BY PRIYANKA ARIBINDI, BRIAN BEUTLER 

& CROOKED MEDIA

Thursday, January 10, 2019

—Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). RT.

WE'RE OUT OF SHUTDOWN PUNS

President Trump’s government shutdown will tie the longest in history tomorrow. Trump is not only dug in, he’s openly contemplating an extraordinary abuse of power to get his way.

“If we don't make a deal, I would say it would be very surprising to me that I would not declare a national emergency and just fund [a border wall] through the various mechanisms,” Trump told reporters Thursday before flying to McAllen, TX, for a photo-op at the border.

There is no national emergency. Trump is threatening to abuse provisions of the law granting the president power to declare national emergencies in order to raid Pentagon funds and order the military to build a border wall on seized private land.

Trump and his advisers reportedly assume the judiciary would step in quickly to stop him. At that point he could reopen the government while legal challenges to the emergency declaration, land seizures, and raided funds wound their way through the courts. In other words, he and his advisers are contemplating a gross violation of the Constitution—an impeachable offense—to spare him from the embarrassment of caving in the shutdown fight. Cool administration!

The fact that Trump’s biggest sycophants in Congress are clamoring for Trump to commit this abuse of power is an indication of just how desperate they are for the shutdown to be over (Lindsey Graham’s quote above captures the mood).

The question is whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is so craven that he’ll encourage Trump to commit a blatant violation of his oath of office rather than just pass a bill to reopen the government. And we have a feeling the answer to that question is… well, come on.

From Brian: This is all incredibly stupid and dangerous—in part because there’s no guarantee that Trump would ultimately lose the court fight, opening a Pandora’s box that lets Trump and future corrupt presidents rule by fiat. But the fact that this is under consideration at all is another indication that Trump has lost the debate over whether there should be a wall spanning the southern border—and that it’s worth a shutdown to get it done. He knows the only way he’ll get it is to steal it.

From Lovett: Or, Hail Mary, we ask Mexico to pay one more time? No bad ideas in a brainstorm!

Trump’s former fixer and convicted felon Michael Cohen has agreed to testify publicly before the House Oversight Committee on February 7. Cohen is reluctant to testify publicly about the Russia investigation, with which he is cooperating, but he is apparently eager to talk about Trump’s criminal business practices, and the felony campaign finance violations that prosecutors say Trump directed Cohen to commit. Mark your calendars.🍿

House Democrats and eight Republicans voted to reopen the Treasury Department, and other independent agencies on Wednesday. Today, 12 House Republicans crossed the aisle to fund the Transportation Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. These bills will be transmitted to the Senate, where Mitch McConnell, who is almost single-handedly keeping the government closed, will refuse to hold votes on them. From Jon Favreau: “Forget about Trump. Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy could re-open the government today if they wanted. Hold the vote.”

Due to the shutdown, the Justice Department has furloughed nearly 5000 special agents, intelligence analysts, lawyers, and other staff, which has resulted in less staff for “critical functions that support field operations,” and frozen funds for ongoing investigations.

Las Vegas police have issued a warrant for soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s DNA in connection with a rape investigation. Authorities want to test Ronaldo’s DNA against DNA on the dress of the woman who accused him of raping her in 2009 and then paying her $375,000 to stay quiet.

Forty percent of the world’s jobs may be performed by machines in as little as 15 years.

Beto got his teeth cleaned on Instagram. We don’t know why.

“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization—how did that language become offensive?” —Rep. Steve King (R-IA) to the New York Times

King’s margin of victory in Iowa’s fourth district fell by 17 points between 2016 and 2018. He will also face a Republican primary challenger in the 2020 race. We think it’d be a good idea for Nancy Pelosi to move to expel him from Congress, though.

Oceans are warming even faster than scientists previously thought, and 40 percent faster than they were just five years ago. As ocean temperatures continue to rise, sea levels will rise, making hurricanes, and life on coastlines generally, more deadly.

"When during the campaign I would say Mexico is going to pay for it. Obviously I never said that and I never meant they are going to write out a check." —Donald J. Trump today

“It’s an easy decision for Mexico: make a one-time payment of $5-10 billion to ensure that $24 billion continues to flow into their country year after year." —the donaldjtrump dot com campaign website

Yesterday Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced that he and his wife were divorcing. Soon afterward, the National Enquirer announced it had spent months investigating Bezos relationship with an alleged mistress. President Trump has publicly singled out Bezos as a political enemy, and the Enquirer has a long history of targeting Trump foes. Did Trump sic the tabloid he conspired with in the past on Bezos? If so, does this violate the Enquirer’s agreement with prosecutors? Is everything going to be gross forever?

People are cutting down Joshua trees, which are facing extinction, in Joshua Tree National Park during the government shutdown just so they can drive into areas where cars are banned. Cool. The Trump administration has left national parks open, but unstaffed, amid the shutdown, making them sites of danger and destruction—just because the Obama administration closed national parks during the government shutdown in 2013. Trump needs the Lorax. America needs the Lorax.

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