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KelleyKramer
KelleyKramer's Journal
KelleyKramer's Journal
January 12, 2019
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Sen. Jon Tester epic rant on Trump shutdown - 'Is this how you make America great again?'
‘Is this how you make America great again?’ — Sen. Jon Tester held nothing back in his impassioned speech against Trump’s shutdown
https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1083839216067493888
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Edit to add-- Youtube video for any cube rats that have twitter blocked ....
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January 12, 2019
Abrams meets with top Democrats about possible 2020 Senate bid
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/11/politics/stacey-abrams-georgia-senate-2020-meeting/index.html
Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams is discussing a possible run for one of Georgia's seats in the US Senate in 2020 and has already started talking with top Democrats about a potential bid. Abrams met separately on Thursday with both Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, to discuss a possible US Senate run in 2020, according to a source familiar with the meetings.
Abrams electrified Democrats with her unsuccessful bid for Georgia governor in 2018, losing by less than 2 points to Gov. Brian Kemp and just narrowly missing the threshold for forcing a runoff (that would have required holding Kemp, who finished with 50.2% of the vote, under 50%). And Abrams has continued to stoke speculation about her political future in the weeks since the midterms -- in mid-December, she told a crowd at Fortune's Most Powerful Women summit that "yes, I'm going to run again," adding, "What it is I'm going to run for I haven't decided yet -- stay tuned."
But the results were also encouraging for state Democrats. Abrams herself told Rolling Stone shortly after her concession that "Georgia is a purple state now," adding, "My opponent did not outperform Republican presidential candidates. I did. I outperformed Democratic presidential candidates, and what that signals is that this is a competitive state."
If Abrams does decide to jump into the state's 2020 US Senate race against incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue, she would instantly be a front-runner in the Democratic primary, and be able to draw on a fundraising base that powered her to a record-breaking $22 million haul in 2018.
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Stacey Abrams meets with top DC Democrats about possible 2020 Georgia Senate bid
Abrams meets with top Democrats about possible 2020 Senate bid
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/11/politics/stacey-abrams-georgia-senate-2020-meeting/index.html
Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams is discussing a possible run for one of Georgia's seats in the US Senate in 2020 and has already started talking with top Democrats about a potential bid. Abrams met separately on Thursday with both Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, to discuss a possible US Senate run in 2020, according to a source familiar with the meetings.
Abrams electrified Democrats with her unsuccessful bid for Georgia governor in 2018, losing by less than 2 points to Gov. Brian Kemp and just narrowly missing the threshold for forcing a runoff (that would have required holding Kemp, who finished with 50.2% of the vote, under 50%). And Abrams has continued to stoke speculation about her political future in the weeks since the midterms -- in mid-December, she told a crowd at Fortune's Most Powerful Women summit that "yes, I'm going to run again," adding, "What it is I'm going to run for I haven't decided yet -- stay tuned."
But the results were also encouraging for state Democrats. Abrams herself told Rolling Stone shortly after her concession that "Georgia is a purple state now," adding, "My opponent did not outperform Republican presidential candidates. I did. I outperformed Democratic presidential candidates, and what that signals is that this is a competitive state."
If Abrams does decide to jump into the state's 2020 US Senate race against incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue, she would instantly be a front-runner in the Democratic primary, and be able to draw on a fundraising base that powered her to a record-breaking $22 million haul in 2018.
.
January 12, 2019
Well well, the guy is a crooked lying grifter.. knock me down with a feather! ....
Behind the viral #GoFundTheWall fundraiser, a rising conservative star and a shadowy email harvesting operation
Brian Kolfage, a triple-amputee Air Force veteran, has operated fake news websites and fundraisers to build a lucrative email list.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/behind-viral-gofundthewall-fundraiser-rising-conservative-star-shadowy-email-harvesting-n957896
The GoFundMe fundraiser that promised to help privately fund President Donald Trump's plan for a wall spanning the length of the U.S.-Mexico border surpassed $20 million dollars in donations this week. But the man behind it — Brian Kolfage, a rising conservative media star — may have had another goal.
