDougal. She claims that AMI offered to buy the story of her alleged affair with Trump for $150,000, to then not publish it — known as a catch and kill agreement. 

The headline of the Enquirer’s latest cover, which reads “Trump Fixer’s Secrets and Lies!” also comes in the wake of Trump attempting to distance himself from his longtime attorney.

Make no mistake, if the National Enquirer has turned on Trump's fixer, that is because Donald Trump gave them the go ahead to do so.

Which means that Trump is tossing Cohen under the bus, and any loyalty that Cohen might feel toward his boss is completely misplaced.

So now we just have to wait and see how long it takes before Cohen and Mueller come together for their version of "Let's Make a Deal."

So while Michelle Wolf was pissing off conservatives yesterday, in Michigan Donald Trump was driving them into a frenzy.

Crowd chants "NOBEL, NOBEL, NOBEL" at President @realDonaldTrump rally. pic.twitter.com/zyPHp0gZqL

— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 28, 2018

So yes that is Trump taking FULL credit for the North and South Korea peace deal, while his people chant "Nobel" at him.

I think it's pretty clear why he would rather be there, than to sit and listen to Michelle Wolf rip him  a new one.

After all it is the coward's way.

I of course did not watch hardly ANY of this rally (I was still bummed about the furnace.), but I did do some catching up online.

For instance Trump also said that if the Republicans failed to hold on to the House that he was probably going to be impeached.

President @realDonaldTrump: "We have to keep the House, because if you listen to @MaxineWaters, she goes around saying, 'We will impeach him, we will impeach him.'" pic.twitter.com/OQHcME4i16

— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 29, 2018

Which proves that once in a while, Donald Trump CAN tell the truth.

But just when you might have been willing to give him a little credit for that, he turns around and suggests that the Russian lawyer only said she was working with the Kremlin to  "make life in the United States more chaotic."

Trump now claims that Natalia Veselnitskaya is only saying she's an "informant" with ties to the Kremlin because Putin realized how hard Trump has been on Russia and he wants to make the U.S. more chaotic. (via Fox) pic.twitter.com/NiZKeigPpO

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 28, 2018

That of course is completely illogical, but his crowd ate it right up.

In fact Trump got them so worked up that at least one of them verbally attacked the press.

This Trump supporter repeatedly yelled at the press, calling media “degenerate filth” and to get out of his country after the Michigan rally concluded pic.twitter.com/hbd8vhpVYc

— Brianna Sacks (@bri_sacks) April 29, 2018

Gee, forced to miss the WHCD and now covered in Trump supporter spittle, it really sucks to have to report on a Trump rally.

Hitherto unknown meeting between Michael Flynn and his son with Russian Ambassador revealed in House Intelligence Committee report.

Courtesy of TPM: 

The House Intelligence Committee’s report from its Russia investigation published on Friday revealed another meeting former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had with the Russian ambassador before he joined the Trump campaign. 

Flynn and his son, Michael Flynn, Jr., met with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at his Washington, D.C. residence on December 2, 2015, according to emails reviewed by the House Intelligence Committee. Flynn’s son described the meeting as “very productive” in an email to the Russian embassy, according to the committee’s report. According to the report, “emails indicate that the meeting was arranged at the request of General Flynn or his son.” Neither Flynn sat with the committee for an interview, leaving congressional investigators with few details about the rendezvous. 

The meeting with Kislyak took place about a week before Flynn traveled to Moscow to speak at the Kremlin RT news organization’s annual gala. Flynn sat next to Vladimir Putin at the dinner and was paid by RT to attend the event. 

Flynn’s December 2015 meeting with Kislyak also came after he met with President Donald Trump for the first time, but Flynn did not formally join the campaign until 2016.

So between the time that Flynn met with Donald Trump for the first time, and this event took place...

...Flynn also met with this guy?

And that doesn't seem like collusion to the House Republicans?

Interesting.

Flynn's son certainly was quick in his attempt to play it down.

The #fakenews media is a joke.....

friggin @TMZ 2.0 pic.twitter.com/L9cvfxdnKr

— 🇺🇸MFLYNNJR🇺🇸 (@mflynnJR) April 27, 2018

You know I am not sure if these House Republicans could recognize collusion if it were delivered to them under their tree on Christmas morning.

