AUGUST 22 AND 23, 2018


NEWS AND VIEWS


THERE ARE A LARGE NUMBER OF IMPORTANT OR INTERESTING ARTICLES FOR TODAY AND YESTERDAY, SO I AM NOT COMMENTING, FOR THE MOST PART ANYWAY. I HOPE YOU FIND THEM ENJOYABLE.

"OH, WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE, WHEN FIRST WE PRACTICE TO DECEIVE ...”
(Sir Walter Scott, 1808).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12678303

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-individual-1-impact-of-michael-cohen-guilty-plea-agreement/
By JOHN DICKERSON CBS NEWS August 22, 2018, 9:25 AM
Of all the things Trump has been called, "Individual 1" may be the most damaging

VIDEO – Why This Matters
VIDEO INTERVIEW – Lanny Davis Cohen’s Attorney Explains 4:52
VIDEO – Manafort Found Guilty

President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, is now a convicted felon, pleading guilty to eight charges including tax evasion and campaign finance violations. He told a judge Mr. Trump directed him to pay hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal to influence the election. "CBS This Morning" co-host John Dickerson breaks down why this matters.

Donald Trump has been called a lot of things. But being called "Individual 1" may be the most damaging. That's how he's referred to in Michael Cohen's plea agreement.

There has been a lot of drama in the Trump presidency, but now a man with access to Mr. Trump's intimate secrets says the president directed a crime. That's what makes this moment different.

No matter what plane a president travels in, it's called Air Force One. And with presidential scandals, critics always try to make the president "Individual 1," the centerpiece of the event, even if the president has no direct involvement.

Paul Manafort, for example, was convicted of crimes he committed before he ever worked for Donald Trump. On the question of Russian collusion, the president's son and son-in-law are implicated, but he has not been. What makes the Cohen case different is that he is pointing right at the president — saying he was involved in a proven crime.

The president can't say he didn't know Cohen or wasn't involved. He's on tape.

Cohen may be lying. That was one of his key job requirements. But that's also what made him the swamp captain, navigating the material it was most important for the candidate to hide.

Mr. Trump has boasted he alone can fix the economy, North Korea, and America's trade deficit. But when it comes to Cohen's work, he must now convince people of the opposite: that he is not "Individual 1."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



https://www.marketwatch.com/story/michael-cohen-wants-you-to-pay-for-his-journey-to-tell-the-truth-about-trump-2018-08-22
Michael Cohen wants YOU to pay for his ‘journey to tell the truth about Trump’
By Shawn Langlois
Published: Aug 22, 2018 3:16 p.m. ET

PHOTOGRAPH -- Michael Cohen needs your help.
TO DONATE TO HELP COHEN, GO TO: MICHAELCOHENTRUTHFUND.COM
[I JUST GAVE $10.00 TO A MAN WHO IS STANDING AGAINST DONALD TRUMP. MAYBE YOU WILL WANT TO ALSO.]

Michael Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for his client’s mounting legal fees... and people are actually donating. In fact, the campaign has raised almost $40,000 of the targeted $500,000 in half a day.

“Michael decided to put his family and his country first. Now Michael needs your financial help — to pay his legal fees,” the page states. “The Michael Cohen Truth Fund is a transparent trust account, with all donations going to help Michael Cohen and his family as he goes forward on his journey to tell the truth about Donald Trump.”

That’s apparently good enough for “Larry Wyman” and “Tony M Riggs.” Both gave $1,000 to the cause. “Adolphus Busch” chipped in another $900.

Davis, who obviously has a vested interest as the recipient of Cohen’s legal fees, plugged the fundraiser while doing the TV rounds on Wednesday.

Here he is on NBC:

VIDEO – MICHAEL COHEN’S ATTORNEY SPEAKS OUT --TODAY
✔
@TODAYshow

“Right now, Michael Cohen needs help from the American people to tell the truth, and we’ve set up a website.” Michael Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis to @savannahguthrie

7:15 AM - Aug 22, 2018

“Michael decided to put his family and his country first. Now Michael needs your financial help — to pay his legal fees,” the page states. “The Michael Cohen Truth Fund is a transparent trust account, with all donations going to help Michael Cohen and his family as he goes forward on his journey to tell the truth about Donald Trump.”

