Mentionable News

#41

Some mentionable lines that were heard during the funeral for George H W Bush today…very moving, and honor and love was strewn his way.

A great line from longtime Bush buddy and former Senator, Alan Simpson: ”Those who travel the high road of humility in Washington are not bothered by heavy traffic.”

“He never hated anyone… Hatred corrodes the container that its carried in,” - Sen. Simpson, in a line I’m immediately writing down to remember.

President George HW Bush on his hard (and consequential for his political career) decision to raise taxes per friend US Sen Alan Simpson, R-WY: “When the really tough choices come it’s the country not me its not about Dems or Republicans it’s for the country that I fought for”

Former Canadian PM Brian Mulroney, a long time friend of President George HW Bush, ends his eulogy with an Irish proverb: “There are good ships, and there are wood ships, the ships that sail the sea. But the best ships, are friendships, and may they always be.”

After WW2, “The rest of his life was a perennial effort to prove himself worthy of his salvation," @jmeacham says

Dear Lord, I sincerely pray/hope in my old age, someone is smuggling a bottle of vodka and a Morton’s steak into my hospital room. (in reference to comments by Sen Simpson that James Baker smuggled in a steak and vodka to his hospital room)

President Trump walks solemnly into the cathedral clutching the hand of Melania Trump, the first lady. The Obamas greet both of them. Bill glances over. But Hillary Clinton looks straight ahead.

From various tweets this am…:pray:

#respect

#42

Trump has slashed protections for 153.3 million acres of land and water and offered nearly 95 million acres of public lands and waters for oil and gas leasing.

As of September 2018, President Trump had offered 13,667,241 acres of publicly-owned land to oil and gas companies. That is more than the size of Maryland and New Jersey combined. Most of the lands offered for leasing are in the top 25% of wildest places in the contiguous U.S. and the top 25% most important areas for wildlife connectivity (Belote, et al. 2016; Theobald, 2013). Off our coasts, President Trump has offered 81,324,267 acres of publicly-owned waters to oil and gas companies.

In total, Trump has offered nearly 95 million acres of land and water for oil development. This massive amount equals an area larger than the state of Montana.

President Trump has also stripped protections for 153.3 million acres of land and water, an area larger than California and Washington combined.

https://wilderness.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=3c85766bc4c44579a2a7bb133b70e774

#43

This could be titled, “Stephen Calk Wants His Bribe Back.”

You may remember Calk from the Manafort trial. As co-owner of a Chicago bank, he approved millions in suspect loans to Manafort. Around the same time, Manafort sent an email to Jared Kushner recommending Calk for the post of Secretary of the Army. Kushner replied, “On it!” Although, Calk did not ultimately win the appointment, there’s still a strong appearance of a quid pro quo – or in, plain English, a bribe and a payoff.

You’ve got to hand it to Calk for ballsy behavior because, as the article above explains, his bank has filed a suit claiming that it, rather than the Government, should receive the proceeds from Manafort’s seized property – the very property that Manafort bought with Calk’s alleged “loan bribe”!

This is timely news since Friday we may find out if the apparent “pay-to-play” scheme between Manafort and Calk was one of the things about which Manafort lied to Mueller – thus scuttling Manafort’s plea deal.

Side note: It turns out Calk has a reputation for running a clever scam. In 2012, he and his brother bilked the city of Chicago out of $3.6 million in a shell game that was executed with such finesse, the city was unable to prosecute them even after their scheme was exposed.

#44

Republicans keep flogging a dead horse investigating Hillary Clinton’s use of private email, but when it comes to one of their own, they turn a blind eye. Same story with Ivanka.

Donald Trump’s first Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator repeatedly violated agency policy to use personal email for government business, according to newly released public records.

Scott Pruitt – who left the administration this summer after months of controversy over his spending, travel and ties with industry – used his private email account for work over a period of months, according to records recently made available to the Sierra Club.

Someone forwarded the emails to Pruitt’s government account on the day he resigned. EPA policy requires employees to do so within 20 days of any correspondence via personal accounts.

#45

Mmm… Trump, Kushner, and Whitaker all on Marine 1. Any chance Whitaker is providing Trump and Kushner with inside information on the Mueller investigation? I guess we just have to trust that he acts in an ethical manner – except we are talking about a guy who was paid to serve on the Advisory Board of a company that is now under criminal investigation for scamming its customers out of millions of dollars.

#46

You got that right… @Keaton_James

The only saving grace is that Whitaker can be held to account for anything he says within the presidential circle I believe. New Dem lead congress can subpoena him.

But perhaps Mueller has not played all his cards and even if he did, his evidence is airtight.

#Here’sToHoping

#47

A government and ethics watchdog group on Monday sued the FBI for allegedly failing to fulfill a records request pertaining to a leak to President Trump’s personal lawyer and longtime backer Rudy Giuliani.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said in its announcement of the lawsuit that information was leaked to Giuliani in October 2016, during the final weeks of the presidential campaign, giving the former New York mayor a tip that then-FBI Director James Comey was going to reopen the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she served as secretary of State.

Giuliani admitted to receiving a leak on the investigation, saying on Fox News, “Did I hear about it? You’re darn right I heard about it. And I can’t even repeat the language that I heard.”

Giuliani also teased “a surprise or two” in the days leading up to the 2016 presidential election, prompting the FBI to question him on the claims.

This lawsuit may provide some insight into Giuliani’s role in the leak. Was he just a passive recipient of confidential information from within the FBI or did he actively solicit it, using his extensive contacts within the organization? – and, if so, was Trump aware of this initiative, or did he have any role in it himself? The suit will take time to work its way through the courts, but in the meantime, it puts more pressure on Giuliani to come clean – and eventually we may get some answers. :mag_right: