Donald Trump (image via Flickr/WhiteHouse) House Democrats received a major win today when a federal judge not only ordered the secret grand jury evidence from the Robert Mueller investigation be turned over to the House Judiciary Committee but also declared that the current impeachment inquiry is a legal investigation. From the New York Times:
The House Judiciary Committee is entitled to view secret grand jury evidence gathered by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, Judge Beryl A. Howell of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in a 75-page opinion. Attorney General William P. Barr had withheld the material from lawmakers.
Typically, Congress has no right to view secret evidence gathered by a grand jury. But in 1974, the courts permitted the committee weighing whether to impeach President Richard M. Nixon to see such materials — and, Judge Howell ruled, the House is now engaged in the same process focused on Mr. Trump.
“Tipping the scale even further toward disclosure is the public’s interest in a diligent and thorough investigation into, and in a final determination about, potentially impeachable conduct by the president described in the Mueller report,” she wrote.
In reaching her decision, Judge Howell rejected the contention by Mr. Trump and his allies that the investigation Democrats are pursuing, which has since expanded to encompass the Ukraine scandal, is not a legitimate impeachment inquiry.
Stunning rebuke of the DOJ’s argument from a federal judge: “The Department of Justice claims that existing law bars disclosure to the Congress of grand jury information,” Judge Howell wrote. “DOJ is wrong.”
Within that ruling today, Judge Howell put the nail in Republicans’ bitching about the House process under way, too. “Even in cases of presidential impeachment, a House resolution has never, in fact, been required to begin an impeachment inquiry.” In the ruling. Yeah.
Dr. Josh Hamilton (screen capture) Dr. Josh Hamilton teaches professional communications and college readiness at Grapevine High School near Fort Worth, Texas. He is also the coach for the school’s competitive speech team that won state and national championships last year. But the school district he works for recently fired him saying he texted inappropriate messages to a student. Hamilton says the trouble started the day after he mentioned being gay to his speech team. During preparation on September 5, 2019, for an upcoming oral interpretation tournament, Hamilton felt his team was distracted by personal issues instead of the topic at hand. “Guys, I get it,” Hamilton told the students in an attempt to motivate them. “We all have something going on. Heck, you all watched me struggle last year with my mental health and met me this year on the other side as a happy, open and honest gay man.” “So, I get it life is hard,” added the PhD. “Let’s put that to the side and get our work done.” The next day he was called into Human Resources where he says he was asked about his communication with students, did he text them, and what was the content? Hamilton said he did text some students as the team coach and in the context that one of the students handled babysitting chores for him. Finally, the HR representative asked, “Josh, have you told the students anything about your personal life changes in the last month?” Hamilton says his response was as straight-forward as he could make it. “Are you asking if the kids know that I am gay?” he told the representative. “Sure, just like they know that I was married, I have kids and travel each day from Fort Worth, sure they do its part of my life.” He was placed on administrative leave at that time pending an investigation into whether he ‘shared too much information’ with his students. That was a Friday. On Monday, he was told by the HR persona, “Josh, we have done our investigation and decided we are no longer going to continue employment.” Hamilton says he was given no due process nor provided with any evidence. When he asked to see the text messages the school insisted he was being dismissed for, he was told, “No, we need to protect the privacy of the student.” After hiring a lawyer, who asked for the text messages in question to be forwarded pending legal action, the school stopped communicating. A few days later, he was finally allowed to review the text messages that the school says are the basis for his firing. The messages were with a student who regularly took care of Hamilton’s young son, Jackson. Hamilton says the topics in the 8 text messages ranged from his son to separating from his wife to his new dating life. The instructor says the student was babysitting when he would go on dates, so the issue came up. “If we’re going to fire a teacher for texting a kid, we’re going to fire a lot of teachers in Texas,” Hamilton told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. And he insists none of the messages have ever been inappropriate. The student’s parents didn’t see it that way. At a meeting this week of the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District, board members voted unanimously to fire Hamilton due to the District’s policy on texting students. During the meeting, Human Resources executive director Gema Padgett said, “Dr. Hamilton violated the standards by developing inappropriate relationships with students, providing inappropriate information to the students concerning his personal life, through text messages, treating students as family members or close friends and providing inappropriate personal information to the students.” Hamilton told the