That’s apparently good enough for “Larry Wyman” and “Tony M Riggs.” Both gave $1,000 to the cause. “Adolphus Busch” chipped in another $900.

Davis, who obviously has a vested interest as the recipient of Cohen’s legal fees, plugged the fundraiser while doing the TV rounds on Wednesday.

Here he is on NBC:

VIDEO
TODAY
✔
@TODAYshow
“Right now, Michael Cohen needs help from the American people to tell the truth, and we’ve set up a website.” Michael Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis to @savannahguthrie

7:15 AM - Aug 22, 2018
558
448 people are talking about this

And here he is shilling for the fund with Megyn Kelly, which didn’t go over too well with the studio audience starting at the 7:30 mark in this clip:


The reaction was pretty much the same across social media, yet the donations continued to pour into the GoFundMe page:


Olivia Messer 💀
✔
@OliviaMesser
What does Cohen need a $500,000 truth fund for? a) prison is rent-free and b) he bought a manhattan apartment last month for 6.7 million

10:43 AM - Aug 22, 2018
175
56 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy

m i t h
@ManInTheHoody
prisoners in 17 states started a prison strike yesterday to protest getting paid 10 cents an hour which is basically slavery.

michael cohen's gofundme raised $38,000 in less than 12 hours.

11:42 AM - Aug 22, 2018
175
105 people are talking about this

Cohen is facing up to five years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to helping Trump pay hush money to two women. Davis also said Cohen wants to testify that Trump knew of an infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting and the Russian hacking of Democratic institutions before they happened.


I THINK THAT THE CHARLOTTESVILLE EVENTS BROUGHT THE REALITY TO PEOPLE’S NOTICE, WHEREAS AS A SOCIETY WE HAD BEEN SMUG AND UNCONCERNED ABOUT THE “RACIAL PROBLEMS,” AS LONG AS OUR HOME TOWN WASN’T AFFECTED. AS SHOCKING AS IT WAS, THAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN. WE ARE, AS KAINE SAID, RESPONDING WITH SOME COMMITMENT TO HONESTY ON THE ISSUE. INSTEAD OF THINKING THAT IT ISN’T MY JOB TO FIX THE PROBLEM, WE ARE MOVING TOWARD A GROUP CONSCIENCE THAT DOES INCORPORATE PURPOSEFUL INCLUSIVENESS. THAT MEANS THAT IF SOMEONE IS SHY, WITHDRAWN, LESS THAN POLISHED IN THEIR MANNER, THE WRONG SKIN COLOR, POOR, UNDEREDUCATED, PHYSICALLY DISABLED, WE WILL MAKE A POINT OF MAKING THEIR ACQUAINTANCE AND HELPING THEM TO BE INCLUDED. THAT’S WHAT MOST OF OUR PROBLEMS ARE ABOUT, I THINK – MAKING OUTREACH.

By EMILY TILLETT CBS NEWS August 12, 2018, 10:47 AM
Sen. Tim Kaine says Charlottesville violence spawned "energetic activism" in election year

CBS NEWS VIDEO – JEFF PEGUES INTERVIEW 3:15

CHARLOTTESVILLE AND TRUMP 9:41

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said that in the year after a white nationalist rally turned deadly in the city of Charlottesville, a spirit of "energetic activism" has helped turn the tide in local Virginia politics.

Kaine said that while the violence in Charlottesville was "shocking" people stood up and said, "We're not going to let our state be defined" by hate.

"It was seen most directly in the Virginia elections in November of 2017," Kaine told "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan. "We elected a statewide ticket, including the second African-American elected to statewide office, Justin Fairfax. We elected- Democrats elected more members of the lower legislative house than in any year since the 1870s. And who was elected? Of the 15 people that got elected with this energetic turnout, 11 of the 15 were women, African-American, Asian-American, Latino-American, immigrant-born, LGBT, transgender. It was a real rainbow coalition of who the Virginia of today is."

