2020 American Political Scene

[TopHatter]

U.S. Senate advances resolution limiting Trump's ability to wage war

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate advanced legislation on Wednesday intended to limit President Donald Trump's ability to wage war against Iran, paving the way for a final vote as eight Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the war powers resolution.

The resolution would require Trump to remove U.S. troops engaged in hostilities against Iran unless Congress declares war or passes a specific authorization for the use of military force.

The vote was 51-45 on a motion to proceed to a final vote, expected on Wednesday or on Thursday.

Republican opponents, including Trump, said passage would send the wrong message to Tehran.

"It is very important for our Country's SECURITY that the United States Senate not vote for the Iran War Powers Resolution. We are doing very well with Iran and this is not the time to show weakness," Trump said on Twitter.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the resolution abused the War Powers Act because that law was intended to prevent the deployment of thousands of troops into sustained combat without congressional authorization.

Supporters disagreed.

"We don't send a message of weakness when we stand up for the rule of law," Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, a lead sponsor of the measure, told a news conference with Republicans Mike Lee and Susan Collins and Democrat Richard Durbin.

"That's a message of strength and it especially speaks to people around the world who are in the streets protesting... because they want the rule of law," Kaine said.

Calling himself a "huge fan" of Trump's foreign policy, Lee said the resolution supported Trump's goal of limiting military action. "This should not be controversial," Lee said.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives passed a similar resolution last month, as Democrats and some Republicans fumed over Trump's failure to fully inform them about his Iran strategy.

Trump last month ordered a drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani at the airport in Baghdad, but did not inform Congress until afterward.

Fears that the country was on the brink of war with Iran added new fuel to an ongoing effort by members of both parties to take back the power to declare war from the White House.

The U.S. Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war.

Despite bipartisan backing, the resolution is unlikely to garner enough support from members of Trump's party to overcome a veto if it does reach his desk.
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[tbm3fan]

Adios, Yang man!
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/0...ops-out-114208

Smart guy, and in fact smarter than most running out there...

[TopHatter]

Senate moves to limit Trump on military force against Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate approved a bipartisan measure Thursday aimed at limiting President Donald Trump’s authority to launch military operations against Iran, with eight Republicans joining Democrats in a post-impeachment bid to constrain the White House.

The rebuke was the Senate’s first major vote since acquitting Trump on impeachment charges last week. Trump is expected to veto the war powers resolution if it reaches his desk, warning that if his “hands were tied, Iran would have a field day.’”

The measure, authored by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., says Trump must win approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. Kaine and other supporters said the resolution, which passed 55-45, was not about Trump or even the presidency, but instead was an important reassertion of congressional power to declare war.

While Trump and other presidents “must always have the ability to defend the United States from imminent attack, the executive power to initiate war stops there,″ Kaine said. “An offensive war requires a congressional debate and vote.″

The Senate vote continues a pattern in which Republican senators have shown a willingness to challenge Trump on foreign policy, a sharp departure from their strong support during impeachment and on domestic matters. Congress moved to impose restrictions on U.S. involvement with the Saudi-led war in Yemen last year after U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in a gruesome murder at Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Turkey.

The bipartisan vote was a rare exertion of authority from Congress, the first since passage of the War Powers Act of 1973. And Trump promptly vetoed it.

The Democratic-controlled House passed a separate, nonbinding war powers resolution on Iran last month. The House could take up the Senate resolution later this month, House leaders said. Two-thirds votes in the House and GOP-run Senate would be needed to override an expected Trump veto of the war powers resolution.

Answering a claim by some of Trump’s supporters and Trump himself that the measure would send a signal of weakness to Iran and other potential adversaries, Kaine said the opposite was true.

“When we stand up for the rule of law ... and say ‘This decision is fundamental, and we have rules that we are going to follow so we can make a good decision,’ that’s a message of strength,″ Kaine said. “If we’re to order our young men and women ... to risk their lives in war, it should be on the basis of careful deliberation by the people’s elected legislature and not on the say-so of any one person.″

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, agreed. Lee supports Trump’s foreign policy, including toward Iran, but said Congress cannot escape its constitutional responsibility to act on matters of war and peace.

