November 29, 2018

Elizabeth Warren slams Trump trade deal as just 'NAFTA 2.0'

Source: The Hill



BY CHRIS MILLS RODRIGO - 11/29/18 01:20 PM EST

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is coming out against President Trump's new trade deal with Canada and Mexico, claiming it fails to fix the most harmful aspects of the original pact.

"As it’s currently written, Trump’s deal won’t stop the serious and ongoing harm NAFTA [the North American Free Trade Agreement] causes for American workers," Warren says in prepared remarks for an address at the American University Law School in Washington, D.C. later Thursday."It won’t stop outsourcing, it won’t raise wages, and it won’t create jobs. It’s NAFTA 2.0."

-snip-

"For example, NAFTA 2.0 has better labor standards on paper but it doesn’t give American workers enough tools to enforce those standards," she says. "Without swift and certain enforcement of these new labor standards, big corporations will continue outsourcing jobs to Mexico to so they can pay workers less.

"NAFTA 2.0 is also stuffed with handouts that will let big drug companies lock in the high prices they charge for many drugs. The new rules will make it harder to bring down drug prices for seniors and anyone else who needs access to life-saving medicine," Warren adds.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/finance/trade/418935-elizabeth-warren-slams-trumps-umsca-its-nafta-20

November 29, 2018

Methodist church sign reads: 'I was a stranger and you tear gassed me... wait a second'

BY JUSTIN WISE - 11/29/18 01:26 PM EST



A message questioning U.S. border agents' use of tear gas at the southern border was posted outside the United Methodist Building in Washington, D.C., this week.

"I was a stranger, and you tear gassed me.'... Wait a second," the church's outside message board read.

The building is adjacent to the the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court.

Warren Gill, a spokesperson for the General Board of Church and Society, the proprietor of the building, told The Hill on Thursday that the group "posted the sign to highlight the disconnect between the words of Jesus and the actions of the U.S. government."

"The United Methodist Church has made clear that welcoming sojourners is central to our faithfulness to scripture," Gill said. "I spoke with migrants on a recent trip to the U.S.-Mexico border. People are fleeing authentic and disturbing violence, violence most Americans only see in fiction... People are fleeing this violence and were welcomed at the border with tear gas."

Gill added that he believes "Jesus was clear" and that individuals "are called to love our neighbors and protect children."

more
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/418936-message-posted-outside-dc-united-methodist-building-i-was-a

November 29, 2018

CNN panel: 'His attorneys are pulling what's left of their hair out'

CNN panel stunned by Trump’s crazed press briefing: ‘His attorneys are pulling what’s left of their hair out’

November 29, 2018

Reporter say Trump's lies show Russia has kompromat over president

November 29, 2018

Key Dem, in reversal, will back Pelosi

Source: The Hill


BY MIKE LILLIS - 11/29/18 11:17 AM EST

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) said Thursday he’s now likely to support Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for Speaker, just over a week after he signed a letter designed to block the longtime Democratic leader from taking the gavel next year.

“We’re pretty much there,” Lynch told The Hill Thursday morning in the Capitol. “Some details need to be cleared up, but I think that we’re in a good place. And I think she would agree with that.”

Asked if he’s leaning toward supporting her, Lynch said, “Yeah, I am. That’s fair.”

Lynch was one of the 16 Democrats to sign a Nov. 19 letter designed to demonstrate that Pelosi lacks the 218 votes she needs to win the Speaker’s gavel on the House floor on Jan. 3.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/418902-in-reversal-lynch-likely-to-support-pelosi

November 29, 2018

Fox News Hosts Dismiss Cohen Bombshell: Why Should We Believe Someone With History of Lying?

by Ken Meyer | Nov 29th, 2018, 12:55 pm

The hosts of Fox News’s Outnumbered dismissed Thursday’s bombshell news about Michael Cohen — arguing he lost his credibility the first time he was caught lying.

Cohen is the center of a new political firestorm after it was revealed that he is cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Trump’s longtime former lawyer and fixer also pleaded guilty Thursday morning to lying to Congress in his testimony about President Trump‘s real estate dealings with Moscow.

Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright was Thursday’s #OneLuckyGuy, and he stressed that the new development highlights Trump’s dishonesty about his connections to Russia.

Fox News host Harris Faulkner interjected to defend the president from Cohen — who she said has a “history of lying.”

“You believe Michael Cohen, who has lied about other things, talking about the president and being a witness?” Faulkner asked Seawright incredulously. “So there are different points that you believe from somebody who has a history of lying?”