Brennan noted that Kaine's opponent in November's midterm elections, Corey Stewart, is running on the platform of "taking back our heritage," directly countering Kaine's message of hopeful grassroots energy.

As a candidate for governor in 2017, Stewart spoke against removing Confederate monuments, including the Robert E. Lee statue that prompted the violent protests in Charlottesville last year. Stewart called efforts to remove the monuments "an attempt to destroy traditional America."

"Again, look who won last year," Kaine said. "It wasn't the people who want to secede or go backwards who were winning elections. Charlottesville was a shock. And what I think it has created is an energy of people of goodwill standing up and saying, 'There will not be hate. Hate will not define who we are. We're on a path to progress, and we're going to stay there.'"

Asked if the issue of identity politics is something Democrats should be embracing ahead of the midterms as they seek to regain control of the House and Senate, Kaine said that equality should be America's "North Star."

"We got to be true to the equality principle. And we have to reject division and embrace equality. That's not identity politics. That's not political correctness. That's being true to the fundamental Virginia and American value that equality is the North Star we should pursue," Kaine said.

He added, "We're imperfect people. We may never get to equality in the pure sense of it. But that's got to be our North Star. And if somebody says, 'Oh that's identity politics,' or, 'That's political correctness,' you just say, 'No, if we're not for equality as a nation, what are we?' Of course we are. That's the very foundation of who we are."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



DO THEY IMPEACH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AS WELL AS THE PRESIDENT? WHAT ABOUT JUST ARRESTING HIM IMMEDIATELY AND CHARGING HIM WITH GRAND THEFT? HE HAS STOLEN FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, HERE. I WONDER WHAT THE PENALTY IS. HE WAS ONE OF TRUMP’S FIRST SPONSORS, TOO. THIS SHOULD EMBARRASS EVEN THE PRESIDENT, THOUGH HE CAN BLUFF HIS WAY THROUGH ALMOST ANYTHING. I DON’T WANT TO SAY THAT ALL REPUBLICANS ARE DISHONEST, BUT OUR LUCK IN THE LAST TWO YEARS WITH THAT PARTY HAS BEEN VERY BAD. I KNOW. DEMOCRATS LIE, CHEAT AND SOMETIMES STEAL ALSO, BUT NOT USUALLY TO THIS DEGREE.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/22/politics/duncan-hunter-indicted/index.html
The 30 most astounding moments in Rep. Duncan Hunter's 47-page indictment
Chris Cillizza
Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large
Updated 4:55 PM ET, Wed August 22, 2018

VIDEO LIVING LARGE SUSANNE MALVEAUX -- 2:36

(CNN) On Tuesday night, Republican California Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr. was indicted on a series of counts ranging from conspiracy to campaign finance laws, all stemming from the congressman's alleged widespread misuse of campaign cash to pay for his personal life.

The 47-page charging document -- which lays out the allegations against Hunter and his wife -- is absolute fire, portraying a totally out-of-control member of Congress operating in an ethics-free zone. I went through the indictment and plucked out the most amazing moments. They're below.

CNN's Chris Cillizza cuts through the political spin and tells you what you need to know. By subscribing, you agree to our privacy policy.


1. "Throughout the relevant period, the Hunters spent substantially more than they earned. They overdrew their bank account more than 1,100 times in a seven-year period resulting in approximately $37,761 in 'overdraft' and 'insufficient funds bank' fees."

Holy crap! In a seven-year period, the Hunters allegedly overdrew their bank account more than 1,000 times! Also, according to the indictment, Hunter had less than $1,000 in reportable assets listed on his personal financial disclosure forms for each year between 2009 and 2016. Talk about living beyond your means!

2. "The Hunters illegally converted and stole more than $250,000 in campaign funds to purchase goods and services for their personal use and enjoyment."
I never understand this. If you want to use $250 from your campaign to buy a few personal items, I get how you can reasonably think you won't get caught. But do you think no one will ever ask questions about $250,000?!?!
3. "Duncan Hunter facilitated the theft of campaign funds by ignoring his campaign staff's multiple warnings about Margaret's improper use of campaign funds, accusing campaign staff of disloyalty by 'trying to create some kind of paper trail on me' when they raised concerns about improper spending, and continually refusing to remove her access to campaign funds."