As the Senate debate made clear, “there is abundant support for the United States taking tough positions with regard to Iran,″ Lee said. ”And as part of that we want to make sure that any military action that needs to be authorized is in fact properly authorized by Congress. That doesn’t show weakness. That shows strength.″’

Trump disputed that, arguing on Twitter that a vote against Kaine’s proposal was important to national security and pointed to the Jan. 3 drone strike that killed Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani.

“We are doing very well with Iran and this is not the time to show weakness. Americans overwhelmingly support our attack on terrorist Soleimani,″ Trump said. “If my hands were tied, Iran would have a field day. Sends a very bad signal. The Democrats are only doing this as an attempt to embarrass the Republican Party. Don’t let it happen!″

Tehran responded to the U.S. attack on Soleimani by launching missiles at two military bases in Iraq that house American troops. The attack caused traumatic brain injuries in at least 64 U.S. soldiers, the Pentagon said..

Democrats and Republicans alike criticized a briefing by the Trump administration shortly after the drone strike, saying U.S. officials offered vague information about a possible attack being planned by Iran but no substantial details.

Kaine has long pushed for action reasserting congressional power to declare war. At Republicans’ request, he removed initial language that targeted Trump in favor of a generalized statement declaring that Congress has the sole power to declare war. The resolution also directs Trump to terminate use of military force against Iran or any part of its government without approval from Congress.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a co-sponsor, called the resolution “much needed and long overdue.″ In recent decades, “Congress has too often abdicated its constitutional responsibility on authorizing the sustained use of military force,″ she said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and many other Republicans opposed the resolution, saying it would send the wrong message to U.S. allies. “Just as we have successfully sent Iran this strong signal of our strength and resolve (by killing that country’s top general), a blunt and clumsy war powers resolution would tie our own hands,” McConnell said.

The three senators seeking the Democratic nomination for president — Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — all returned to the Capitol from campaigning and backed the war powers resolution.

Besides Collins and Lee, Republicans joining Democrats were Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Todd Young of Indiana.
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Impressive! Eight Republicans suddenly remembered that they're not a North Korean-style rubber stamp assembly for an authoritarian child.

I wonder what the Constitution says about use of the military....

Eh, who cares. Not like Trump gives a shit about the Constitution anyway. Veto time!

[TopHatter]

Barr says Trump tweets 'make it impossible to do my job' amid Roger Stone drama

Attorney General Bill Barr told ABC News on Thursday that President Trump's tweets "make it impossible for me to do my job," in an unusual swipe at the president, although he emphasized that Trump "has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case."

"I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases," Barr said. "I'm not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody ... whether it’s Congress, a newspaper editorial board, or the president.”

Barr continued, "I'm gonna do what I think is right, and you know... I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me."

The attorney general said he could not "assure the courts and the prosecutors and the department that we're doing our work with integrity" if the executive branch appeared involved in DOJ decisionmaking.

Barr said he was "of course" ready for blowback from Trump for his comments, although he said he was focused only on doing his job. South Carolina GOP. Sen. Lindsey Graham quickly tweeted support for Barr, saying Barr has his "complete confidence" and that the president did a "a great service" to the DOJ and the "nation as a whole" by appointing Barr.

Barr's unexpected remarks came days after Trump, in a late-night tweet earlier this week, criticized career Justice Department prosecutors for recommending a nine-year prison sentence for his former advisor Roger Stone.

Barr, speaking to ABC News, said that even prior to Trump's tweet Monday night, he was surprised to hear that DOJ prosecutors had sought the nine-year prison sentence, both because it was inconsistent with the prosecutors' previous discussions with main DOJ and because it did not seem "fair and reasonable" given the facts of the Stone case.

"I was very surprised," Barr said. "Once I confirmed that that's actually what we filed, I said that night to my staff that we had to get ready, because we had to do something in the morning to amend that, and clarify what our position was."

The next day, senior DOJ officials intervened and amended the prosecutors' sentencing recommendation downward, although top DOJ brass have repeatedly said their decision was independent of Trump's wishes.