Harris did not question whether the president — who has lied more than 6,000 times in his 600 days in office, per the Washington Post fact checker — has a history of lying himself.

more
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-news-hosts-dismiss-cohen-bombshell-why-should-we-believe-someone-with-history-of-lying/

November 29, 2018

Experts Agree: Robert Mueller Just Played Donald Trump Like a Fiddle

by Colin Kalmbacher | 11:02 am, November 29th, 2018

President Donald Trump‘s longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty on Thursday to making several false statements in front of Congress. During an early morning appearance at a downtown Manhattan courthouse, Cohen admitted to making intentionally false statements about several matters related to Trump’s business dealings. This turn of events suggests that Robert Mueller intentionally leveled a surprise attack against the 45th president of the United States.

Why’s that? It’s all about the timeline here.

President Trump just last week submitted a series of written answers to several questions posed by the special counsel’s office. These questions were strictly related to one prong of Mueller’s wide-ranging inquiry: Russian electoral interference during the 2016 presidential campaign. That is, Trump’s answers about alleged obstruction of justice have yet to be received–and are not expected to be provided in written form for that matter.

Cohen’s plea more or less comes immediately after Mueller’s team took the time to review Trump’s on the record statements–statements made under penalty of perjury. And legal experts say that’s no coincidence.

CNN legal analyst Ross Garber was one of the first to raise the timing issue via Twitter.

“Timing of Cohen plea (right after Trump turned in answers) may be more than coincidental,” he wrote. “Mueller might not have wanted to tip his hand before answers were provided.”

more
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/experts-agree-robert-mueller-just-played-donald-trump-like-a-fiddle/

November 29, 2018

Giuliani Accuses Mueller of Trying to Sabotage Trump's G20 Trip With Bombshell on 'Proven Liar'...

Source: Mediate


Giuliani Accuses Mueller of Trying to Sabotage Trump’s G20 Trip With Bombshell on ‘Proven Liar’ Michael Cohen

by Ken Meyer | Nov 29th, 2018, 11:51 am

-snip-

Cohen, a longtime former lawyer for President Donald Trump, pled guilty in federal court Thursday morning for lying to Congress about the timeline of Trump’s business dealings with Russia. The president returned fire by calling Cohen a “weak person” who’s lying in order to get his sentence reduced.

Now, Trump’s current attorney is joining the war of words. In a statement, Giuliani called Cohen a “proven liar” with legal troubles that have “nothing to do with the Trump Organization.” Giuliani also suggested that Robert Mueller is trying to distract Trump with all of this as he attends the G20 summit in Argentina.

Read the full statement here, via NBC News’ Hallie Jackson:



Addendum: Giuliani called Cohen “honorable” and “honest” earlier this year.



Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/online/giuliani-accuses-mueller-of-trying-to-sabotage-trumps-trip-to-g20-with-bombshell-on-proven-liar-michael-cohen/

November 29, 2018

Jordan ends hopes of leading Judiciary for House GOP

Source: The Hill



BY JULIE GRACE BRUFKE AND OLIVIA BEAVERS - 11/29/18 12:31 PM EST

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is bowing out of the race for ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, his spokesperson told The Hill.

Jordan was encouraged by fellow conservatives to run for the high-profile committee role amid expectations that Democrats will be issuing a slew of investigations into President Trump and his administration next Congress.

“He won’t be seeking the position, it has been made clear to him that leadership is going to be selecting someone else,” Jordan’s spokesman Ian Fury told The Hill.

Questions of whether or not Jordan would officially throw his name and his energy in the contested race circled until the final day of when he would need to declare his interest in the role.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/418927-jordan-ends-hopes-of-leading-judiciary-for-house-gop

November 29, 2018

Ryan casts doubt on 'bizarre' California election results

Source: The Hill



BY SCOTT WONG - 11/29/18 10:34 AM EST

Weeks after House Republicans lost their majority, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday cast serious doubts about the “bizarre” election system in California, where it appears that seven GOP-held seats will flip to Democratic control.

The California election system “just defies logic to me,” Ryan said during a Washington Post event.

“We were only down 26 seats the night of the election and three weeks later, we lost basically every California race. This election system they have — I can’t begin to understand what ‘ballot harvesting’ is.”

It was a remarkable comment from the retiring Speaker of the House, who until now had not joined President Trump and other Republicans who have complained about what they believed were election irregularities in places like Florida and California.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/418880-ryan-casts-doubt-on-bizarre-california-election-results