Ah, the old I'm-not-doing-something-wrong-you're-doing-something-wrong approach! Also, reminder: These people Hunter accused of "trying to create some kind of paper trail" worked for him at the time.

4. "The Hunters concealed and disguised the personal nature of many of their campaign expenditures by either falsely stating the expenses were 'campaign related' or by falsely reporting the item or service purchased when providing information to the Treasurer (by, for example, buying personal clothing items at a golf course so that the purchase could be falsely reported to the Treasurer as 'balls for the wounded warriors')."

Buying golf clothes for yourself and reporting it as buying golf balls for wounder warriors? Oooomph.

5. "The Hunters concealed and disguised the personal nature of their family's purchases of video games using Campaign funds by falsely claiming to a financial institution that the payments were fraudulent charges and then reporting the purchases to the FEC and the public as fraudulent charges."

Video games! And then tell your staff and the public you were hacked! Paging Anthony Weiner....

6. "The Hunters illegally used Campaign funds, among other things, to purchase the following: Hotel rooms, airline tickets and upgrades, meals and food, and entertainment expenses for vacations for themselves and their friends and family, including more than $14,000 for a family Thanksgiving vacation in Italy in November 2015; more than $6,500 for a family vacation to Hawaii in April 2015; more than $3,700 for a family vacation to Las Vegas and Boise in July 2015; more than $2,400 for a Las Vegas couples vacation in August 2011; and more vacations to destinations such as Lake Tahoe, Pittsburgh, London, and Washington."

See point No. 1. These are people living way, way beyond their means. Hawaii in April, Vegas in July and Italy in November? Pretty nice year.

7. "Household and other personal items for their family from a wide variety of stores, such as Costco (where they spent more than $11,300 in Campaign funds), Walmart (where they spent more than $5,700), Barnes Noble (where they spent more than $2,500), Target (where they spent more than $2,300), Michaels craft store (where they spent more than $2,200), and other retailers such as Aaron Brothers, Party City, World Market, Crate & Barrel, Pier 1, Penny, Sears, and Rite Aid."

Look, I get it. Costco is awesome. And those damn massive jars of mustard cost more than you think. But who the hell spends $2,200 at Michaels? Seriously that sounds like a nightmare I had recently.

8. "On or about January 25, 2010, in Incline Village, Nevada, Duncan Hunter spent $1,008.72 in campaign funds at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino for food, drinks, and three nights lodging during a personal ski trip with Individual 14. On this day, the Hunter family bank account had a negative balance and incurred six separate insufficient funds fees (totaling $198). Also on this same day, Duncan Hunter withdrew $20 from his personal bank account, leaving a balance of $15.02."

That last line is a dagger. He took $20 out and has $15 -- total! -- in the family bank account.

9. "On or about April 2, 2010, Duncan Hunter claimed a $257.40 reimbursement from Campaign funds for driving his car on a 468-mile trip to Virginia Beach with Individual 14, Congressman A, and Congressman A's date despite the fact that they did not use Duncan car on the trip."

Wait, you have to use the actual car to get reimbursed for the miles? Huh!

10. "On or about May 19, 2010, in Santee, California, Margaret Hunter spent $307.72 in campaign funds at Target to purchase a tablecloth, three square pillows, a three-piece brush set, a metal tray, four temporary shades, four window panels, a white duck, two Punky Brewster items, a ring pop, and two five-packs of 'animals.' In order to conceal and disguise this illegal charge, Hunter falsely told the Treasurer that it was for 'teacher/parent supporter events.'"

Punky Brewster! Soleil Moon Frye! What a blast from the past. Also, I'm interested in knowing more about this "white duck" purchase.

11. "On or about September 13, 2010, in San Diego, California, Duncan Hunter spent $164.29 in Campaign funds for, among other things, a round of golf and beer at Riverwalk Golf Club with Individual 1A. When asked by the Treasurer if this expenditure (among several others) was campaign related, Duncan Hunter falsely responded, 'Yessir- All good.'"

The next time someone asks me if I just broke the law, I am going to respond "Yessir, all good." Amazing.