Through his border-wall campaign, he claims to have gathered 3.5 million email addresses, which are essential to his broader operation — a wide-ranging and multipronged effort to collect a list of Trump supporters who have proven to be sources of donations for conservative efforts, former employees told NBC News.
According to former employees and public records including website archives, Nevada business registrations and property records, Kolfage has repeatedly created GoFundMe campaigns and published inflammatory fake news articles, pushing them both from websites that he sought to hide behind shell companies and false identities, in part to harvest email addresses. Those addresses were then used to push people back to Kolfage’s websites, to sell a brand of coffee he owns, or to be stockpiled for future use by conservative campaigns.
Six days after the campaign was launched, it was edited to include a new call: "AFTER DONATING, SIGN OUR PETITION WE NEED 100 million signatures.” The text repeats four times at the top of the page before any description about the fundraiser itself. A spokesperson for GoFundMe told NBC News that all donors would be refunded because Kolfage had changed the language midcampaign, erasing an earlier pledge to “refund every single penny” if the goal of $1 billion was not met. Those donors will also be offered a way to refuse the refund and instead have it routed to a new charity set up by Kolfage, the spokesperson said.
.
Man behind #GoFundTheWall fundraiser, also runs a fake news and shadowy email harvesting operation
Well well, the guy is a crooked lying grifter.. knock me down with a feather! ....
Behind the viral #GoFundTheWall fundraiser, a rising conservative star and a shadowy email harvesting operation
Brian Kolfage, a triple-amputee Air Force veteran, has operated fake news websites and fundraisers to build a lucrative email list.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/behind-viral-gofundthewall-fundraiser-rising-conservative-star-shadowy-email-harvesting-n957896
The GoFundMe fundraiser that promised to help privately fund President Donald Trump's plan for a wall spanning the length of the U.S.-Mexico border surpassed $20 million dollars in donations this week. But the man behind it — Brian Kolfage, a rising conservative media star — may have had another goal.
Through his border-wall campaign, he claims to have gathered 3.5 million email addresses, which are essential to his broader operation — a wide-ranging and multipronged effort to collect a list of Trump supporters who have proven to be sources of donations for conservative efforts, former employees told NBC News.
According to former employees and public records including website archives, Nevada business registrations and property records, Kolfage has repeatedly created GoFundMe campaigns and published inflammatory fake news articles, pushing them both from websites that he sought to hide behind shell companies and false identities, in part to harvest email addresses. Those addresses were then used to push people back to Kolfage’s websites, to sell a brand of coffee he owns, or to be stockpiled for future use by conservative campaigns.
Six days after the campaign was launched, it was edited to include a new call: "AFTER DONATING, SIGN OUR PETITION WE NEED 100 million signatures.” The text repeats four times at the top of the page before any description about the fundraiser itself. A spokesperson for GoFundMe told NBC News that all donors would be refunded because Kolfage had changed the language midcampaign, erasing an earlier pledge to “refund every single penny” if the goal of $1 billion was not met. Those donors will also be offered a way to refuse the refund and instead have it routed to a new charity set up by Kolfage, the spokesperson said.
.
January 7, 2019
When the government eventually reopens, park experts warn reversing damage won't be as easy as throwing out the trash.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/01/why-national-parks-trashed-during-government-shutdown/
NATIONAL PARKS ARE America's public lands, but right now they're America's trashcans.
That's because the U.S. federal government, embattled over funding for a border wall, has shut down, leaving national parks open and largely unattended. Since the shutdown began, brimming trashcans, overflowing toilets, and trespassing has been reported at many parks locations.
“Never before have I seen the federal government tempt fate in national parks the way we are today,” says Diane Regas, president of the Trust for Public Land. “It's not about what has happened already. It's about what could happen if you don't have the appropriate staffing.”
