Outrage mounts over report Russia offered bounties to Afghanistan militants for killing US soldiers
Fierce response from top Democrats after US intelligence finding was reportedly briefed to Trump in March, but the White House has yet to act

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...report-outrage

Donny's not about to sanction his pal Pootin, who is helping him corrupt the upcoming election...

Donny boasts veterans law first passed by Obama as one of his greatest achievements

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-a9587511.html

Yes, he really is this stupid.

Heather Cox Richardson
June 27, 2020 (Saturday)

The Trump administration did not respond until almost 5:00 this evening to last night’s astonishing news that Russian operatives had offered bounties on US soldiers during the Afghanistan peace talks, and that the administration had been briefed on this development back in March and had chosen not to respond. The story was broken last night by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and confirmed today by the Washington Post.
Trump himself did not engage the story at all, although he had plenty to say today on Twitter. Late in the afternoon, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany finally said in a statement that Trump and Vice President Pence had not been briefed on the “alleged Russian bounty intelligence.” Trump’s acting Director of National Intelligence at the time, Richard Grenell, who had no expertise in intelligence before taking the post, today denied knowing anything about the story.

Is it possible that intelligence officials knew that Russia was paying militants to target US and allied troops and they chose not to tell the president, vice president, or acting Director of National Intelligence? According to Ned Price, a national security expert who worked at the CIA for eleven years and who left rather than work for Trump, the answer is no. “That’s virtually inconceivable,” he wrote on Twitter. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham seemed to agree. “Imperative Congress get to the bottom of recent media reports that Russian GRU units have offered to pay the Taliban to kill American soldiers with the goal of pushing America out of the region,” he tweeted.

That was not the only story the administration denied today. Trump also pushed back on the story that the Department of Justice is asking the Supreme Court to kill the Affordable Care Act. “Now that the very expensive, unpopular and unfair Individual Mandate provision has been terminated by us,” he tweeted, “many States & the U.S. are asking the Supreme Court that Obamacare itself be terminate so that it can be replaced with a FAR BETTER AND MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVE…. Obamacare is a joke! Deductible is far too high and the overall cost is ridiculous. My Administration has gone out of its way to manage OC much better than previous, but it is still no good. I will ALWAYS PROTECT PEOPLE WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS.”

But the administration is in court right now trying to destroy the Affordable Care Act, along with its protection for people with pre-existing conditions. And while Trump ran for president in 2016 on the idea that he would replace the Affordable Care Act with something better, the Republican Party has never offered a replacement bill.

There was a lesser story, too, where what the administration said did not square with what actually happened. Yesterday, Trump tweeted “I was going to go to Bedminster, New Jersey, this weekend, but wanted to stay in Washington, D.C to make sure LAW & ORDER is enforced. The arsonists, anarchists, looters and agitators have been largely stopped….”
Today, Trump spent the day at his golf course in Sterling, Virginia.

And then there was a huge story where reality crashed into ideology. Today, the U.S. set another record for coronavirus cases, with 44,782 new infections. This is the fifth daily record in a row. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Nevada all set new daily highs. Trump has consistently downplayed the severity of the pandemic, urging governors to reopen their states and restart their economies. Governors in Florida and Texas, who had been aggressive about reopening their states, have backtracked to slow the spread of the virus. “If I could go back and redo anything,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) said, “it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars….”

Meanwhile, New York, which had been the epicenter of the virus, has dropped its new infections from almost 10,000 a day to just 673 cases statewide, and is about to enter a new phase of its reopening plan.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told CNN’s Chris Cillizza that Democrats like him had a fact-based theory about how to beat coronavirus infections: keep the state closed until metrics showed the virus was receding. Republicans, in contrast, thought: “We can reopen quickly and we can handle the virus because it will go away, or we will have a vaccine.”
Cuomo pointed out that the coronavirus highlighted the difference between reality and a narrative based in ideology. "A virus has a rate of increase and a number of deaths either goes up or goes down," he said. “The number of people going to hospitals goes up or goes down. It's not subject to debate because the hospital bed is either empty or it's full, we either bury people or we don't."

"We tested both theories," Cuomo told Cillizza. "We have the evidence. It's numbers. It's irrefutable. Why don't we pause and recognize the undeniable reality of the situation?" "There are no Democratic facts and Republican facts," he said. "There are just facts."