12. "On or about December 22, 2010, after the Treasurer again warned the Hunters that 'campaign funds may not be used for a leisure outing' even if campaign business is occasionally discussed, Margaret Hunter told the Treasurer that she refused to provide the names of individuals she allegedly took out for meals with campaign funds because 'that's silly.'"

"Yessir, all good!"

13. "On or about June 17, 2011 in La Mesa, California, Duncan Hunter spent $142.36 in campaign funds at the Men's Wearhouse to 're-cut' two pairs of pants. When this charge was uncovered by the Treasurer, Duncan Hunter falsely explained the charge: 'Lol. Men's warehouse was a possible semi-embarrassment that I had to let ride. I used the wrong card, then didn't want to explain the forced refund...'"

Oh, I see. You didn't want people to know you got your pants tailored at Men's Wearhouse. Or you used the wrong card? Or something? "That's silly."

14. "On or about August 6 to 10, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada and elsewhere, the Hunters spent $2,448.27 in campaign funds on a personal vacation with Individuals 3A and 3B. During this vacation, the HUNTER family bank account began incurring insufficient funds fees until a check from Duncan parents was deposited into the account on August 10."

A cringe-worthy detail. Even as Hunter was allegedly spending freely from campaign dollars, he was hitting his parents up for money.

15. "On or about September 12, 2011, despite opposition by his Treasurer and individuals in his Washington, DC. office, Duncan Hunter hired Margaret Hunter as his 'Campaign Manager' at a salary of $2,000 per month."

This is a move made out of desperation given the Hunters' personal financial situation. And it's one that in retrospect made things much, much worse.

16. "On or about September 16 to 19, 2011, in Boise, Idaho and elsewhere, the Hunters spent an additional $640.05 in Campaign funds for a family vacation centered on a family member's participation in a dance competition."

Oh yeah, I've seen that one.

17. "On or about February 8 and 16, 2012, the Hunters spent $306.80 in campaign funds at United Airlines for additional charges related to a ticket for Margaret's mother to fly from San Diego to Chicago. In response to whether the charge was campaign related, Duncan Hunter told his Treasurer: 'Yes sir.'"

Works. Every. Time.

18. "On or about October 30, 2012, following an article in the San Diego Reader publicizing Margaret's salary and various expense reimbursements, Duncan Hunter relieved her of her formal duties with the campaign. Although the campaign was in dire financial condition, and had just canceled a pre-election mailer due to insufficient funds, Duncan Hunter continued to pay Margaret Hunter a salary from campaign funds and allowed her to keep her campaign credit card."

So, the congressman fires his wife as campaign manager after getting some bad press. But he keeps paying her! And lets her still have access to a campaign credit card! (Here's the original San Diego Reader story.)

19. "On or about December 13, 2013, in Reston, Virginia, Duncan Hunter spent $63.57 in campaign funds at Best Buy to purchase a pair of gloves and a car charger for an upcoming trip to Pittsburgh."

Who the heck buys gloves from a Best Buy?

20. "On or about December 30, 2013, after considering the benefits of bringing more money to the household on a basis, Duncan Hunter hired Margaret Hunter back as Campaign Manager at a salary of $2,500 per month (although the Campaign ended up actually paying her $3,000 per month)."

She's baaaaaack!

21. "On or about July 9, 2014, the Hunters spent $250 in campaign funds at United Airlines to fly a family pet to Washington, DC. for a family vacation."

You can't go on a true family vacation without the family pet!

22. "On or about October 22, 2014, in San Diego, California, Duncan Hunter spent $204.34 in campaign funds for two greens fees, food, and drinks at the Rancho Bernardo Golf Resort, during a personal golf outing with friends, including Individual 1A. To conceal and disguise his illegal activity, he misled his Chief of Staff by describing his regular golf outing with Individual 1A as 'a Christian thing' with a supporter."

A "Christian thing"? Yessir, all good!

23. "On or about March 20, 2015, when Duncan Hunter told Margaret Hunter that he was planning 'to buy my Hawaii shorts' but had run out of money, she counseled him to buy the shorts at a golf pro shop so that they could falsely describe the purchase later as 'some [golf] balls for the wounded warriors.'"