Understaffed parks can also be dangerous for visitors. Three deaths have been reported in parks since the shutdown, and one injured man was carried to safety by strangers passing through.
Open for business?
According to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), staffing varies by park, but some 16,000 parks service employees are furloughed, leaving a small number active for policing and security. The government shut down three times in 2018, but only three days last January and less than a day that following February. As of Friday, the government had been partially shut down for 13 days.
Impacts on people and wildlife
But now, “exposure to sewage is a huge risk to human health,” says Regas. On Wednesday, campsites at Joshua Tree National Park in California were forced to shut down as pit toilets reached capacity. The NPCA also says human waste has been seen on roads and in open areas.
Regas says the lack of staffing has led to little information on the scale of the problem.
Leaving trash out in the open could also upset the delicate balance parks must maintain between visitors and wildlife. “For the past couple of decades the park service has worked hard to ween the black bear population from human food,” says Jarvis. Once animals like bears or coyotes begin to associate humans with food, Jarvis says the risk that an animal could attack or have to be euthanized increases.
Adding to a billion-dollar backlog
Already, the National Park Service backlog includes $11.6 billion worth of deferred infrastructure projects, such as maintaining roads and waterways. Without entrance fees, parks are losing out on roughly $400,000 a day.
Once the government reopens, Jarvis says park employees will be responsible for cleaning up the mess left by visitors, further delaying projects that have already been deferred. No news about any additional funding to assist in the clean-up has been announced.
It's unclear how much trash has accumulated thus far. A calculation by the news outlet Quartz estimated 27 tons of trash has been left at Yosemite. A report from NPCA estimated that 100 million pounds of trash was thrown away at National Parks in 2015, and maintaining clean parks requires functioning infrastructure and visitor education.
Both Regas and Jarvis say the parks should be fully shut down until the government reopens to prevent any further damage.
Lamfrom says the full scale of the problem is yet to be determined but clean up timelines will range in length. “Some [efforts] will take weeks or months. Some will last generations. Some may not be able to be fixed.”
.
National parks face years of damage from government shutdown
National parks face years of damage from government shutdownWhen the government eventually reopens, park experts warn reversing damage won't be as easy as throwing out the trash.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/01/why-national-parks-trashed-during-government-shutdown/
NATIONAL PARKS ARE America's public lands, but right now they're America's trashcans.
That's because the U.S. federal government, embattled over funding for a border wall, has shut down, leaving national parks open and largely unattended. Since the shutdown began, brimming trashcans, overflowing toilets, and trespassing has been reported at many parks locations.
“Never before have I seen the federal government tempt fate in national parks the way we are today,” says Diane Regas, president of the Trust for Public Land. “It's not about what has happened already. It's about what could happen if you don't have the appropriate staffing.”
Understaffed parks can also be dangerous for visitors. Three deaths have been reported in parks since the shutdown, and one injured man was carried to safety by strangers passing through.
Open for business?
According to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), staffing varies by park, but some 16,000 parks service employees are furloughed, leaving a small number active for policing and security. The government shut down three times in 2018, but only three days last January and less than a day that following February. As of Friday, the government had been partially shut down for 13 days.
Impacts on people and wildlife
But now, “exposure to sewage is a huge risk to human health,” says Regas. On Wednesday, campsites at Joshua Tree National Park in California were forced to shut down as pit toilets reached capacity. The NPCA also says human waste has been seen on roads and in open areas.
Regas says the lack of staffing has led to little information on the scale of the problem.
Leaving trash out in the open could also upset the delicate balance parks must maintain between visitors and wildlife. “For the past couple of decades the park service has worked hard to ween the black bear population from human food,” says Jarvis. Once animals like bears or coyotes begin to associate humans with food, Jarvis says the risk that an animal could attack or have to be euthanized increases.
Adding to a billion-dollar backlog
Already, the National Park Service backlog includes $11.6 billion worth of deferred infrastructure projects, such as maintaining roads and waterways. Without entrance fees, parks are losing out on roughly $400,000 a day.