The "tRump Train" has turned into "The Gaslight Express" which is fueled by trump truths*.

" Kayleigh McEnany finally said in a statement that Trump and Vice President Pence had not been briefed " Knowing what a paragon of truth she has been, and in a normal times, this could be serious.

Former national security officials are questioning the White House's claim Trump never knew about a Russian bounty on US troops

https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-n...-denial-2020-6

Sorry, Donny, but you aren't going to be able to deflect this time. This story is huge.

The Decline of the American World
Other countries are used to loathing America, admiring America, and fearing America (sometimes all at once). But pitying America? That one is new.

https://www.theatlantic.com/internat...-trump/613228/

Thanks, Donny! MAGA! :rolleyes:

The Lincoln Project is already on the Orange Boil's lack of response to Pootin's bounties for killing American troops. This one isn't going to go away before November.

https://youtu.be/kiDkTOKI7Ro

Liz Cheney @Liz_Cheney

If reporting about Russian bounties on US forces is true, the White House must explain:
1. Why weren’t the president or vice president briefed? Was the info in the PDB?
2. Who did know and when?
3. What has been done in response to protect our forces & hold Putin accountable?
4:20 AM · Jun 28, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

Bradley P. Moss @BradMossEsq
Replying to @Liz_Cheney

Good job on that impeachment vote. We warned you.

tRump's response tweet is basically saying Huh, what? Nobody told me or Mikey.

Josh Lederman on Twitter:
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which last night said Trump and Pence never got a briefing on Russia bounty intel, is declining this morning to say whether the intel was included in a written President's Daily Brief.

So who's going to be thrown under the wheels or fall on his sword to say they were supposed to but didn't tell tRump?

Meanwhile fatboy is taking heat for re-tweeting a video showing his supporters shouting White power. His closest enablers are saying "he didn't see it". Yeah, he re-tweeted it but didn't see it. Well Donny you got your wish. The attention's been deflected form Covid-19.

James Carville: There Is No Chance Trump Will Be Re-Elected

https://youtu.be/MHfBEopmyis

The Lincoln Project just keeps slamming the Orange Boil with fabulous hit pieces. Yet another.

Debt.

https://youtu.be/XOty4J1b0FU

Donny says the report of him being briefed on the report of Russian bounties on American soldiers is a hoax. Fellas help me out here. This accusation of a "hoax", seems like I've heard that somewhere before but I just can't put my finger on it :confused: Anyone else heard that before?

Russian bounties to Taliban-linked militants resulted in deaths of U.S. troops, according to intelligence assessments

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...1dc_story.html

Sorry, Donny, you aren't going to be able to "hoax" this one away. You are a clear and present danger for ignoring this one. Even Trumpkin idiots must be appalled at this.

I dare call it treason! Trump's Russia policy after this surfaced seems to be plain "aid and comfort to the enemy" to me!

A huge defeat for pro-lifers — and for Donny
By Jennifer Rubin

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...-lifers-trump/

Our resident right-wingnut "Christian" hate-mongers must be peeing their pants about now, lol.

Too bad the right-wingers have gone all ride-or-die with tRump. I don't think they have the guts to do what the Republican Party did with Nixon and tell him to step down.

Congress Unites To Demand Answers From Trump On Russian Bounties In Afghanistan

https://www.npr.org/2020/06/29/88461...in-afghanistan

This one is too big for even the disgusting Repubes to ignore. Have they finally figured out that Donny will be roundly defeated in November, that his SCOTUS picks are losing most battles, and that they no longer need to fear a "mean tweet" from Donny? We can only hope...

Donny in ‘fragile’ mood and may drop out of 2020 race if poll numbers don’t improve, GOP insiders tell Fox "News"
Recent polls have shown president losing support among older white voters to Joe Biden

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-a9592036.html

Caught the Covid in OK, did you, Donny? Afraid Joe's going to kick your sorry ass in November? Poor widdle Donny!

From pandering to Putin to abusing allies and ignoring his own advisers, Trump's phone calls alarm US officials

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/29/polit...rns/index.html

Wow! He's worse than we thought. Thanks for another round of great reporting, Carl Bernstein! Covid, do your deed on this bloated piece of garbage.

The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln
Donald Trump might not know it, but this is his resignation letter.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EbrVuuzW...jpg&name=small

4:43 AM · Jun 29, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

I’ve heard this months ago, and now fully believe that Donny will resign before Jan 20th, and the scumbag Pence will pardon him.