The House Intelligence Committee led by Devin Nunes released the report on their Russia "investigation" yesterday, and guess what? No collusion!

Courtesy of CNN: 

The House Intelligence Committee on Friday released a redacted version of the Republican report on the committee's year-long Russia investigation, in which GOP members say they found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia and disputed the intelligence community's assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to help elect Donald Trump. 

The committee released the report with redactions from the intelligence community, along with a redacted Democratic dissent. saying collusion exists and that there were key aspects of the probe Republicans failed to investigate. 

The report's release marks the conclusion of a yearlong committee investigation that devolved into a partisan brawl between Democrats and Republicans, fighting over the decision by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes to step aside from the probe, the subpoenas that were and were not issued and dueling memos over a surveillance warrant for a former Trump campaign adviser.

The committee ended its investigation into Russia's 2016 election meddling last month, concluding they found no evidence that Trump's team had colluded with Russians. 

"We found no evidence of collusion, and so we found perhaps some bad judgment, inappropriate meetings," (Rep. Mike) Conaway said when they submitted their report for declassification.

Of course Trump was also quick to jump on this. 

Just Out: House Intelligence Committee Report released. “No evidence” that the Trump Campaign “colluded, coordinated or conspired with Russia.” Clinton Campaign paid for Opposition Research obtained from Russia- Wow! A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018

However anybody who actually thought this Devin Nunes led investigation was interested in getting to the truth must have their head shoved so far up their ass that they can watch their food digest.

And as the Democrats on that committee point out, the investigation was nowhere near complete.

Courtesy of WaPo:  

The GOP report does address that Trump Tower meeting, allowing that it showed “poor judgment” on the part of the Trump campaign. As we learned from Trump Jr.’s emails, those top Trump campaign officials went to the meeting in the full expectation of receiving dirt on Hillary Clinton, supplied by the Russian government. But the GOP report brushes this off, concluding there was “no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government.”

But the Democratic response fills in some extremely important context — and it may involve the president himself, though we cannot know one way or the other right now. 

According to the Democratic response, right after Trump Jr. set up the specifics of the meeting, he had two calls with a number in Russia belonging to Emin Agalarov. Between those two calls, the Democratic response recounts, Trump Jr. received a third call from a blocked number. Who might it have been? 

Democrats wanted to find out, but Republicans blocked it from happening, according to the Democrats’ response. 

“We sought to determine whether that number belonged to the president, because we also ascertained that then-candidate Trump used a blocked number,” Schiff said during our interview. “That would tell us whether Don Jr. sought his father’s permission to take the meeting, and [whether] that was the purpose of that call.” 

Schiff added that Democrats asked Republicans to subpoena phone records to determine whose number it was, but Republicans “refused,” Schiff said. “They didn’t want to know whether he had informed his father and sought his permission to take that meeting with the Russians.”

Okay exactly WHY would the Republicans stop the Democrats from accessing those phone records unless they already knew to whom the blocked number belonged?

But do you know who probably already has that information?

Robert Mueller that's who.

This whole House Intelligence Committee "investigation" was nothing but a distraction to keep the public from focusing on the real investigation which is ACTUALLY looking for the truth.

And that truth is coming, whether Donald Trump and Devin Nunes want it to or not.

Does Donald Trump deserve credit for peace between North and South Korea? Not so much.

After this admittedly historic meeting, Donald Trump was quick to jump in and snatch the credit.

After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018

KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018

But is it credit that he deserves?

What do you think?

Courtesy of The Independent:  

In a historic and opulent ceremony, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) to sign the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula during the Inter-Korean Summit and officially ended the war that began when the north and south split in a battle over communism and democracy that began on 25 June 1950.

Dr TJ Pempel, a professor at the University of California-Berkeley told The Independent while Mr Trump “deserves some credit but not as much as he’s taking”. While the United Nations sanctions on Pyongyang involved the US push from Ambassador Nikki Haley, that is “hardly the whole story”, Mr Pempel said. “China’s agreement to the sanctions was far more important,” he noted. 

The important point to note, he said, was that North Korea developed its nuclear programme considerably after Mr Trump took office. “The North is convinced that it has the upper hand in negotiations because of its nuclear and missile testing successes; the US thinks it has the upper hand because it believes Kim is negotiating because of the sanctions. It’s the combination that has triggered the North’s willingness to sit down”.