Some Democrats have said Trump could face another impeachment over the episode, which seemingly undercut the traditional separation of political considerations from DOJ prosecutorial decisions.

Conservative commentators have split over the issue, with some suggesting that career DOJ officials are properly supervised by elected politicians, and others praising Barr for condemning Trump's involvement.

DOJ officials said in the amended filing that while it was "technically" possible to argue that Stone deserved the severe federal sentencing enhancement for threatening physical harm to a witness, such a move would violate the spirit of the federal guidelines.

Stone has been convicted on seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress on charges that stemmed from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Prosecutors charged that Stone lied to Congress about his conversations about WikiLeaks with New York radio host Randy Credico, although Stone was never linked to any criminal conspiracy to access or leak documents.

It would place Stone in a category of the guidelines that "typically applies in cases involving violent offenses, such as armed robbery, not obstruction cases," the government argued, noting that Stone's "advanced age, health, personal circumstances, and lack of criminal history" also counseled against the harsh penalty.

Specifically, prosecutors said that although Stone allegedly had threatened Credico’s therapy dog, Bianca -- saying he was "going to take that dog away from you" -- it was important to recognize that Credico has acknowledged that he "never in any way felt that Stone himself posed a direct physical threat to me or my dog."

A senior DOJ official confirmed to Fox News that senior leadership officials there made the call to reverse the initial sentencing recommendation, saying the filing on Monday evening was not only extreme, but also substantially inconsistent with how the prosecutors had briefed DOJ leadership they would proceed on the case. The "general communication" between the U.S. Attorney's Office and the main DOJ had led senior officials to expect a more moderate sentence, the official told Fox News.

In response to the new push for a lighter sentence, all the prosecutors on the Stone case, including several holdovers from Mueller's team, quit.

Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington, D.C., Jonathan Kravis, resigned as an assistant U.S. attorney in a filing with Jackson. Another prosecutor, Aaron Zelinsky, also filed a notice with the court that he was leaving his position as a special prosecutor with the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, although he would remain as an assistant U.S. attorney in Baltimore.

Then, prosecutor Adam Jed withdrew from the Stone case, as well. Michael Marando later announced he was off the case.

On Wednesday, Trump praised Barr's handling of the matter: “Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought,” the president wrote on Twitter. “Evidence now clearly shows that the Mueller Scam was improperly brought & tainted. Even Bob Mueller lied to Congress!”

DOJ officials, meanwhile, expressed surprise at the growing profile of the matter.

"It's surprising that would be the line in the sand -- an amended filing," a senior DOJ official told Fox News, adding that the problem with the original sentencing recommendation was it told the judge that the only way to serve justice was a lengthy sentence.

"We're backing off from, 'It has to be this,'" the DOJ source told Fox News. "The amended filing says it's a serious crime, and prison time is appropriate; we're just saying it doesn't have to be 87 to 108 months."
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Hey you bought it, you own it. Now you get to live with it. What a dumbshit.

[tbm3fan]

[SIZE=3][B]

Hey you bought it, you own it. Now you get to live with it. What a dumbshit.

It will be interesting to see what sentence Stone gets. Justice Berman Jackson doesn't have to listen to either since it is only a recommendation. She has been pretty tough on Stone already so I can't wait to see which source she'll lean towards.

[TopHatter]

It will be interesting to see what sentence Stone gets. Justice Berman Jackson doesn't have to listen to either since it is only a recommendation. She has been pretty tough on Stone already so I can't wait to see which source she'll lean towards.

Also be interesting to see if Trump pardons him. Or Manafort. Or Flynn. Or the next Trump associate getting sent to the clink.

[astralis]

Hey you bought it, you own it. Now you get to live with it. What a dumbshit.

Barr is saying this as a media smokescreen to "show off" his judicial independence.

according to what Barr is saying, he came to the idea that the sentence was too harsh, -all by himself-, without the White House's prompting.

which just means he's intelligent enough to guess at what Trump would want, and to pro-actively carry it out, VERSUS Trump having to -tell- him what to do.

