Donald Trump must have been thrilled as he tweeted a screen-shot from Lou Dobbs‘ Fox Business show reporting his approval number is at 55% from the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service.
Only problem is: it’s wrong.
The director of the poll followed up Trump’s tweet with one of his own announcing the mistake just 40 minutes later.
Trump’s approval rating from the poll is actually 43% – which is about where he’s topped out for two years.
Donald Trump simply can’t stop trolling Puerto Rico on social media.
The Trumpster went on a long Twitter rant about the U.S. territory calling the local leaders there “incompetent” or “corrupt.”
The $91 billion figure Trump quotes is an estimate of the DAMAGES to the island.
So far, according to the Washington Post, Puerto Rico has only received about a quarter of the total amount of money allocated to the island — $11.2 billion.
Officials told The Fact Checker that the president was referring to an internal Office of Management and Budget estimate of the potential liabilities over the life of the disaster that would need to be committed under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1988. The estimate was described as a high-end estimate subject to change year by year.
Currently, the estimated Stafford liabilities amount to $50 billion. Adding the $41 billion in announced funding to the $50 billion in Stafford liabilities gets you to $91 billion.
But none of that matters to Trump. He continues to rant and groan using incorrect numbers and #fakefacts.
Note that last line of the last tweet about “so little appreciation.” #smh
The Democrats today killed a Bill that would have provided great relief to Farmers and yet more money to Puerto Rico despite the fact that Puerto Rico has already been scheduled to receive more hurricane relief funding than any “place” in history. The people of Puerto Rico…..
….are GREAT, but the politicians are incompetent or corrupt. Puerto Rico got far more money than Texas & Florida combined, yet their government can’t do anything right, the place is a mess – nothing works. FEMA & the Military worked emergency miracles, but politicians like…..
….the crazed and incompetent Mayor of San Juan have done such a poor job of bringing the Island back to health. 91 Billion Dollars to Puerto Rico, and now the Dems want to give them more, taking dollars away from our Farmers and so many others. Disgraceful!
Puerto Rico got 91 Billion Dollars for the hurricane, more money than has ever been gotten for a hurricane before, & all their local politicians do is complain & ask for more money. The pols are grossly incompetent, spend the money foolishly or corruptly, & only take from USA….
….The best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico is President Donald J. Trump. So many wonderful people, but with such bad Island leadership and with so much money wasted. Cannot continue to hurt our Farmers and States with these massive payments, and so little appreciation!
They super didn’t. 91 Billion was the estimated DAMAGE. Puerto Rico is still WAITING for most of their allocated relief funds, while our president lies to himself and lies to you. pic.twitter.com/lTK9kTmfJY
Trump supporter and right-wing ‘personality,’ Jacob Wohl, may have reported fake death threats from a fictional gay Hispanic ‘diversity coordinator’ he made up on Twitter.
Of course he’d have to make the fictional character gay…
You might recall Wohl’s name from when he suffered an epic fail trying to smear Special Counsel Robert Mueller with fake accusations of sexual assault right before the 2018 midterm elections. The 21-year-old found himself suspended from Twitter for those antics, specifically creating and operating fake accounts.
The Daily Beast reports that, during a trip to Minneapolis, Wohl (a self-professed ‘political and corporate intel consultant’) went to the police and reported he’d received death threats from someone on Twitter. In the video embedded in the tweet below, Wohl specifically identifies the threat as coming from a ‘diversity coordinator.’
Here’s a video clip showing Jacob Wohl reporting threats he received to the Minneapolis Police Department, and a screenshot of one particular “threat”—but the avatar image matches a fake Twitter account NBC News and The Daily Beast reported Wohl created. pic.twitter.com/bV7EZarJk8
NBC News reporter Ben Collins pointed up the charade on Twitter:
Jacob Wohl reported a death threat to the Minneapolis Police Department. Small problem: he wrote the threat to himself from a fake account he created, posing as a gay Hispanic “diversity coordinator,” who does not really exist. https://t.co/o8sgpMWP8J
On February 26, Collins reported the Twitter account ‘drakehomes612’ was created by Wohl.
