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BY PRIYANKA ARIBINDI & CROOKED MEDIA Monday, February 19, 2019 |
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| —Ariana Grande/us after a long weekend |
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| WHIT'S END |
| According to a new New York Times report, Trump tried to interfere with the federal investigation into Michael Cohen by asking Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to put a Trump ally in charge.
Geoffrey Berman, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, had previously recused himself from the investigation. And while there’s no indication that Whitaker acted on Trump’s request, Whitaker testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the White House had never asked him for promises or commitments regarding any investigation. Not so much!
Not only did Whitaker mention nothing about receiving this request from Trump, he stated before the committee that "at no time has the White House asked for nor have I provided any promises or commitments concerning the special counsel investigation or any other investigation." House Democrats already wanted Whitaker to return to the Hill to “clarify” his testimony, and are now reportedly weighing whether his statements constitute perjury.
As a reminder, federal prosecutors concluded that Cohen committed campaign finance violations—criminal offenses—at the direction of Donald Trump, which means that the president potentially obstructed justice in a case in which he’s been directly implicated.
The report also includes details of Trump engaging in intimidation meant to thwart the investigations and scrutiny that have riddled his tenure. Among the reported incidents was Trump instructing then-Press Secretary Sean Spicer to lie to the public about former national security adviser Michael Flynn being fired from the White House, telling him to say Trump had asked for his resignation. “That sounds better,” Trump reportedly said.
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| A group of sixteen states sued President Trump over his emergency declaration to build a border wall on Monday, arguing that Trump does not have the power to divert emergency funds towards the wall’s construction because Congress has control over government spending. Of the dozens of emergency declarations made by past presidents in the last 52 years, none has ever been made after Congress rejected funding for the policy in question.
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| Bernie Sanders announced that he’s running for president in 2020. Sanders already broke the first-day fundraising record among 2020 Democratic candidates, raising more than $4 million. Sanders announced that Faiz Shakir, former national political director of the ACLU, will serve as his campaign manager.
Former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe revealed that none of the bipartisan congressional leaders in the Gang of Eight had any objection when briefed about the FBI opening a counterintelligence investigation into President Trump.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas called for the court to reconsider its decision in New York Times v. Sullivan, a landmark decision for press freedom that required public figures to prove “actual malice” to win libel cases against news outlets. Recently, there has been speculation of Thomas retiring ahead of 2020, which would allow Trump to nominate his successor. Sleep well, America.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will reportedly step down in mid-March, following the instatement of newly confirmed Attorney General William Barr. Rosenstein has been overseeing the Mueller investigation since former Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself.
West Virginia teachers went on strike again over education legislation they say lawmakers created without their input, alleging that they were left out of the process because of their decision to strike last year. Though lawmakers voted to table the bill they oppose, the union will remain on strike tomorrow to ensure that further developments won’t take place.
After expelling former cardinal Theodore McCarrick over sexual abuse, Pope Francis and the Vatican are gearing up for a three-day summit about the church’s child sexual abuse crisis. Somehow, Steve Bannon is on the guest list, and he’s expected to play up his pet project of rooting out gay priests.
Roger Stone posted an Instagram of the judge presiding over his case next to crosshairs, in his latest effort to get his case reassigned to a different judge, but doing something so stupid could put his bail and gag order at risk. “Roger Stone did nothing wrong,” amirite?
Prolific designer Karl Lagerfeld died at age 85. Best known as the creative director of both Chanel and Fendi, Lagerfeld was an icon in the fashion world, but came under fire for his comments against women larger than fashion sample sizes.
People are mad because Malia Obama likes rosé and doesn’t like Donald Trump. From Priyanka: NO SHIT SHE DOESN’T LIKE DONALD TRUMP—THE GUY IS RADIOACTIVE TRASH.
Khloe Kardashian has reportedly dumped Tristan Thompson for cheating on her with her sister Kylie Jenner’s best friend Jordyn Woods, and this is probably getting cut from the newsletter but it was definitely the biggest news of the day. From Jon Favreau: I’m leaving it in! |
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| In the weeks following actor Jussie Smollett’s claim that he was the victim of a hate crime in Chicago, claims that the attack was a hoax have spread, with various unnamed police sources alleging that Smollett orchestrated the attack. The story has nestled itself in the intersection of a number of divisive issues—racism, homophobia, distrust of police, distrust of media, and violence motivated by hatred—though many of the details are still unknown to the public.
Here’s what we do know: Last week, police arrested two brothers who previously knew Smollett in connection with the attack, recovering “Empire” scripts, a phone, and a black mask in raids of their homes. The brothers were then released without charges by police on Friday (the police did not say why). According to the Chicago police spokesperson, police now want to re-interview Smollett, who has since hired a lawyer (not the same one who represented Michael Cohen, as had been reported incorrectly). Smollett is still not considered a “suspect” by Chicago police at this time, though the FBI and US Postal Service are investigating whether he was involved in sending a threatening letter to himself at the “Empire” studio before the attack. |
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| The Trump administration announced that it is spearheading a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality in the 72 nations where it’s still illegal to be gay. The effort is meant in part to censure Iran following a reported hanging of a young gay man—the latest in the country’s series of human rights abuses—and to rally support among LGBTQI-friendly European nations against Iran. Trump, however, has also rolled back workplace protections for gay people, and tried to ban transgender people from serving in the military. There is also no word on how this will play out with the Trump administration’s bffs in Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality can be punishable by death. Tldr; Love is love when there’s an ulterior motive involved. |
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| Why is the editor of the Democrat-Reporter newspaper in Alabama saying “it’s time for the Ku Klux Klan to ride again” and calling for mass lynchings to “clean out” Washington? And attempting to justify those statements with the fact that some lawmakers want to raise taxes? Literally what the fuck. |
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| CNN hired a new political editor, but it appears that they’ve never Googled her.
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