Of all the things the Hunters have allegedly done wrong, this one is, by far, the worst.

24. "On or about July 29, 2015, in Chula Vista, California, Margaret Hunter spent $253.62 in Campaign funds at SeaWorld's Aquatica Family Waterpark to entertain family members. To conceal and disguise this illegal payment, she suggested to the Treasurer that the charges should be classified as an 'educational tour' as they were related to a 'daylong entrance and educational meet on their issues and programs.'"

Epic -- and I mean truly epic -- spin here.

25. "On or about August 17, 2015, Margaret Hunter spent $152.25 in campaign funds at to make an online purchase of cosmetics. To conceal and disguise this illegal charge, she falsely told the Treasurer that the charge was for 'gift basket items Boys and Girls Clubs of San Diego.'"

"That's silly."

26. "On or about September 26, 2015, in Anaheim, California, the Hunters spent $229.44 in Campaign funds at Disneyland's Star Trader shop on gifts, including two Minnie Mouse Ear headbands, a Star Wars droid knit beanie, and a raglan-sleeve black-and-gray Star Wars girls T-shirt. In order to conceal and disguise this transaction, Margaret Hunter falsely informed the Treasurer that the charge was for 'food/bev.'"

Tell me more about this Star Wars droid knit beanie...

27. "On or about November 23, 2015 in an attempt to justify the use of campaign funds to pay for the family's trip to Italy, Duncan Hunter attempted to set up a day tour of a US naval facility in Italy. After Navy officials responded that they could only provide a tour on a particular date, Duncan Hunter said he would discuss the proposed date with Margaret Hunter, then subsequently told his Chief of Staff, 'tell the Navy to go f*** themselves [no alteration in original],' and no tour occurred."

He seems nice!

28. "On or about February 1, 2016, in response to questions raised by the Treasurer for about ten months, Margaret Hunter falsely claimed for the first time that the Steam Games charges were fraudulent."

I was hacked!

29. "On or about March 4, 2016, in Washington, DC, Duncan Hunter spent $462.46 in Campaign funds for 30 shots of tequila and one steak at El Tamarindo restaurant during Individual 8's bachelor party."

Uh, waiter, yes I'd like to make an order please. Can I have 30 shots of tequila? Also, one steak. Thanks!

30. "On or about December 31, 2016, in Alpine, California, Duncan Hunter authorized Margaret Hunter to continue receiving a salary for purportedly being the Campaign Manager."

"Yessir, all good!"



TRUMP REDUCE MEDICAID?

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-medicaid-trump-20180820-story.html
Despite a judge's disapproval, Trump administration is doubling down on Medicaid restrictions
Michael Hiltzik
By MICHAEL HILTZIK
AUG 20, 2018 | 6:45 AM

PHOTOGRAPH -- Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar: Shrinking Medicaid as fast as he can? (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

In the real world, it has become clear that placing restrictions such as work and reporting requirements on Medicaid is disastrous.

They’re legally dubious, for one thing — as a federal judge stated in late June when he tossed out work requirements imposed in Kentucky.

More important, they lead to needy beneficiaries being thrown off the program and locked out of healthcare for lengthy periods, often because of confused regulations and the natural uncertainties of life in a low-income environment. The best evidence for that comes from Arkansas, where thousands of residents may lose their eligibility for Medicaid for no good reason — and may not even know they’ve been barred until they go to a doctor and get turned away.

Arkansas is shedding enrollment.

JOAN ALKER, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Share quote & link

In the Trump world, however, this is all to the good. “We are fully committed to work requirements and community participation requirements in the Medicaid program,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told an audience at the right-wing Heritage Foundation in July, a few weeks after the Kentucky ruling. He said his agency would keep encouraging states to devise new restrictions. “We will continue to approve plans, we are continuing to work with states and we’ll drive forward.”

“They put out guidance early this year and said they’re open for business,” says Joan Alker, executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University. “They’ve continued to encourage states to go forward, despite clear evidence from Arkansas that not only will folks lose coverage, but the system itself is not working.”