What will Pence pardon him for if the SDNY goes after him. If tRump resigns how likely is it that will Pence win the election. Pence has tied himself to tRump so closely how could he effectively distance himself from tRump's misdeeds. Pence stands there gazing at tRump like a puppy dog waiting for a pat on the head. Any prosecutions of tRump would certainly occur after the election and if Biden takes the presidency and the Democrats take the house tRump knows he's toast. Unless tRump comes up with some grave illness I still believe he'll skip the country to avoid prosecution.

Donny will lose in November, by a landslide. He’ll resign shortly thereafter, Pence will be sworn in as president, and minutes later, Pence will fully pardon him. That’s the only way he’ll escape the inevitable.

Not trying to be obtuse but what tRump be pardoned for? I thought one had to be convicted of a crime to be pardoned. It is looking more and more like tRump will loose at this point. Even if he pulls off a Reichstag Fire event I don't think it would help at this point. Any prosecutor going after tRump would surely wait until he's out from under any presidential protection. He's famous for tying up any legal action against him in court but the national spotlight would be upon him and his "golden facade" would surely crack.

Several cases still pending to get access to Donny’s financial records. If any of them are successful, they will undoubtedly show his debt to Pootin.

Here’s one of the articles I’m remembering.

https://time.com/5746416/trump-resign/

Senate Republicans squeeze Trump over Russian bounties
Some senators proposed new sanctions and designating Moscow as a state sponsor of terrorism.

https://www.politico.com/amp/news/20...-russia-345160

Even the disgusting Senate Repubes aren’t going to let Donny slide this time. They know he’s a wounded pig, looks as though they’re finally going to stand up to his lies and gross incompetence.

I wouldn't bet on it. Proposing and doing are two different things. Hopefully the Repukes won't be able to wash off the Orange Stain before the election. May the 2018 Blue Wave become the Blue Tsunami of 2020.

Heather Cox Richardson

June 29, 2020 (Monday)

If you feel overwhelmed, there is good reason. We are currently in the midst of a number of storylines, any one of which would define any other administration. And the news comes so fast you can barely figure out who the players are before there’s another twist.

Friday’s news that Russia offered—and paid—bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American soldiers, and that Trump chose to make friendly overtures to Russia President Vladimir Putin rather than retaliating, is huge. People trying to downplay it are saying that of course other countries want to kill American soldiers, and yes, that seems rather a given. But in this case, the president was informed of a direct plot on the part of a country not officially involved in a hostile situation to pay militants to kill our soldiers, and rather than retaliate for that engagement, the president has extended friendly overtures to that country. This behavior is both unprecedented and unfathomable.

After the story broke, the White House stayed quiet for almost 24 hours, then White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that the president and Vice President Mike Pence had not been briefed on the issue. First thing Sunday morning, Trump tweeted: “Nobody briefed or told me, [Vice President] Pence, or Chief of Staff [Mark Meadows] about the so-called attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by Russians, as reported through an ‘anonymous source’ by the Fake News [New York Times]….”

But news broke yesterday that US intelligence officers had, in fact, notified their superiors back in January about the Russian plot, which they believed resulted in at least one U.S. death. Two intelligence officials told reporters that the information had been delivered to the president and that last week, American officials shared the information with the British government. Today, it was confirmed that the president had gotten a written briefing on the issue in February.

Today, Trump and White House officials tried to argue that the intelligence was not credible, and the newly confirmed Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, warned that any leaks about the issue are a crime.

But in response to congressional outcry, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, DNI Ratcliffe, and National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien briefed seven House Republicans from the Armed Service and Foreign Affairs committee: Liz Cheney (R-WY), “Mac” Thornberry (R-TX), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Jim Banks (R-IN), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), and Elise Stefanik (R-NY). Also present was Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who is chair of the far-right Freedom Caucus.

A few Democrats will be briefed tomorrow, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has demanded a briefing for the whole House. This procedure is irregular: there is a process for informing Congress of military threats that involves leaders of both parties equally, not by party in different groups.

More news broke at 11:30 tonight, when the Associated Press published a story saying that “top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence.”

That story alone should define a presidency, but the upcoming election is also huge. Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that Trump’s advisors are worried about his falling poll numbers and have urged him to try to appeal to a wider group of voters than the base to which he continues to cater.