That is likely part of the explanation for Kim Jong-un's sudden cooperativeness, but this next story is likely an even bigger factor.

Courtesy of Forbes:  

North Korean president Kim Jong-un recently announced his country has halted its nuclear testing program. While it is unclear whether this is a political move in preparation for meeting with the United States president Donald Trump, recent evidence suggests the country may have been forced to halt testing. 

A recent study by a group of geologists discovered that the mountain used by North Korea for its nuclear bomb testing has collapsed as a result of the explosions. The collapsed mountain is raising concerns about radioactive fallout, which could make its way into China. 

Scientists from the University of Science and Technology of China believe this could be the true reason North Korean President Kim Jong-un announced the halt of their nuclear testing program.

So Kim Jong-un is not negotiating because he is suddenly all reasonable and shit, it's because he realizes that he needs to change tactics before his bluff is called and his enemies recognize that he is not the nuclear threat that he has made himself out to be.

He's like a thief who attempts to rob a liquor store, realizes that he forgot to load his gun, and then suddenly says "Look, Just give me a bottle of vodka and I will leave without taking your money. Deal?"

Donald Trump has a history of taking credit for other people's work, and this looks like one more example.

A poll of Fox News viewers believes that the Mueller probe should continue, and that it will find impeachable offenses.

Courtesy of Fox News:  

Most voters think it is important to continue investigating whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia -- but more believe President Trump will fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller before he’s done. 

About two-thirds, 67 percent in the latest Fox News poll, say it is at least somewhat important the investigation continues, and 56 percent think it’s likely that Mueller’s probe will find Donald Trump committed criminal or impeachable offenses.

And those are FOX NEWS viewers.

The numbers are much higher for the truly informed.

Some members of the Senate are also concerned that Trump will fire Mueller.

Courtesy of the NYT:

The Senate Judiciary Committee fired a political warning shot at the White House on Thursday, advancing on a bipartisan vote long-stalled legislation to allow special counsels such as Robert S. Mueller III to appeal their firing to a panel of judges and possibly be reinstated. 

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, has stated unequivocally that he will not bring the bill to the Senate floor for a vote. But with four Republicans, including the committee’s chairman, Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, joining Democrats to vote in favor of it, the measure sent a clear message to President Trump that there would be serious consequences to firing the special counsel. 

Even senators who voted against the legislation warned Mr. Trump against trying to dismiss Mr. Mueller. Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, the longest-serving Senate Republican, said that “firing Mueller would cause a firestorm and bring the administration’s agenda to a halt. It could even result in impeachment.”

I think that if Trump tries to fire Mueller that even Republicans like Mitch McConnell will turn on him, and then his days will truly be numbered.

Your face when you start an interview with Donald Trump vs your face when you finish an interview with Donald Trump.

The start of the interview vs. the end of the interview. (The faces tell it all.) pic.twitter.com/BW7BfsOjKe

— Richard Hine (@richardhine) April 27, 2018

Watching these three try and fail to protect Trump from himself was pure comedy gold.

Russian lawyer involved in Trump Tower meeting admits that she was an informant for the Kremlin.

Courtesy of the NYT: 

The Russian lawyer who met with Trump campaign officials in Trump Tower in June 2016 on the premise that she would deliver damaging information about Hillary Clinton has long insisted she is a private attorney, not a Kremlin operative trying to meddle in the presidential election. 

But newly released emails show that in at least one instance two years earlier, the lawyer, Natalia V. Veselnitskaya, worked hand in glove with Russia’s chief legal office to thwart a Justice Department civil fraud case against a well-connected Russian firm. 

Ms. Veselnitskaya also appears to have recanted her earlier denials of Russian government ties. During an interview to be broadcast Friday by NBC News, she acknowledged that she was not merely a private lawyer but a source of information for a top Kremlin official, Yuri Y. Chaika, the prosecutor general. 

“I am a lawyer, and I am an informant,” she said. “Since 2013, I have been actively communicating with the office of the Russian prosecutor general.”

Not exactly surprising news I know, but still nice to hear her finally admit it.

Veselnitskava also brought a certain memo with her to that meeting.

Courtesy of Business Insider:  

The Russian lawyer who met with President Donald Trump's son, son-in-law, and campaign chairman last June at Trump Tower brought a memo with her to that meeting that contained many of the same talking points as one written by the Russian prosecutor's office two months earlier. 