local NBC News affiliate NBC DFW, “Sitting in the board room and hearing her use the word inappropriate, inappropriate, inappropriate painted me to the public as a child predator. This has been the worst experience of my life.” But the school district, contending Hamilton’s firing was not because he is gay, issued this statement: “Mr. Hamilton has been proposed for termination for good cause due to violations of the District’s electronic communications policy, violations of student privacy, failure to follow written directives, and violations of the Texas Educator’s Code of Ethics. In GCISD, we hold all employees to high standards for their interactions with our most important people, our students. His conduct is not acceptable for an educator in GCISD.” Hamilton plans to appeal the decision to the Texas Education Agency, which would provide a due process hearing. He says he hopes to retain his teaching position. The state of Texas has no legal protections on the books prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ people in the workplace. (source: NBC DFW)
The men of Chippendales rock Belgium Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: The Chippendales stopped in Belgium for a one-night-only performance, and the place sold out completely. Keep up with the men of Chippendales on their Instagram here. • Advocate: A gay reporter for ABC News traveled to Chechnya to document the horrific treatment of LGBTQ people in the Russian republic. Along the way, he became part of the story. • Washington Blade: Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.), the only out bisexual in the U.S. House, is in the middle of an increasingly growing scandal in which she has now admitted she had an “inappropriate” relationship with her campaign staffer before she took office. • Playbill: Tony Award winner Donna McKechnie is now hosting her own weekly podcast, The Ladies Who Lunch. Each episode, McKechnie will gather with friends at Sardi’s to discuss their showbiz pasts and more. For her first episode, McKechnie (who originated the role of Cassie) welcomes her A Chorus Line castmates: original Morales Priscilla Lopez, original Connie Baayork Lee, and original Sheila Kelly Bishop. • CBS News: After Donald Trump trolled rock icon Bruce Springsteen from the campaign stump, the rocker responded: “The stewardship of the nation has been thrown away to somebody who doesn’t have a clue as to what that means. And unfortunately, we have somebody who I feel doesn’t have a grasp of the deep meaning of what it means to be an American.” #BOOM
• OUT: Facebook and Instagram have issued new guidelines about sexual expression on the social media platforms. Users will no longer be able to add eggplant or peach emojis to messages that have a sexual nature anymore. Plus, no more using emojis to cover nude body parts. AND – no more linking to sites with sexual content. So, no more promoting OnlyFans or JustForMyFans pages from Facebook or Instagram. • Twitter: At a rally last night, Donald Trump told the crowd his administration is “building a beautiful wall” in Colorado. I keep wondering if anyone told him it’s New Mexico, not Mexico, that borders Colorado…? #4thGradeGeography
TRUMP: “We’re building a wall in Colorado. We’re building a beautiful wall. A big one that really works.” 😳 pic.twitter.com/tVgO95VIdW
Judge Andrew Napolitano (screen capture) Fox News’ Judge Andrew Napolitano gave the Fox & Friends crew a lesson in how impeachment inquiries work on Thursday morning including this little nugget they didn’t want to hear: Democrats are “following the rules.” “I read the House rules,” said Napolitano. “And as frustrating as it may be to have these hearings going on behind closed doors — the hearings over which Congressman Schiff is presiding — they are consistent with the rules.” “They can make up any rules they want?!” asked perpetually dopey Brian Kilmeade. Napolitano told him, “Well, they can’t change the rules, they follow the rules.” Napolitano added that those rules were written in January 2015 when Republicans held the majority and the Speaker of the House was John Boehner. Because they don’t want to go on the record actually defending Donald Trump on the Ukraine scandal, Republicans are whining about the process Democrats are using in questioning witnesses. As with a grand jury, witnesses are questioned behind closed doors so that they can’t collaborate or ‘get their stories straight’ with other witnesses.
Talk about petty… Axios isreporting that the White House will soon order all federal agencies to not renew their subscriptions to the Washington Post and the New York Times. Yes, those would be the two newspapers Donald Trump has repeated raged against on Twitter for what he feels is biased, ‘fake news’ reporting. The announcement came just hours after Trump appeared on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show calling the two papers ‘fake.’
The White House said on Tuesday that it would cancel its own subscriptions to the Post and the Times, after Trump complained that they were “fake” during an appearance this week on Fox News’ “Hannity.” White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in an email to the Wall Street Journal: “Not renewing subscriptions across all federal agencies will be a significant cost saving—hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars will be saved.”
Host Ryan Bridge was a bit flustered after being outed on the air (screen capture)
Radio host Ryan Bridge was filling in on New Zealand’s The AM Show when a casual remark abruptly outed him to the show’s listeners.