Once the government reopens, Jarvis says park employees will be responsible for cleaning up the mess left by visitors, further delaying projects that have already been deferred. No news about any additional funding to assist in the clean-up has been announced.
It's unclear how much trash has accumulated thus far. A calculation by the news outlet Quartz estimated 27 tons of trash has been left at Yosemite. A report from NPCA estimated that 100 million pounds of trash was thrown away at National Parks in 2015, and maintaining clean parks requires functioning infrastructure and visitor education.
Both Regas and Jarvis say the parks should be fully shut down until the government reopens to prevent any further damage.
Lamfrom says the full scale of the problem is yet to be determined but clean up timelines will range in length. “Some [efforts] will take weeks or months. Some will last generations. Some may not be able to be fixed.”
.
January 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/RepBrendanBoyle/status/1081987697806376961
The Trump White House claims 4,000 suspected terrorists have been caught crossing our southern border. Here is the exact number, according to official government records...
It’s not 4,000.
It’s not 400.
It’s not 40.
It’s not even 4.
It’s 0.
Trump is lying. Period.
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US Rep Brendan Boyle on Trumps claim that 4000 suspected terrorist caught at the border ...
https://twitter.com/RepBrendanBoyle/status/1081987697806376961
The Trump White House claims 4,000 suspected terrorists have been caught crossing our southern border. Here is the exact number, according to official government records...
It’s not 4,000.
It’s not 400.
It’s not 40.
It’s not even 4.
It’s 0.
Trump is lying. Period.
.
January 6, 2019
Clock Tower at Trump Hotel Is Open, Staffed With Rangers Despite Shutdown
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/01/clock-tower-at-trump-international-hotel-is-open-staffed-with-rangers-despite-shutdown.html
?width=780&height=520&rect=3648x2432&offset=0x534
Tourists who visit Washington, D.C. have limited options on what they can enjoy in the nation’s capital with the partial government shutdown underway. But one thing they can do is go visit the historic clock tower at the Trump International Hotel. It isn’t really the most popular tourist attraction but, hey, considering the Smithsonian museums are closed it’s at least something. And any visitor who decides to venture to the 315-foot-high clock tower will be greeted by National Park Service rangers, who are working normally despite the shutdown.
The General Services Administration, which leases the building to the Trump Organization, insists that the fact that the 120-year-old clock tower is open now has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it houses a hotel with the president’s name on it. Whether that’s true or not, it feels like something that could help the president make some money is getting preferential treatment. At the very least, “the Trump administration appears to have gone out of its way to keep the attraction in the federally owned building that houses the Trump hotel open and staffed with National Park Service rangers, even as other federal agencies shut all but the most essential services,” as the Associated Press puts it.
The Trump International Hotel touts the “panoramic views of the capital city” from the Clock Tower as one of the “highlights” of the property. That “highlight” appears to be getting busier than normal these days as “tour operators figure it out,” one ranger said. Some are starting to ask questions. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to try to understand why the clock tower was open. “At the very least, this smells funny,” Noah Bookbinder, the group’s executive director, said.
-snip-
It isn’t just watchdog groups that are sensing some possible impropriety. Rep. Bill Pascrell from New Jersey took to Twitter raise his suspicions that tax dollars were being used to benefit the president’s pocket. “The Trump admin is using your tax dollars to keep an @NPS site at his luxury hotel open while the rest of Americans are wading through garbage and locked gates,” he tweeted earlier in the week. “The corruption and disgrace of this govt are without bottom.”
.
Clock Tower at Trump Hotel Is Open, Staffed With National Park Service Rangers Despite Shutdown
Clock Tower at Trump Hotel Is Open, Staffed With Rangers Despite Shutdown
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/01/clock-tower-at-trump-international-hotel-is-open-staffed-with-rangers-despite-shutdown.html
?width=780&height=520&rect=3648x2432&offset=0x534
Tourists who visit Washington, D.C. have limited options on what they can enjoy in the nation’s capital with the partial government shutdown underway. But one thing they can do is go visit the historic clock tower at the Trump International Hotel. It isn’t really the most popular tourist attraction but, hey, considering the Smithsonian museums are closed it’s at least something. And any visitor who decides to venture to the 315-foot-high clock tower will be greeted by National Park Service rangers, who are working normally despite the shutdown.