The memo Natalia Veselnitskaya provided to the Trump campaign last year focused on banker-turned-human rights activist Bill Browder, whose reputation has become inextricably linked to the global human-rights campaign he launched in 2009 after tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died in a Russian prison.

..........

The document's language closely mirrored the contents of a memo provided to Republican US Rep. Dana Rohrabacher by the office of Russia's chief federal prosecutor Yuri Chaika while Rohrabacher was in Moscow last April. 

The document is marked "confidential" but made the rounds on Capitol Hill upon the lawmaker's return to the US and was obtained by Business Insider.

Go ahead, act surprised that Rohrabacher is the one who received this memo.

So now it's confirmed that Junior, Kushner, and Manafort all met with a Russian spy during the campaign. (Well at least one that we know of.)

If you are looking for proof of collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign you really do not have to go much further than this Trump Tower meeting.

But of course it is by no means the only evidence of collusion.

Donald Trump is finally scheduled to visit Britain.

Just make sure there are no protesters. I hate protesters.

Courtesy of The Guardian: 

Donald Trump will make a “working visit” to the UK on Friday 13 July, the UK and US have both confirmed, with the US president set to meet the Queen during the trip. 

The visit, which will take place immediately after a Nato summit in Brussels, will include bilateral talks with Theresa May, according to Britain’s ambassador to the US.

It will not, however, be the full state visit the US president was promised when May visited Washington last year, meaning he will not be honoured with an official banquet at Buckingham Palace or a carriage procession up the Mall. 

Downing Street has insisted the invitation for a full state visit still stands, but there is no timetable for it to take place.

May invited Trump for a state visit when she became the first world leader to meet the president in the White House in January last year.

It was downgraded to a “working trip” after huge public opposition to the visit and MPs said Trump should not be given the opportunity to address parliament. He has clashed publicly with London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, who has said the president’s visit would result in mass peaceful protests and that Trump’s values were the polar opposite of Londoners’. 

I can only imagine how badly Trump will embarrass America when he visits the Queen.

There are already mass protests planned: 

Jeremy Corbyn-backing activist and commentator Owen Jones took to Facebook to urge Britons to join mass demonstrations against the visit. 

Writing on the 'Protest Trump's Visit' Facebook group - which has over 100,000 people interested in it, he wrote: 'It's official; Donald Trump is visiting the UK on 13th July. 

'Everyone out on the streets! Invite everyone you know to this event.'

Police have been bracing themselves for what could be the biggest protests the country has seen. 

So apparently this will go off like every other event planned by the Trump White House. 

Just in case you are still not aware of how badly Donald Trump crashed and burned during his Fox and Friends interview yesterday, I present this tweet as proof.

As a citizen you should know how much the president really lost it by the end of this interview today... pic.twitter.com/3cnueHZl45

— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) April 27, 2018

Keep in mind that was just one small piece of a rambling 30 minute interview, during which Trump seemed to be purposefully committing political and legal suicide.

Here are some other highlights (Or if you prefer, lowlights.).

On his, at the time, pick to head the VA Ronny Jackson:

"(Jackson) has a perfect record. He's got this beautiful record unblemished."

Boy that worked out well didn't it?

Decision to fire James Comey:

"I did a great thing for the American people by firing him."

Uh huh.

On interfering with the Mueller investigation:

" I'm very disappointed in my Justice Department but because of the fact that it's going under, and I think you'll understand this, I have decided that I won't be involved. I may change my mind at some point because what's going on is a disgrace."

"And our Justice Department, which I try and stay away from, but at some point I won't."

So he MIGHT interfere. But then again, he might not.

Trump history lesson:

"If you go back to the Civil War it was the Republicans that really did the thing." 

Yeah, you know the Republicans did the thing, at that place, during, you know, the time.

Trump grades his own presidency:

"I would give myself an A+."

I have to wonder if after this bizarre performance even Trump's most staunch supporters would give his presidency anything but an F-?

Feds seized as many as 16 cell phones from Donald Trump's lawyer, who once bragged that he was part of the Russian mob.

Courtesy of The New York Post:  

Manhattan federal prosecutors seized as many as 16 cell phones when the FBI raided the home, office and hotel room of President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen. 