But the story appeared shortly after the president retweeted a video of a man in the Florida retirement community The Villages shouting “white power” at protesters. Trump wrote: “Thank you to the great people of The Villages. The Radical Left Do Nothing Democrats will Fall in the Fall. Corrupt Joe is shot. See you soon!!!”

White House aides immediately recognized they had a problem, but it took them three hours to delete the tweet, and even then, no one in the White House denounced it. White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere simply said that the president did not hear the “white power” slogan on the video. Today, McEnany said that Trump had retweeted the video “to stand with his supporters, who are oftentimes demonized.”

As Trump focuses on his base, he is losing important support.

At the Supreme Court today, Chief Justice Roberts joined the majority to strike down a Louisiana law that put restrictions on abortion providers disproportionate to those put on other procedures with similar risks. The Supreme Court decided a Texas case much like this one four years ago, and while Roberts wrote that he thought the previous case was wrongly decided, he deferred to that legal precedent, sending a strong signal that he wants his court to defend the rule of law.

Republican leaders are also changing their tune on the pandemic, as we now have more than 2.5 million confirmed cases, and southern and western states have severe new spikes. Many have refused to wear masks as they tried to downplay the virus and urge people to jump start the economy. But today, Pence urged Americans to wear masks and keep distance from each other, and on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said “We must have no stigma — none — about wearing masks when we leave our homes and come near other people. Wearing simple face coverings is not about protecting ourselves. It is about protecting everyone we encounter.”

Finally, Carl Bernstein tonight published a deeply researched piece in CNN about Trump’s phone calls with world leaders. Trump is unprepared, boastful, and deferential to Putin and Turkey’s autocratic ruler Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with whom he talks frequently. When he picks up the phone, he is unable to distinguish between his own interests in revenge and reelection and the interests of the nation. According to Bernstein, U.S. withdrawal from northeastern Syria and abandonment of our Kurdish allies to a Turkish invasion last fall was at Erdogan’s urging.

Trump caves to autocrats but bullies allies, including Germany’s Angela Merkel and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May. He also denigrates former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush to foreign leaders.

According to the piece, Trump’s senior officials, “including his former secretaries of state and defense, two national security advisers and his longest-serving chief of staff,” have concluded “that the President himself" is "a danger to the national security of the United States.”

Aside from the content in this piece, this level of leaking suggests that Trump has lost his grip on the White House. Bernstein’s sources told him—and through him, Congress—that almost all of Trump’s phone chats with foreign leaders were caught on dictation programs, supplemented by extensive note taking.

They suggested that a reexamination of Russia expert Fiona Hill’s testimony might provide a road map to the calls, and that if revealed, the contents of the calls would “be devastating to the President’s standing” with members of both parties as well as with the public. Recognizing that Trump would try to stop investigations with claims of executive privilege, some former officials suggested they would be willing to testify to what they had heard.

Tomorrow will likely be wild....

Former Intelligence officials scoff at White House denials that Trump wasn't briefed on Russia bounty

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/30/polit...nty/index.html

Definitely there is no "plausible deniability". Some C.I.C. we have here, I'm so glad not to be serving under this chaotic toxic incompetence. Now killing our own troops with it, not only allies like Kurds.

An already dark period in our history is turning darker by the day :(

Donny shows us what ‘unfit’ means
By Jennifer Rubin

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...t-unfit-means/

How Donny gave insurance companies free rein to sell bad health plans
Obamacare wasn’t repealed. Donny’s deregulation is eroding it anyway.

https://www.vox.com/2020/6/30/212754...insurance-scam

Hard to imagine anyone is dumb enough to have voted for this hateful ass.

'The president* is a danger': Hundreds who served under George W. Bush set to endorse Biden
The group is the latest of a number of Republican organizations opposing Trump's re-election.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...h-set-n1232637

Hair Furor refuses to lead as pandemic worsens and allies desert him on masks

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/01/polit...rus/index.html

The orange genius chooses the lost cause over unity, so let's give it up for white power!
Trump says he'll veto bill over renaming bases honoring Confederates https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-c...orization-act/

I wish tRump cared for active duty service members as much as he cares for Confederate soldiers and generals.

Why Does The Orange Traitor Put Russia First?
It’s exceedingly difficult to believe that no one told the president about the intelligence on Russian efforts to harm Americans in Afghanistan.

By Susan E. Rice

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/o...ghanistan.html