The profile featured a Hispanic man’s photo, and its user described themselves as a “Diversity Coordinator, Minneapolis Born and Raised. Hater of racists, homophones, and bigots” and punctuated with a rainbow flag.
The Daily Beast writes, “A source familiar with Wohl’s fake accounts confirmed to me that @Drakehomes612 was run by Wohl before being deleted by Twitter. That means Wohl was sending himself fake death threats, presumably in an attempt to up the drama during his Minneapolis videos.”
The Minneapolis Police released documentation today from Wohl’s filed report which included a screen capture of the ‘threat.’ The language is identical to a threat Wohl included in his recent ‘documentary’ he shot while in Minneapolis.
JUST IN: Minneapolis Police provided me a redacted copy of everything Jacob Wohl provided as supporting evidence of the threats he reported. It includes the threat from the account he is reported to have created himself. pic.twitter.com/CjVHmNGAAL
In fact, Collins tracked down the man in the photo and it turns out he’s a Minnesota real estate agent named Aaron Delgado who had no idea his image had been usurped.
I talked to Aaron Delgado, the Minnesota realtor whose photo was used for Wohl’s “Drake Holmes” creation.
Delgado’s picture was stolen from Instagram. He has no idea why he was chosen.
“One of my clients messaged me. My face was making national news for all the wrong reasons.” pic.twitter.com/mzzU0koKvN
All of the conservatives who were so horribly gleeful about Jussie Smollett are oddly silent about Jacob Wohl. https://t.co/ky5Hc9ARsj— Elizabeth Spiers (@espiers) March 13, 2019
Jacob Wohl is one dumb motherfucker.— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) March 13, 2019
Jacob Wohl is Wile E. Coyote painting tunnels onto boulders and then immediately walking into them while the road runner beep beeps away and his body folds up like an accordion— JuanPa (@jpbrammer) March 13, 2019
As political pundits were scratching their heads over the extremely light prison sentence (47 months vs. 19-24 years per guidelines) given to former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort yesterday, Donald Trump clearly began to feel vindicated yet again.
This morning the Donald tweeted,”Both the Judge and the lawyer in the Paul Manafort case stated loudly and for the world to hear that there was NO COLLUSION with Russia. But the Witch Hunt Hoax continues as you now add these statements to House & Senate Intelligence & Senator Burr. So bad for our Country!”
Both the Judge and the lawyer in the Paul Manafort case stated loudly and for the world to hear that there was NO COLLUSION with Russia. But the Witch Hunt Hoax continues as you now add these statements to House & Senate Intelligence & Senator Burr. So bad for our Country!
In reality, the judge in the case merely stated that the crimes Manafort was found guilty of did not involve ‘collusion’ with Russia. Judge TS Ellis did not declare there was no collusion.
Meanwhile, back in the real world . . .
1. The issue of collusion/conspiracy with Russia was NOT brought before that particular court;
2. So any evidence of that issue was not allowed; so
3. There could be no ruling on the facts of that issue.
We know your NO COLLUSION tweet is forthcoming, but we don’t care that Paul Manafort wasn’t convicted of that. We care that YOU have surrounded yourself with career criminals like him, and have compromised our security as Americans.
The New York Times is reporting that Donald Trump ordered his chief of staff to issue his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, a top-secret security clearance last year.
At the time, intelligence officials and the White House’s top lawyer had expressed serious concerns about granting Kushner the security clearance.
Mr. Trump’s decision in May so troubled senior administration officials that at least one, the White House chief of staff at the time, John F. Kelly, wrote a contemporaneous internal memo about how he had been “ordered” to give Mr. Kushner the top-secret clearance.
The White House counsel at the time, Donald F. McGahn II, also wrote an internal memo outlining the concerns that had been raised about Mr. Kushner — including by the C.I.A. — and how Mr. McGahn had recommended that he not be given a top-secret clearance.
The disclosure of the memos contradicts statements made by the president, who told The New York Times in January in an Oval Office interview that he had no role in his son-in-law receiving his clearance.
The Times goes on to acknowledge the president’s legal authority to grant security clearances. But generally, the White House’s personnel security office decides the issue after proper background checks by the FBI.
In the case of a question, the White House counsel makes the decision. Only in rare instances does the president step in and grant the clearance himself.