The General Services Administration, which leases the building to the Trump Organization, insists that the fact that the 120-year-old clock tower is open now has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it houses a hotel with the president’s name on it. Whether that’s true or not, it feels like something that could help the president make some money is getting preferential treatment. At the very least, “the Trump administration appears to have gone out of its way to keep the attraction in the federally owned building that houses the Trump hotel open and staffed with National Park Service rangers, even as other federal agencies shut all but the most essential services,” as the Associated Press puts it.
The Trump International Hotel touts the “panoramic views of the capital city” from the Clock Tower as one of the “highlights” of the property. That “highlight” appears to be getting busier than normal these days as “tour operators figure it out,” one ranger said. Some are starting to ask questions. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to try to understand why the clock tower was open. “At the very least, this smells funny,” Noah Bookbinder, the group’s executive director, said.
-snip-
It isn’t just watchdog groups that are sensing some possible impropriety. Rep. Bill Pascrell from New Jersey took to Twitter raise his suspicions that tax dollars were being used to benefit the president’s pocket. “The Trump admin is using your tax dollars to keep an @NPS site at his luxury hotel open while the rest of Americans are wading through garbage and locked gates,” he tweeted earlier in the week. “The corruption and disgrace of this govt are without bottom.”
.
December 23, 2018
The Special Counsel Is Bearing Down on Roger Stone
The longtime Trump adviser appears to have asked an associate to obtain anti-Clinton emails from WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/12/mueller-appears-close-indicting-stone-alleged-lies/578794/?utm_term=2018-12-21T11%3A00%3A22&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
?mod=1545364675
Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, appears to be at the center of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into a potential conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia because of his uncanny predictions throughout 2016 about WikiLeaks, which published Democratic documents stolen by Russia during the election.
The self-proclaimed “dirty trickster” said several times in 2016 that he was directly in touch with Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. But he has since walked that back, drawing more scrutiny from congressional and federal investigators and ensnaring several of his contacts in the process. “I had no contact with Assange,” Stone told ABC earlier this month, despite the fact that he exchanged private messages with WikiLeaks on Twitter in October 2016. He also said he would never turn on the president. “There’s no circumstance under which I would testify against the president, because I’d have to bear false witness against him,” Stone said. “I’d have to make things up, and I’m not going to do that.”
Now it could soon be Roger Stone’s time in the barrel. The House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to release the official transcript of his testimony to Mueller, days after Mueller formally requested it—the last step necessary for prosecutors to bring a charge of lying to Congress, according to The Washington Post.
Mueller’s team has proved highly successful so far in getting even Trump’s most loyal associates to “flip” on the president using criminal charges as leverage. Just this month, Mueller struck a formal cooperation deal with Trump’s longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen after charging him with lying to Congress about a Russian real-estate deal he and Trump were pursuing in 2016. If Stone is charged by Mueller with a similar crime and decides to cooperate rather than face jail time, it could spell danger for the president. Stone reportedly spoke to Trump regularly during the election, and could be in a position to fill in missing details about the campaign’s ties to WikiLeaks.
MUCH more on the link-
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/12/mueller-appears-close-indicting-stone-alleged-lies/578794/?utm_term=2018-12-21T11%3A00%3A22&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
.
The Special Counsel Is Bearing Down on Roger Stone
The Special Counsel Is Bearing Down on Roger Stone
The longtime Trump adviser appears to have asked an associate to obtain anti-Clinton emails from WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/12/mueller-appears-close-indicting-stone-alleged-lies/578794/?utm_term=2018-12-21T11%3A00%3A22&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
?mod=1545364675
Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, appears to be at the center of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into a potential conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia because of his uncanny predictions throughout 2016 about WikiLeaks, which published Democratic documents stolen by Russia during the election.