[tbm3fan]

Barr is saying this as a media smokescreen to "show off" his judicial independence.

according to what Barr is saying, he came to the idea that the sentence was too harsh, -all by himself-, without the White House's prompting.

which just means he's intelligent enough to guess at what Trump would want, and to pro-actively carry it out, VERSUS Trump having to -tell- him what to do.

"I hold in my hand the envelopes. As a child of four can plainly see, these envelopes have been hermetically sealed. They've been kept in a mayonnaise jar on Funk and Wagnalls' porch since noon today. No one knows the contents of these envelopes – but you, in your mystical and borderline divine way, will ascertain the answers having never before heard the questions."

"What does my President wish for today?"

So Barr is the second coming of The Great Carnac? I'll stick with the original.

[surfgun]

Trump to “campaign” as the Grand Marshal of the Daytona 500.
https://www.foxnews.com/auto/trump-p...-grand-marshal

[TopHatter]

Federal judges' association calls emergency meeting after DOJ intervenes in case of Trump ally Roger Stone

WASHINGTON – A national association of federal judges has called an emergency meeting Tuesday to address growing concerns about the intervention of Justice Department officials and President Donald Trump in politically sensitive cases, the group’s president said Monday.

Philadelphia U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe, who heads the independent Federal Judges Association, said the group “could not wait” until its spring conference to weigh in on a deepening crisis that has enveloped the Justice Department and Attorney General William Barr.

“There are plenty of issues that we are concerned about,” Rufe told USA TODAY. “We’ll talk all of this through.”

Rufe, nominated to the bench by President George W. Bush, said the group of more than 1,000 federal jurists called for the meeting last week after Trump criticized prosecutors' initial sentencing recommendation for his friend Roger Stone and the Department of Justice overruled them.

Trump also took a swipe at the federal judge who is set to preside at Stone’s sentencing hearing Thursday.

“Is this the judge that put Paul Manafort in SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, something not even mobster Al Capone had to endure?” Trump tweeted last week, referring to U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson. “How did she treat Crooked Hillary Clinton? Just asking!"

Jackson jailed Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, prior to his convictions in two separate financial fraud cases after he sought to tamper with potential witnesses.

Rufe said the judges' association is “not inclined to get involved with an ongoing case,” but she voiced strong support for Jackson.

“I am not concerned with how a particular judge will rule,” Rufe said, praising Jackson's reputation. “We are supportive of any federal judge who does what is required.”

The unusual concern voiced by the judges’ group comes in the wake of an equally unusual protest. More than 2,000 former Justice Department officials called on Barr to resign Sunday, claiming his handling of the Stone case "openly and repeatedly flouted" the principle of equal justice.

"Although there are times when political leadership appropriately weighs in on individual prosecutions, it is unheard of for the department’s top leaders to overrule line prosecutors, who are following established policies, in order to give preferential treatment to a close associate of the president, as Attorney General Barr did in the Stone case," the letter reads.b'

Stone was found guilty in November of lying to the House Intelligence Committee and obstructing its investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The 67-year-old fixture in GOP politics was also found guilty of threatening a potential congressional witness.

Last week, prosecutors recommended Stone serve seven to nine years in prison. The Department of Justice overruled them the next day, prompting all four prosecutors to withdraw from the case. One of them resigned entirely from the Justice Department.

Last week's move in the Stone case was followed by Friday's disclosure that Barr had appointed an outside prosecutor to review the criminal case of Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. He is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Flynn's was among the first prosecutions brought by former Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller in a 22-month investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

The decision to review the Flynn case comes as Barr has engaged in reviews of equally sensitive matters, including an ongoing criminal investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation.

The attorney general has acknowledged the Justice Department is evaluating information provided by Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney who sought to tar the president’s potential presidential rival, Joe Biden, and revive a discredited theory that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the last election.

Tuesday, the federal judges are set to convene via a conference call involving 15 to 20 officers and members of the association's executive committee, Rufe said.

Founded in 1982, the 1,100-member association supports "a fair, impartial, and independent judiciary," according to its website.