Kushner and Ivanka Trump have both publicly stated that the Donald had no involvement in the approval of their security clearances.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, is demanding W.H. Counsel be in “full and immediate compliance” with his committee’s request for documents and witness interviews in light of the Times report that Trump intervened to get Jared Kushner his security clearance.
Politico is reporting that White House advisor Kellyanne Conway told Fox News today regarding the report that, “The president has the absolute right to do what was described.”
What we know: intelligence officials and White House staff had grave concerns over Jared Kushner's security clearance.
What we don't know: Why. (Plenty of informed speculation)
What we know: President Trump didn't care.
What we don't know: What it means for national security.— Dan Rather (@DanRather) March 1, 2019
People who have never worked in government may not understand what a big deal this Kushner story is. Aside from the security risk and the lies, it is such an insult to every public servant who jumps through a million hoops to do things the right way with zero margin for error.
Trump overruled even the CIA to grant Jared Kushner security clearance! NYT notes: “An internal memo outlining the concerns that had been raised about Mr. Kushner -including by the C.I.A.-and how Mr. McGahn had recommended that he not be given a top-secret clearance” #FireKushner
— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) March 1, 2019
Everyone is focused on #Kushner‘s foreign contacts regarding his #securityclearance. During the transition he tried to create a BACKCHANNEL communication system directly to the Kremlin to subvert our own Intelligence Community. That, right there, is a counterintelligence concern.
House Republican leaders kept defections low after feverishly working to assuage concerns among rank-and-file members about protecting congressional powers and about the precedent that Mr. Trump could be setting for Democratic presidents to use for their own purposes.
“Is your oath of office to Donald Trump or is it to the Constitution of the United States?” Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked her Republican colleagues in a speech on the floor ahead of the vote. “You cannot let him undermine your pledge to the Constitution.”
The resolution of disapproval, which passed 245 to 182, must now be taken up by the Senate, where three Republicans have already declared their support, only one short of the number needed for Congress to ratify a stinging rebuke of Mr. Trump’s efforts.
The measure now goes to the Senate which will HAVE to hold a vote. Three U.S. Senators (Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska) have said they plan to support the resolution.
Trump will veto the measure, but it will be a stinging rebuke that he’s appropriating funds to appease his core supporters on a campaign promise.
A Coast Guard lieutenant and self-described white nationalist who was arrested in Maryland last week was plotting to kill a long list of prominent journalists and Democratic politicians, as well as professors, judges and what he called “leftists in general,” federal prosecutors said in a court filing on Tuesday.
Lt. Christopher Paul Hasson, 49, was arrested Friday on gun and drug charges, but prosecutors said in the filing that those charges were just the “proverbial tip of the iceberg.”
The filing argued that Lieutenant Hasson should be held until he is tried, describing him as a “domestic terrorist” who intended “to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country.”
In the last month, prosecutors said, the lieutenant used his work computer to draw up a list of prominent figures he called “traitors” and wanted to kill, including many well-known anchors and hosts on the CNN and MSNBC news networks and a number of Democratic elected officials. The list included, among others, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Maxine Waters, Senator Richard Blumenthal, whom he referred to as “Sen blumen jew,” and many of the senators running for president in 2020.
While Donald Trump was quick to comment on the charges against Empire star Jussie Smollett, he has yet to comment on Hasson.
Is that because Hasson was plotting against Trump’s political foes? Or because he’s a supporter of the Donald?
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters today that Trump is “typically one of the first” to condemn stories like Hasson’s.
“The president hasn’t at any point has done anything but condemn violence, against journalists or anyone else. In fact, every single time something like this happens, the president is typically one of the first people to condemn the violence and the media is the first people to condemn the president.”
And yet, days after this news broke, he hasn’t.
After arrest of Coast Guard lieutenant, who allegedly amassed weapons and compiled list of Democratic lawmakers and journalists, Sarah Sanders says Pres. Trump hasn’t “at any point” done anything “but condemn violence, against journalists or anyone else.” https://t.co/vD1SnbtLMfpic.twitter.com/JO6LCpexIm
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to prosecutors with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about matters close to the heart of their investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
The judge’s finding that Manafort, 69, breached his cooperation deal with prosecutors by lying after his guilty plea could add years to his prison sentence and came after a set of sealed court hearings.