The moment occurred on Thursday’s broadcast, as the morning crew was discussing collector’s items. Bridge was asked if he collected anything, to which co-host Mark Richardson laughingly suggested, “Ex-boyfriends?”
Cue the awkward laughing. Richardson and co-host Amanda Gillies continued giggling for a few seconds until they realized what had happened.
“Yes, it’s true, I’m gay,” said Bridge after a few seconds of uncomfortable stammering. “There we go, it’s out there.”
We can’t embed the video here due to geo-blocking, but you can watch the clip here. Apparently, while Bridge isn’t closeted to his family or friends (like Richardson), he hadn’t come out to his audience yet. After composing himself, Bridge addressed the elephant in the room about half an hour later. “If you caught what was said before, it’s not something I’ve tried to hide, it’s something all my friends and family have known about for a very long time,” he told the audience. “The reason I haven’t chosen to share it with you at home, with listeners on my radio show is just that, I don’t know, it’s not that interesting really, is it?” “It’s just my private business and my life and not something I have necessarily tried to hide but it’s just not something that I’ve bothered or cared to share with the world, with you at home, but it’s out there, so that is that,” added Bridge. “Thank you very much to the people who have been getting in touch in the last few minutes. It’s quite heartening.” He also displayed tremendous grace in addressing his colleague’s faux pas. “I wanted to say that Mark didn’t do this on purpose,” Bridge told the viewers. “It wasn’t like he was being mean, or he was trying to get me to say something I didn’t want to say. it was an innocent, honest mistake.” Mark Richardson apologies to his colleague as co-host Amanda Gillies looks on A clearly chagrined Richardson was effusive in his apology. “In three years of doing this job, this is as bad as I’ve ever felt,” said Richardson. “I say a lot of stuff on this show, and I mean it, and some of it walks the line. I just want to say I’m sorry. It’s because obviously I love you so much as a person.” He added, “Just me being a smartass and trying to poke fun at you for a comedic moment on the show has led to this, and I’m dreadfully sorry.” Gillies chimed in telling Bridge, “You know we love you to bits, completely.” “The way you’ve handled this with immense class – just beautifully,” she added. “Makes us love you even more.”
Remember Republicans clutching their pearls when Hillary Clinton called Trump supporters “deplorable?” I’m totally confident those same folks will stand up just as forcefully today after Donald Trump took to Twitter to declare #NeverTrump Republicans “human scum.” “The Never Trumper Republicans, though on respirators with not many left, are in certain ways worse and more dangerous for our Country than the Do Nothing Democrats,” he wrote. “Watch out for them, they are human scum!” This is all normal, right?
The Never Trumper Republicans, though on respirators with not many left, are in certain ways worse and more dangerous for our Country than the Do Nothing Democrats. Watch out for them, they are human scum!
“It was outrageous for Hillary Clinton to refer to people she disagreed with politically ‘deplorable’!” Same people: “Hooray for Trump calling people who disagree with him ‘human scum!'”
Donald Trump’s day so far: – Calls Republicans “human scum” for deserting him – His GOP loyalists are holed up in a SCIF – Trump’s lawyer argues in court that Trump could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue – Great way to lose the case – Trump is going to prison – It’s still only 3pm
President wants you to think that in a free and open society of 325 million people, that anyone whio doesn’t think like him and agree with him is “human scum” https://t.co/NvoOcvVgjZ
Cristiano Ronaldo (image via Instagram) It sure pays to be popular. And hot. I came across this article about how much Instagram celebrities make from their huge followings. I find the subject fascinating. According to Business Insider, soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo earns more from his Instagram account than he does from playing for his Italian soccer club Juventus. The 34-year-old hottie is the most followed person on Instagram with over 187 million followers. And he puts that fame and celebrity to work. Social media firm Hopper HQ reports that Ronaldo has earned $47.8 million from his 49 sponsored posts on the photo-centric social media platform. That’s more than the reported $34 million a year he earns from his day job. One marketing executive told Hopper HQ, “Companies are paying almost $1 million for posts to access his insane reach.” It also puts him way ahead of other Insta-celebs. Rugby star Leo Messi came in second with $23.3 million in Insta-earnings, followed by reality star Kendall Jenner with $15.9 million. Click over to BuzzBingo to see what famous ‘influencers’ make broken down by category (sports, fashion, travel, entertainment…) and more. Here are some of the more recent sponsored posts by Ronaldo:
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaks to reporters (screen capture)NBC Newsreports that some two dozen House Republicans staged a publicity stunt in which they attempted to storm the doors of the House Intelligence Committee as they hold the Trump impeachment inquiry. The attempt to squelch the negative news about quid pro quo occurred as Laura Cooper, deputy assistant to the Secretary of Defense, was scheduled to testify in the inquiry on Wednesday.