The self-proclaimed “dirty trickster” said several times in 2016 that he was directly in touch with Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. But he has since walked that back, drawing more scrutiny from congressional and federal investigators and ensnaring several of his contacts in the process. “I had no contact with Assange,” Stone told ABC earlier this month, despite the fact that he exchanged private messages with WikiLeaks on Twitter in October 2016. He also said he would never turn on the president. “There’s no circumstance under which I would testify against the president, because I’d have to bear false witness against him,” Stone said. “I’d have to make things up, and I’m not going to do that.”
Now it could soon be Roger Stone’s time in the barrel. The House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to release the official transcript of his testimony to Mueller, days after Mueller formally requested it—the last step necessary for prosecutors to bring a charge of lying to Congress, according to The Washington Post.
Mueller’s team has proved highly successful so far in getting even Trump’s most loyal associates to “flip” on the president using criminal charges as leverage. Just this month, Mueller struck a formal cooperation deal with Trump’s longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen after charging him with lying to Congress about a Russian real-estate deal he and Trump were pursuing in 2016. If Stone is charged by Mueller with a similar crime and decides to cooperate rather than face jail time, it could spell danger for the president. Stone reportedly spoke to Trump regularly during the election, and could be in a position to fill in missing details about the campaign’s ties to WikiLeaks.
MUCH more on the link-
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/12/mueller-appears-close-indicting-stone-alleged-lies/578794/?utm_term=2018-12-21T11%3A00%3A22&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
.
December 19, 2018
Another Migrant Girl Nearly Died After She Was Detained In New Mexico By The Border Patrol
The girl went into cardiac arrest in November, though she survived, raising more questions about what happened to Jakelin Caal, who died Dec. 8.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/johnstanton/another-migrant-girl-nearly-died-after-she-was-detained-in
?downsize=800
&output-format=auto&output-quality=auto
A highway marker directs traffic to the Antelope Wells Port of Entry in New Mexico.
LORDSBURG, NEW MEXICO — A young girl who was in the custody of US Customs and Border Protection went into cardiac arrest in November at a hospital in El Paso where she was resuscitated, a US Customs and Border Protection official told members of Congress on Tuesday. The incident occurred in the same CBP sector where a 7-year-old Guatemalan asylum seeker, Jakelin Caal, fell ill earlier this month. Caal was airlifted to El Paso, but died in the early hours of Dec. 8.
According to members of a congressional delegation that toured the CBP facilities where Caal had been held before her death, El Paso Sector Chief Aaron Hull acknowledged the earlier incident, but declined to discuss the specifics of the case — or of several other alleged health crises involving children in the sector that were raised by the lawmakers. According to a source present at the meeting, Hull said that while he’d have to review files on the case, he told the lawmakers that it was “lucky” doctors were able to save the girl’s life in November.
Following the tour, incoming Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas said “it’s clear that for quite a while this sector has not been prepared to provide proper medical attention to people … like Jakelin. A lot of us left there wondering if there’re other cases of people who were close to death that we just haven’t found out about.”
Caal’s death has renewed focus on the administration’s increasingly heavy handed immigration policies, including the use of so-called “metering” tactics at Ports of Entry that slow the processing of asylum request to a crawl, forcing thousands of families and children to wait for weeks to request asylum. On Tuesday, Castro called for CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan to resign.
.
Another Migrant Girl Nearly Died After She Was Detained In New Mexico By The Border Patrol
Another Migrant Girl Nearly Died After She Was Detained In New Mexico By The Border Patrol
The girl went into cardiac arrest in November, though she survived, raising more questions about what happened to Jakelin Caal, who died Dec. 8.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/johnstanton/another-migrant-girl-nearly-died-after-she-was-detained-in
?downsize=800 &output-format=auto&output-quality=auto
A highway marker directs traffic to the Antelope Wells Port of Entry in New Mexico.