Rufe said the group has not decided how it will report the result of its meeting, if at all. "We just could not wait until April to discuss matters of this importance," she said.
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Too bad they can't really do jack, considering the now-lawless nature of the Justice Dept and the White House.

[JRT]

More than 2,000 former Justice Department officials called on Barr to resign Sunday, claiming his handling of the Stone case "openly and repeatedly flouted" the principle of equal justice.

That says much.

[TopHatter]

That says much.

It does. But it doesn't mean anything either.

[TopHatter]

Trump threatens to sue his investigators and demands Roger Stone case be 'thrown out'

Donald Trump is threatening to drop a string of lawsuits against those involved in investigations into his 2016 campaign and presidency, yet again weighing in on a federal criminal case as he thumbs his nose at concerns he is politicizing the Justice Department.

The president used several Tuesday morning tweets to suggest the case of his convicted friend and former adviser Roger Stone -- and any other one stemming from probes of all things Trump -- should be "thrown out." The judge in Mr Stone's case, Amy Berman Jackson, has set a Tuesday teleconference hearing with the Stone camp and federal prosecutors to discuss the status of his case.

That set off a firestorm last week when Mr Trump wielded the power of his office post-Senate acquittal in a more muscular way by tweeting that the Justice Department should come down from a planned nine-year sentencing recommendation for Mr Stone on counts of lying to Congress and obstructing justice.

But, in Mr Trump's telling, his longtime friend should soon be a free man.

He called the prosecutors in Mr Stone's case "Mueller prosecutors," referring to the Russia election meddling probe led by former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III. That investigation concluded with Mr Mueller stopping shy of recommending Mr Trump broke any laws, but saying if wrongdoing had not occured his final report would have said so; it did not. (That final summary also stated Mr Mueller and his team found no direct cooperation between Mr Trump's 2016 campaign and Russians.)

But that did not stop the president on Tuesday morning from contending that "the whole Mueller investigation was illegally set up based on a phony and now fully discredited Fake Dossier, lying and forging documents to the FISA Court, and many other things."

He did not provide supporting evidence as he added his view that the Mueller probe was a "fraudulent investigation" and "badly tainted," calling for it anything related to it to be "thrown out."

"The whole deal was a total SCAM. If I wasn't President, I'd be suing everyone all over the place..." Mr Trump claimed, before adding this threat: "....BUT MAYBE I STILL WILL. WITCH HUNT!"

But Democrats see the situation differently.

"Trump abused his power to coerce Ukraine into announcing investigations for his personal benefit by freezing military aid," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff of California tweeted last week.

Mr Schiff and other Democrats also have panned Attorney General William Barr, who stepped in to back his department away from the nine-year sentencing recommendation after Mr Trump's tweet. (Mr Barr contends he thought there was an internal agreement within the agency to offer Ms Jackson options for a more "flexible" sentence for Mr Stone.)

"Barr admits he intervened in the sentencing of a man who lied to Congress to cover up for the President," Mr Schiff tweeted. "He's only upset that Trump's tweets made the political nature of his intervention obvious. Barr fools no one. He's a witting accomplice to Trump's attack on the rule of law.
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Same old Trumpian bullshit, just a different day....

[tbm3fan]

[B][SIZE=3]
Same old Trumpian bullshit, just a different day....

Vintage Trump. Goes all the way back to his first lawsuit in 1973 when he counter-sued the Justice Department for bringing a case against him alleging discrimination. That was dismissed as a waste of time and Trump settled out of court and started his "I declare victory" mantra. He is a master of using the "slap suit" before it was even called the slap suit.

[TopHatter]

Vintage Trump. Goes all the way back to his first lawsuit in 1973 when he counter-sued the Justice Department for bringing a case against him alleging discrimination. That was dismissed as a waste of time and Trump settled out of court and started his "I declare victory" mantra. He is a master of using the "slap suit" before it was even called the slap suit.

Yep, nothing new under the sun especially when it comes to Trump. He lives in his own little version of reality.
Which makes November even more frightening: Win or lose, that man is going to become so unhinged, it'll make the last several years look sane by comparison.