Prosecutor Thomas McKay made the ​astonishing revelation wh​ile telling a judge ​Thursday ​that the feds are on track to hand over seized​ ​materials to Cohen’s lawyers by May 11. 

In explaining the process, McKay said the feds have already turned over the contents of four phones and one iPad. 

McKay said the feds will turn over the “remainder of the phones seized” on Friday — before adding that they have “about a dozen” left. 

Among the devices seized are two BlackBerrys, suggesting Cohen has been holding on to his electronics for many, many years. 

The startling revelation promptly attracted the attention of porn star Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, who called Cohen’s phone hoarding “BIGLY bad.”

"Bigly bad" indeed. Because you KNOW that stored on those phones is information which will incriminate Donald Trump. Bigly!

Can you even imagine needing that many phones?

What could be the possible reason?

Wait, this next story might clear that up.

Courtesy of Business Insider:  

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's embattled personal lawyer, once bragged that he was part of the Russian mob, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to The Journal, Cohen once told someone at a former friend's wedding that he belonged to the Russian mob.

Now the Business Insider article also contains a quote from a friend of Cohen's who doubts the veracity of this story, which brings me to this Rolling Stone's article:  

Cohen joined the Trump Organization in 2006, and eventually became Trump's personal lawyer, a role once occupied by Roy Cohn, Senator Joseph McCarthy's heavy-lidded hatchet man during the Red Scare who advised Trump in the 1980s. Michael Cohen's bare-knuckled tactics earned him the nickname of "Tom," a reference to Tom Hagen, the consigliore to Mafia Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather. He grew up on Long Island, the son of a physician who survived the Holocaust in Poland, and like Tom Hagen spent a childhood around organized crime, specifically the Russian Mafiya. Cohen's uncle, Morton Levine, was a wealthy Brooklyn doctor who owned the El Caribe Country Club, a Brooklyn catering hall and event space that was a well-known hangout for Russian gangsters. Cohen and his siblings all had ownership stakes in the club, which rented for years to the first Mafiya boss of Brighton Beach, Evsei Agron, along with his successors, Marat Balagula and Boris Nayfeld. (Cohen's uncle said his nephew gave up his stake in the club after Trump's election.)

So to be clear, the Feds found more than a dozen phones in Cohen's possession, who clearly has ties to the Russian mob, and whose only real client is Donald Trump. a man who is under investigation for Russian collusion during the election. 

Does anybody else see pieces falling onto place here?

Lawyer for Stormy Daniels, Michael Avenatti, hints that 1.6 million dollar payoff to hide abortion, was not for Republican donor, but Donald Trump himself.

(Pertinent portion starts at the 4:00 mark.)

Courtesy Raw Story: 

Attorney Michael Avenatti appeared Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” where he gave a wide-ranging interview on the lawsuit against the president and a related criminal investigation of Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen — and he said reporting on the case had missed an important detail. 

“So, Mika, you are familiar with the fact that a week ago, Judge (Kimba) Wood ordered Michael Cohen’s attorneys to disclose all of his clients for the last three years,” Avenatti said, “and there were three clients listed — three clients listed. Do you recall which three?” 

Brzezinski listed Trump, Fox News host Sean Hannity and Republican donor Elliott Broidy — but Avenatti said she was making the same mistake everyone else had. 

“No, no, no,” he said. “Mr. Trump, the Trump organization and Sean Hannity. Mr. Broidy was not disclosed in open court as one of Michael Cohen’s clients.” 

Co-host Joe Scarborough asked the attorney what that meant. 

“I think at some point we are going to find out, if in fact, the client in connection with the ($1.6 million) settlement was, in fact, Mr. Broidy. I’m going to leave it at that.” 

Avenatti wouldn’t say it, but the implication seems clear.

Yes, the implication is quite clear.

And it kind of irritates me because I actually started to write a piece about this in my head while I was driving to an appointment the other day, and decided not to post it because it seemed a little conspiratorial with not much evidence to back it up.

But let me take a stab at it again in light of this new information from Avenatti.

So this Elliot Brody guy is somebody that NOBODY really knows. At least not outside of certain Republican circles.

Though he is wealthy, and produced two b-list movies in 2013, he is not a famous person who typically hangs around celebrities.

He also looks like this.

So in what world does he get his hands on a playmate that looks like this.