LORDSBURG, NEW MEXICO — A young girl who was in the custody of US Customs and Border Protection went into cardiac arrest in November at a hospital in El Paso where she was resuscitated, a US Customs and Border Protection official told members of Congress on Tuesday. The incident occurred in the same CBP sector where a 7-year-old Guatemalan asylum seeker, Jakelin Caal, fell ill earlier this month. Caal was airlifted to El Paso, but died in the early hours of Dec. 8.
According to members of a congressional delegation that toured the CBP facilities where Caal had been held before her death, El Paso Sector Chief Aaron Hull acknowledged the earlier incident, but declined to discuss the specifics of the case — or of several other alleged health crises involving children in the sector that were raised by the lawmakers. According to a source present at the meeting, Hull said that while he’d have to review files on the case, he told the lawmakers that it was “lucky” doctors were able to save the girl’s life in November.
Following the tour, incoming Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas said “it’s clear that for quite a while this sector has not been prepared to provide proper medical attention to people … like Jakelin. A lot of us left there wondering if there’re other cases of people who were close to death that we just haven’t found out about.”
Caal’s death has renewed focus on the administration’s increasingly heavy handed immigration policies, including the use of so-called “metering” tactics at Ports of Entry that slow the processing of asylum request to a crawl, forcing thousands of families and children to wait for weeks to request asylum. On Tuesday, Castro called for CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan to resign.
.
December 19, 2018
Trump signed letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow project despite Giuliani insisting he didn't
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/18/politics/trump-signed-letter-of-intent-rudy-giuliani-moscow/index.html
(CNN)A newly obtained document shows President Donald Trump signed a letter of intent to move forward with negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Russia, despite his attorney Rudy Giuliani claiming on Sunday the document was never signed.
CNN's Chris Cuomo obtained a copy of the signed letter of intent that set the stage for negotiations for Trump condominiums, a hotel and commercial property in the heart of Moscow. The letter is dated October 28, 2015, and bears the President's signature.
When asked on Sunday about the letter, Giuliani incorrectly told CNN's Dana Bash that it had not been signed. "It was a real estate project. There was a letter of intent to go forward, but no one signed it," Giuliani told Bash.
-snip-
Trump did not tell the public during the 2016 presidential campaign that his company explored the business deal with Russia and instead repeatedly claimed he had "nothing to do with Russia." But the project, which was ultimately scrapped, would've given Trump's company a $4 million upfront fee, no upfront costs, a percentage of the sales and control over marketing and design. The deal also included an opportunity to name the hotel spa after Trump's daughter Ivanka.
The special counsel's team investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election alleges the deal could have been lucrative for the Trump Organization. While the potential Trump Tower Moscow deal was on the table, then-candidate Trump was speaking positively about working with Russian President Vladimir Putin and minimizing Russia's aggressive military moves around the world.
.
Trump DID sign letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow project despite Giuliani insisting he didn't
Trump signed letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow project despite Giuliani insisting he didn't
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/18/politics/trump-signed-letter-of-intent-rudy-giuliani-moscow/index.html
(CNN)A newly obtained document shows President Donald Trump signed a letter of intent to move forward with negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Russia, despite his attorney Rudy Giuliani claiming on Sunday the document was never signed.
CNN's Chris Cuomo obtained a copy of the signed letter of intent that set the stage for negotiations for Trump condominiums, a hotel and commercial property in the heart of Moscow. The letter is dated October 28, 2015, and bears the President's signature.
When asked on Sunday about the letter, Giuliani incorrectly told CNN's Dana Bash that it had not been signed. "It was a real estate project. There was a letter of intent to go forward, but no one signed it," Giuliani told Bash.
