Clearly. Wonkagenda For Mon., Oct. 21, 2019
Mulvaney shits the bed (again), Mittens leads a crusade, and Trump pulls out of Afghanistan too. Your morning news brief.
Morning Wonketariat! Here's some of the things wemaybe talking about today.
Mulvaney spent the weekend trying to clean up all the shit he threw at the fans in Trump World on Thursday. In an interview with Chris Wallace, Mulanvey denied the quid pro quo scheme he's already publicly admitted, complaining that he "didn't speak clearly maybe." Mulvaney then made things even worse when he said Trump "still considers himself to be in the hospitality business" when he tried to defend Trump's decision to hold the 2020 G-7 at his own gaudy Miami trash palace. The rumor mill on the Hill is Jared Kushner is leading an angry mob to get Mulvaney quit-fired, but there's some in Trump World who fear Mulvaney knows too much. [ Video ]
The DOJ is trying to fade into the growing crowd of conservatives who want nothing to do with Rudy Giuliani. The shady head of the DOJ's Criminal Division, Brian Benczkowski, issued a statement last night saying he had no idea Rudy's indicted lackeys were being investigated by SDNY when Rudy begged the DOJ toobstruct justiceintervene in a fraud case against them. Axios gossips that Rudy is quickly becoming an enemy in Trump World as the fallout from his Ukrainium One shenanigans contaminates everyone around him.
While being grilled by George Stephanopoulos, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continued to play deaf, dumb, and blind about Ukrainium One, saying he "never saw" any of the quid pro quo that Mick Mulvaney admitted (and then denied). Pompeo adds that any QPQ was "hypothetical," and even IF it happened, you'd need to ask Giuliani or Mulvaney about it because he never saw the DOSSIER of conspiracy pr0n Rudy ginned up. [ Video / Transcript ]
It's brazen and stupid crap, Trump's 2020 team is selling t-shirts that say "Get Over It." I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think it's smart to sell swag that can be used as admission of a crime.
After Democrats started penciling in "emoluments clause" into their impeachment inquiry, and Republicans began to loudly whisper in the Senate's smoky cloak room, Trump will no longer hold the 2020 G-7 at his Miami trash palace.
A new poll out of Pew Research Center shows 60 percent of Americans think gun laws should be tougher, an increase from the last two years.
Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney sat down with Axios and blabbed about the dumbest thing he's ever done, race, Trump, Syria and the Kurds, the importance of character, impeachment, Ukrainium One, the Republicanism of Elizabeth Warr e n, and why he thinks Donald Trump isn't a real mensch. #HesRunning
BONUS: Ashley Feinberg found Mittens's secret social media account. A few weeks ago Mittens told McKay Coppins he was a "lurker," and didn't post a lot, prompting Feinberg to poke around. Last night Coppins tweeted that Mittens owned up to the account. Golly, this is some great gosh darn click bait!
Not to be outdone, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham tells Axios that he too is open to impeachmentifthere's evidence of "a crime." Graham goes on to call Trump "a handful" and an "equal opportunity abuser," and says his abandonment of the Syrian Kurds is "dishonorable" and a "shitshow."
Defense Secretary Mark Esper traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, in an effort to keep the Middle East from descending into complete fucking chaos. In speaking with reporters, Esper directly contradicted Trump by saying US forces in Syria weren't actually "coming home," they're actually going to Iraq. Esper also revealed the military brass was considering holding a few strategic positions in Syria (because oil, natch).
BONUS: Early this morning ABC's Adam Harvey posted video of people throwing stones and rotten fruit as US forcesretreatedwithdrew.
Stones and rotten fruit for the withdrawing US force. What a farce this has been. https: //t.co/PN82C6I18a
— Adam Harvey (@Adam Harvey) 1571643219.0
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a small group of lawmakers to Afghanistan to reassure what allies we have left in Afghanistan and Jordan that the rest of the US still has their back, even if Trump decides to grab Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by the pussy and just start kissing him.
The trips by both Pelosi and Esper come amid a less than shocking report that the US has been very quietly pulling troops out of Afghanistan. The rub here is that the troop pullout is happening despite the failure of peace talks with the Taliban (the same ones that have excluded the Afghans, and that Trump tried to sign at Camp David on 9/11).
Steve Bannon helped the nutty Trump apocalypse cult behind the Epoch Times make a movie. Bannon's tall tale is loosely based on reality, set in a world where the evil Chinese government is trying to go to war with Canada, or something equally stupid and racist.
A Wisconsin man tried to illegal base jump from a cellphone tower. It did not work out.
Here's a bad lip reading of a Joe Biden campaign ad. "NATHANIEL, NATHANIEL, NATHANIEL!"
"BIDEN 2020" — A Bad Lip Reading www.youtube.com
And here's your morning Nice Time: KITTIES!
Cats vs Invisible Wall www.youtube.com
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