Led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., the GOP members — who don’t sit on the committees that are questioning witnesses in the impeachment inquiry — entered the secure room, known as a SCIF, in the basement of the Capitol Visitor’s Center. Before entering, they protested Democrats’ handling of the probe, arguing that the process was not fair to Republicans or the president.
House rules only allow members to participate in depositions if they serve on the committees.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., told reporters that there were approximately 20 GOP members in the room who refused to leave, and said that they came into the secure room yelling that they be allowed inside. Some of these members brought their cellphones, which are not permitted.
New drama: Roughly two dozen House conservatives stormed the secure hearing room – known as the SCIF – to rail on the process, delaying the Cooper testimony. Connolly said that Louie Gohmert and Bradley Byrne were yelling in the room and railing on what they call a sham process.
It’s a stunt. They don’t want to be in the hearings. They want to be kicked out and then go on TV and complain about it afterwards–confident that none of their supporters will understand that Congressional rules stiplulate that they have no business being in the hearings.
Please explain to the American public that impeachment is the equivalent of a grand jury, and that this is just grandstanding by Republicans who want to confuse people about the process. The trial will be publicly held in the Senate.
Sgt. Keith Wildhaber (image via Wildhaber) In the spring of 2014, St. Louis County police Sgt. Keith Wildhaber says he was told he would need to “tone down his gayness” if he hoped to be promoted to lieutenant. The comment, according to Wildhaber, came from a former member of the St. Louis County Police Board of Commissioners, John Saracino, a short time after Chief Jon Belmar took over the department. “I was sickened by it,” said Wildhaber on the first day of his employment discrimination lawsuit against the department, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I think I said, ‘I can’t believe we are having this conversation in 2014.’ It was devastating to hear,” Wildhaber told the jury. “We had never spoken of my sexuality before, and I thought he was just trying to be helpful to me and looking out for my best interest in the promotional process.” Saracino later denied making the comment. Wildhaber filed the lawsuit in 2017 after being passed over for promotion 23 times. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported at the time Wildhaber ranked third among 26 people who took a promotions test in February 2014. In February 2015, he again placed third in a second round of tests. On the opening day of the lawsuit, lawyers representing Wildhaber characterized Chief Belmar as “having a penchant for promoting masculine men that dominates all promotional decisions and said that he will retaliate against anyone who questions them, as Wildhaber did by filing his lawsuit.” “The police department under Chief Belmar is big on high-testosterone, type A masculine personalities, and my method of policing doesn’t conform with that,” testified Wildhaber, who contends he would have been promoted if he weren’t openly gay. “This chief is very heavy on promoting the SWAT, masculine type of guys, and I wasn’t doing that.” Wildhaber’s attorneys told the jury that, after filing his lawsuit, Wildhaber was transferred to the Jennings precinct which nearly tripled his daily commute to work. And he was moved from afternoon shifts and put on midnights. Wildhaber told the court, “It’s what’s known as a ‘geography lesson’ in the department.” Lawyers for the department told the jury the police chief had reasons not to promote the 22-year-veteran, who is still with the department. The department’s attorney’s pointed to a three-day suspension in 2011 for failing to file 23 out of 6,000 police reports during his tenure as a fraud detective. The lawyer’s also said Wildhaber had been the subject of an FBI investigation and hadn’t told Belmar. They accused him of tipping off a suspect the FBI was investigating. But Wildhaber denied the allegations saying, “I didn’t do that,” adding that he informed his supervisor after being questioned by the FBI. Attorneys for Wildhaber say there have been several officers with larger disciplinary issues in their file than Wildhaber who have been promoted to lieutenant. The trial will continue on Wednesday. Missouri has no laws prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ people in the workplace. A bill to add sexual orientation to the state’s non-discrimination laws was passed by the state Senate on May 17, 2013, but the state House of Representatives adjourned that session without taking up the bill for consideration. (source: Post-Dispatch)