Manafort had denied intentionally lying after his plea deal, but U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the District found he lied in three of five areas alleged by prosecutors. She said she would factor in his deception on other topics at sentencing March 13.
The special counsel’s office “has established by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant intentionally made multiple false statements to the FBI, [Mueller’s office] and the grand jury concerning matters that were material to the investigation,” Jackson wrote.
This means any leniency for Manafort is out the window as Judge Jackson will take these lies into account when considering sentencing.
CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin said last night 70-year-old Manafort could expect to get 10 years in prison.
In the aftermath of a Trump supporter violently attacking BBC cameraman Ron Skeans at Donald Trump’s El Paso rally this week, White House press secretary raised some eyebrows during an interview with Fox & Friends as she defended the president.
“The idea that the president or anybody on his team or in his administration would encourage violence is absolutely absurd,” Sanders said. “The president stopped, asked and made sure everyone was okay before continuing on with the event. Certainly, we condemn violence in any form against anyone, and that certainly includes the press.”
Sarah Sanders said this morning on “Fox & Friends” that it’s “absolutely absurd” to suggest Trump has encouraged violence at rallies. @KenMeyer91 lists some of the examples that show otherwise. https://t.co/hC1ltMGzAJ
Mediaite has much more of the Trumpster’s history of violent histrionics here.
Absolutely Absurd that anyone thinks Sarah Sanders isn’t a proper liar. https://t.co/aSiZjgZ56K— Alvin aqua Blanco | Jabari Warrior (@Aqua174) February 13, 2019
Buzzfeed is reporting that Donald Trump instructed his former ‘fixer,’ Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress regarding plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.
The Buzzfeed article is said to be based on “interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Organization and internal company emails, text messages, and a cache of other documents.”
President Donald Trump directed his longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter.
Trump also supported a plan, set up by Cohen, to visit Russia during the presidential campaign, in order to personally meet President Vladimir Putin and jump-start the tower negotiations. “Make it happen,” the sources said Trump told Cohen.
And even as Trump told the public he had no business deals with Russia, the sources said Trump and his children Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. received regular, detailed updates about the real estate development from Cohen, whom they put in charge of the project.
Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying about the deal in testimony and in a two-page statement to the Senate and House intelligence committees. Special counsel Robert Mueller noted that Cohen’s false claim that the project ended in January 2016 was an attempt to “minimize links between the Moscow Project and Individual 1” — widely understood to be Trump — “in hopes of limiting the ongoing Russia investigations.”
Now the two sources have told BuzzFeed News that Cohen also told the special counsel that after the election, the president personally instructed him to lie — by claiming that negotiations ended months earlier than they actually did — in order to obscure Trump’s involvement.
There’s much more at the link.
Trump’s current lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, responded to the report saying, “If you believe Cohen I can get you a great deal on the Brooklyn Bridge.”
But as many point out, the Buzzfeed report doesn’t rely on information from Cohen.
The report dropped at 10:11pm ET last night, so the Trumpster came out swinging this morning on Twitter:
Kevin Corke, @FoxNews “Don’t forget, Michael Cohen has already been convicted of perjury and fraud, and as recently as this week, the Wall Street Journal has suggested that he may have stolen tens of thousands of dollars….” Lying to reduce his jail time! Watch father-in-law!
Folks are now looking back at the testimony Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, William Barr, gave this week with new eyes as he was directly asked if “a president persuading a person to commit perjury would be obstruction?”
Klobuchar: A president persuading a person to commit perjury would be obstruction. Is that right?
Barr: Yes
Klobuchar: You also said that a president, or any person, convincing a witness to change testimony would be obstruction. Is that right?
The allegation that the President of the United States may have suborned perjury before our committee in an effort to curtail the investigation and cover up his business dealings with Russia is among the most serious to date. We will do what’s necessary to find out if it’s true. https://t.co/GljBAFqOjh— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) January 18, 2019
Those of us in law enforcement call this obstruction of justice. You go to prison if convicted. https://t.co/x6mTVL6qHR— Andrew Janz (@JanzAndrew) January 18, 2019