I mean I know women are attracted to power and money, but unless this miss Bechard was straight up selling her body for sex, I simply don't see it.

On the other hand we KNOW that Donald Trump has been sleeping with Playboy models and porn stars for years, often did not use protection, and also habitually paid them off using Michael Cohen as a go between. 

So the idea that this was HIS child, and that Michael Cohen paid that 1.6 million to buy her silence and arrange for an abortion to protect his boss, fits snugly with what we already know.

And this is certainly not without precedent.

Do you remember the John Edwards/Rielle Hunter affair?

Well after it was revealed that Hunter was pregnant, Edwards campaign staffer Andrew Young came forward and said that he was the father.

He wasn't the father, John Edwards was, and that eventually came to light despite their best attempts to push the false story.

So yes, not only is it conceivable, but since as far as we know Michael Cohen provided semi-legal services to ONLY Donald Trump for little over a decade, it is also the most likely scenario.

I look forward to what comes next.

Rudy Giuliani gets that sit down meeting with Robert Mueller. Is told that interview with Donald Trump is "essential."

Courtesy of WaPo: 

Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s new personal lawyer dealing with the ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, met with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III on Tuesday to reopen negotiations for a presidential interview, ­according to three people familiar with the talks. 

Giuliani, who joined Trump’s legal team last week, conveyed the ongoing resistance of Trump and his advisers to an interview with federal investigators, but did not rule out the possibility, the people said, adding that Giuliani pressed Mueller for clarity on when the probe is expected to end. 

In response, Mueller reiterated that he would like a chance to ask Trump questions about steps he took during the transition and early months of his administration, the people said. The special counsel emphasized, as he did in conversations in March with Trump’s team, that an interview is essential for investigators to understand Trump’s intent in making key decisions as they seek to wrap up the portion of the probe focused on potential obstruction of justice.

I actually think that Mueller WILL ultimately get his interview with Donald Trump, assuming that he is not fired of course, it is still to be seen whether the interview is voluntary or the result of a subpoena.

Kind of interesting that though these types of negotiations have been going on for some time, that we are just now hearing about them since Giuliani joined the team

It is almost like he is an attention whore or something.

Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pleads the fifth, and the Donald finally admits that he represents him in the Stormy Daniels debacle.

Courtesy of TPM:

President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen said in a court filing Wednesday that he would plead the Fifth Amendment in adult film star Stephanie Clifford’s lawsuit over a nondisclosure agreement she signed in 2016.

In a court filing Wednesday, Cohen tied the criminal probe directly to his assertion of Fifth Amendment rights in the civil suit. 

“I will assert my 5th amendment rights in connection with all proceedings in this case due to the ongoing criminal investigation by the FBI and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York,” he said in part. Cohen last week asked U.S. District Judge James Otero to delay the civil suit due to its overlap with the criminal probe.

So to be clear Trump's lawyer is refusing to answer questions in court because he is worried those answers will incriminate him in a criminal activity.

Well now, isn't THAT interesting?

Also today Trump called into Fox and Friends, and finally admitted what we have known all along.

Also courtesy of TPM: 

The President said Michael Cohen is mainly a businessman and only secondarily a lawyer. That at least undercuts his privilege argument. He says what prosecutors are looking at only has to do with Cohen’s personal business dealings, not with his representation of Donald Trump. He also said that he knows nothing about Cohen’s private business dealings. (“I don’t know his business… They’re looking at something having to do with his business. I have nothing to do with his business.”) That’s almost certainly false.

That is also going to make it hard for Cohen to claim executive privilege to keep the Feds from  digging through the files that confiscated.

And then there was also this: 

Trump says explicitly for the first time that Cohen does represent him with Stormy Daniels: “He represents me like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal.”

Boom! There you have it.

I mean WE knew it all along, but Trump and the White House was working hard not to admit this.

I imagine that after this admission Trump's lawyers spent the morning banging their heads against the wall, but is certainly made at least one lawyer very happy.

Thank you @foxandfriends for having Mr. Trump on this morning to discuss Michael Cohen and our case. Very informative.

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 26, 2018

Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen previously represented to the American people that Mr. Cohen acted on his own and Mr. Trump knew nothing about the agreement with my client, the $130k payment, etc. As I predicted, that has now been shown to be completely false. #basta

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 26, 2018

Outmaneuvered again.