LGBTQ news and entertainment
Donald Trump has released a six-page ranting hissy fit he sent to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi denouncing his impending impeachment. Continue reading “Donald Trump Sends Rambling 6-Page Hissy Fit To Nancy Pelosi”
(image via Twitter)
The White House and the Kremlin are at odds tonight over whether Trump raised election meddling today in his meeting with #Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov. The White House says he did; Lavrov says he did not
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) December 10, 2019
White House says “President Trump warned against any Russian attempts to interfere in United States elections”
In meeting with Lavrov. Lavrov just now: “No, we haven't even discussed elections.”— Julian Borger (@julianborger) December 10, 2019
Just had a very good meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and representatives of Russia. Discussed many items including Trade, Iran, North Korea, INF Treaty, Nuclear Arms Control, and Election Meddling. Look forward to continuing our dialogue in the near future! pic.twitter.com/tHecH9a9ck
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2019
Lavrov just told @ewong that Trump did not raise the election interference issue in the Oval Office https://t.co/QesbLP8GNv
— Andrew S. Weiss (@andrewsweiss) December 10, 2019
Donald Trump tweeted today that any news story that doesn’t have “an actual living name on it” should not be believed. It, of course, must be ‘fake news.’ I always think this is a bit of projection again on Trump’s part because he knows he made up ‘fake news’ sources over the years. So, he assumes everyone else does. Vox reporter Aaron Rupar reminds us of just a few times when Trump himself announced ‘fake news’ with no names attached. #TheresAlwaysATweet 
L-R Sir Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren
After much pushback from Republicans and Democrats, Donald Trump announced he will not award himself the contract to host the next G7 summit at his Florida golf resort. Trump attempted to say the decision wouldn’t enrich him because he offered to host the event ‘at cost.’ Of course, even if that were to be true (who would ever know?) the amount of world-wide press/publicity his property would get would be worth millions at a minimum. Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told Fox News’ Chris Wallace Team Trump was “surprised at the pushback” they received over the idea. As CBS News’ David Begnaud notes “it’s surprising that they were surprised.” In that Trump owns the Doral, he was going to make money off of one of the biggest annual political summits in the world.
The Acting White House COS says they were surprised at the pushback to the plan for POTUS to host the G7 at his Florida golf resort. •It’s surprising that they were surprised• Mulvaney says POTUS “considers himself to be in the the hospitality business” pic.twitter.com/XHWgfW2Bi9
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) October 20, 2019
So, Trump decided NOT to commit a felony and now he’s mad about it???
…..its own 50 to 70 unit building. Would set up better than other alternatives. I announced that I would be willing to do it at NO PROFIT or, if legally permissible, at ZERO COST to the USA. But, as usual, the Hostile Media & their Democrat Partners went CRAZY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2019
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told the press Donald Trump used military aid to Ukraine as leverage to get the Ukrainian government to investigate Trump’s political opponents. When asked if the aid was conditioned on investigating Democratic National Committee server, Mulvaney said, “We do it all the time.” He denied it to Chris Wallace, but Wallace brought the receipts. #oops “You were asked specifically by Jonathan Karl was investigating Democrats one of the conditions for holding up the aid, was part of the quid pro quo, and you said ‘it happens all the time,’” Wallace said. Mulvaney claims since he himself never uttered the words ‘quid pro quo’ it can’t be pinned on him.
When asked if military aid to Ukraine was conditioned on investigating DNC server, Mick Mulvaney said, “We do it all the time.” He denied it to Chris Wallace, but Wallace brought the receipts. #swamp pic.twitter.com/5Ja3knbvgx
— The Randy Report (@randyslovacek) October 20, 2019
Via ABC News:
The New York City Comptroller’s Office has found no evidence that Donald Trump donated to 9/11 charities in the months after the attacks, the agency said.
Trump had promised weeks after the 2001 attack to donate $10,000 to the Twin Towers Fund as part of a charity effort by “The Howard Stern Show.”
“My office has reviewed the donations made in the nearly 12 months following the attacks – and we didn’t find evidence that he contributed a single cent to the victims, our first responders, and to our city through the Twin Towers Fund,” New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, a Democrat, said in a statement to ABC News today.
“In the wake of 9/11, New Yorkers came together, healed, and rebuilt. If Donald Trump claimed to donate and didn’t, if he claimed to support New Yorkers in a time of crisis and refused, then that would be just plain wrong.”
It’s possible that the Republican presidential nominee donated after the two audit periods reviewed by Stringer’s office. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Donald Trump (photo via Flickr/WhiteHouse – public domain)
“Keep moving, people, nothing to see here …” Brad Freden, the State Department’s acting deputy assistant secretary overseeing issues in Europe and Eurasia, wrote in a Sept. 12 email obtained by The New York Times.
He said the National Security Council would not publicly announce that $141 million in State Department assistance was being restored after being held up in what the White House described as a normal review.
The money is now at the heart of an impeachment inquiry by House Democrats into whether President Trump withheld a total of $391 million in funding as he sought damaging information on his political opponents from Ukraine’s newly elected leader.
Much more at the link.
L-R Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani (screen captures)
“From the perspective of Ukrainian legislation, he did not violate anything,” former Ukrainian prosecutor general Yuri Lutsenko told The Washington Post in his first interview since the disclosure of a whistleblower complaint alleging pressure by President Trump on Ukraine’s president, Volodymr Zelensky.
Lutsenko’s comments about Hunter Biden — which echo what he told Bloomberg News in May — were significant, because Trump and his personal attorney Giuliani have sought to stir up suspicions about both Hunter and former vice president Joe Biden’s conduct in Ukraine in recent weeks. Joe Biden is leading Trump in many opinion polls ahead of the 2020 election.
Hunter Biden has denied any wrongdoing, and there is no evidence he was involved in any lawbreaking in his work in Ukraine with the country’s largest private gas company.
Giuliani has alleged that Hunter Biden was involved in corruption during his nearly five years on the board of Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company. Giuliani has not offered any evidence.
Burisma’s owner came under scrutiny by Lutsenko’s predecessors for possible abuse of power and unlawful enrichment, but Hunter Biden was never accused of any wrongdoing in the investigation.
“Hunter Biden cannot be responsible for violations of the management of Burisma that took place two years before his arrival,” Lutsenko said.
Donald Trump is that much closer to losing control of his tax filings after years of stonewalling against the presidential norm of disclosing them to the public. A federal judge on Monday rejected Trump’s argument that sitting presidents are immune from criminal investigations, and ordered Trump to turn over eight years of personal and corporate tax returns to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. The NYT reports:
The Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., has been investigating whether any New York State laws were broken when Mr. Trump and his company reimbursed the president’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, for payments he made in the run-up to the 2016 election to the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels, who had said she had an affair with Mr. Trump.
In a 75-page ruling, Judge Marrero called the president’s argument “repugnant to the nation’s governmental structure and constitutional values.” Presidents, their families, and businesses are not above the law, the judge wrote.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers sued last month to block the subpoena, arguing that the Constitution effectively makes sitting presidents immune from all criminal inquiries until they leave the White House.
Federal judge orders Trump to produce tax returns to Manhattan DA, calling his argument that a president cannot even be investigated “repugnant to the nation’s governmental structure and constitutional values.” https://t.co/7K0bRsp9Qv
— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) October 7, 2019