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Trump did not tell the public during the 2016 presidential campaign that his company explored the business deal with Russia and instead repeatedly claimed he had "nothing to do with Russia." But the project, which was ultimately scrapped, would've given Trump's company a $4 million upfront fee, no upfront costs, a percentage of the sales and control over marketing and design. The deal also included an opportunity to name the hotel spa after Trump's daughter Ivanka.
The special counsel's team investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election alleges the deal could have been lucrative for the Trump Organization. While the potential Trump Tower Moscow deal was on the table, then-candidate Trump was speaking positively about working with Russian President Vladimir Putin and minimizing Russia's aggressive military moves around the world.
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December 17, 2018
Trump says today that he doesn’t know campaign finance law. But he became acquainted with it years ago as a donor— by breaking it.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-history-of-campaign-finance-wrongdoing-destroys-his-new-defense?via=twitter_page
Donald Trump, the man who once bragged on national television in 2015 about his remarkable knowledge surrounding campaign donations, declaring, “I know more about contributions than anybody,” now has a brand new defense to his alleged federal election crimes: He suddenly claims to know nothing about how campaign donations work. The problem with this defense, though, is this thing called “Google,” which details Trump’s long history of being investigated and even fined for violating campaign laws.
We heard this new defense on Thursday in response to Trump’s long-time lawyer Michael Cohen telling prosecutors that Trump directed him to violate federal campaign laws. Trump stated via Twitter, “I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law. It is called ‘advice of counsel.’” (It’s like the end of an episode of Law & Order when both suspects claim the other is the real ring leader.)
This may come as a surprise to some, but “advice of counsel” is an actual legal defense that people have utilized effectively to shield themselves from criminal liability, although it’s a longshot. But if Trump were to have any chance with this defense in a courtroom, he must show that in good faith he relied on his lawyer’s advice and had no idea that the conduct may have been criminal.
The reality is that Trump can’t in good faith claim he was oblivious to the rigors of campaign finance laws, because he was personally investigated from 2011 through 2013 for possible campaign violations by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Add to that, in 2000, Trump paid a then-record fine for violating New York lobbying laws for failing to report that he was the person secretly financing a campaign. These experiences would clearly seem to put Trump on notice that any effort to undermine transparency when it comes to campaigns is not only wrong but could result in civil or criminal penalties.
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Trump's History of Campaign Finance Wrongdoing Destroys His New Defense
Trump’s History of Campaign Finance Wrongdoing Destroys His New DefenseTrump says today that he doesn’t know campaign finance law. But he became acquainted with it years ago as a donor— by breaking it.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-history-of-campaign-finance-wrongdoing-destroys-his-new-defense?via=twitter_page
Donald Trump, the man who once bragged on national television in 2015 about his remarkable knowledge surrounding campaign donations, declaring, “I know more about contributions than anybody,” now has a brand new defense to his alleged federal election crimes: He suddenly claims to know nothing about how campaign donations work. The problem with this defense, though, is this thing called “Google,” which details Trump’s long history of being investigated and even fined for violating campaign laws.
We heard this new defense on Thursday in response to Trump’s long-time lawyer Michael Cohen telling prosecutors that Trump directed him to violate federal campaign laws. Trump stated via Twitter, “I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law. It is called ‘advice of counsel.’” (It’s like the end of an episode of Law & Order when both suspects claim the other is the real ring leader.)
This may come as a surprise to some, but “advice of counsel” is an actual legal defense that people have utilized effectively to shield themselves from criminal liability, although it’s a longshot. But if Trump were to have any chance with this defense in a courtroom, he must show that in good faith he relied on his lawyer’s advice and had no idea that the conduct may have been criminal.
The reality is that Trump can’t in good faith claim he was oblivious to the rigors of campaign finance laws, because he was personally investigated from 2011 through 2013 for possible campaign violations by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Add to that, in 2000, Trump paid a then-record fine for violating New York lobbying laws for failing to report that he was the person secretly financing a campaign. These experiences would clearly seem to put Trump on notice that any effort to undermine transparency when it comes to campaigns is not only wrong but could result in civil or criminal penalties.
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