There are no legitimate rationales for employment as a precondition to receiving Medicaid, which is strictly a healthcare program; they’re merely an expression of malevolence toward a vulnerable low-income population. There is a relationship between health and employment, but it goes the other way: Good health enhances a person’s ability to find and hold a job.


COLUMN
The Trump administration finds another way to throw sand in Obamacare's gears, at patients' expense
JUL 09, 2018 | 1:50 PM

Some states are trying to circumvent one of the objections of the federal judge in the Kentucky case, which is that HHS didn’t pay sufficient attention to Kentucky’s admission that its work requirement would lead to disenrollments of as many as 95,000 residents (patient advocates say the real figure is much higher). So they’re leaving out any estimates of the enrollment impact of their work requirements or other restrictions.

“They’re hiding the ball,” Alker says. But leaving out such a critical projection “obviously is out of compliance with federal requirements for public notice.”

More restrictions may be on their way. Applications have been filed for Medicaid work requirements by Arizona, Maine and Wisconsin, the last of which also has asked to impose a drug-testing requirement on Medicaid applicants as a condition of eligibility. The requirement — unprecedented for Medicaid in any state — originally was proposed in 2017 by Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

Those states are asking to impose the rules on Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, but Alabama, Oklahoma and South Dakota, which haven’t expanded Medicaid, also are seeking to add work requirements to traditional Medicaid, which covers families with children.

Wisconsin since has pared back to a requirement that applicants disclose current or prior drug use or treatment, but without basing eligibility decisions on the disclosure. HHS may be looking kindly on the more limited rule, according to Dan Diamond of Politico, but patient advocates say it still could discourage people from applying. Drug testing for Medicaid is illegal, according to Andrea Callow of the advocacy group Families USA.


COLUMN
Kentucky's new obstacles to Medicaid coverage are crueler than you could imagine
JAN 16, 2018 | 2:10 PM

“Not even close,” Callow wrote in December. Though the law allows states to apply to waive eligibility requirements to promote enrollments, she added, “deciding whether someone can get Medicaid based on whether they receive a drug test isn’t waiving an eligibility requirement, it’s creating a new one.”

The most popular eligibility obstacle proposed by red-state governments is the work requirement. The Arkansas rule, which went into effect June 1 and is being phased in month by month to expanded categories of enrollees, has deprived thousands of people of coverage for which they are plainly eligible, the Georgetown center says. Enrollees who have failed to meet the work requirements or to report their work status properly for three months are locked out of the program through the end of the year.

“Most are likely to become uninsured,” Alker’s group says. That “makes little sense from a health policy perspective — forcing people to be uninsured will result in less access to needed prescriptions and other treatments that can help to control chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and hypertension.”

According to the state’s most recent monthly report, issued Tuesday, just over 46,000 Medicaid enrollees were subject to the work requirement in July. Enrollees must work 80 hours a month or show they’re in school, volunteering or looking for work, unless they’re disabled or care for dependent children at home.

The state’s figures show that more than 5,400 enrollees already have accumulated two months of noncompliance — two strikes — and therefore risk being shut out of Medicaid on Sept.1.


COLUMN
How Trump's Obamacare administrator is taking a hatchet to Obamacare
APR 17, 2018 | 7:00 AM
Of the roughly 46,000 people subject to the work requirement, about 30,000 were notified that they were exempt. But the rest — more than 15,000 were required to go online and report their work histories or request an exemption. Only 844 did so, however. In all, 12,587 people, or 83% of those expected to report, took no action.

Georgetown observes that the state hasn’t made it easy for Medicaid enrollees to report their work histories or seek an exemption. The report can only be made online, via a website that operates between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. A large percentage of low-income Arkansas residents have no internet access at their home; more generally, Arkansas ranks near rock-bottom among the states for broadband service.

It’s also possible that many enrollees aren’t aware of their status because the state’s notification letters haven’t reached them; living arrangements in low-income communities often are unstable. “If Arkansas sends out a letter and the address is wrong, they just kick them off,” Alker told me. “Arkansas is shedding enrollment.”

In his June 29 ruling, federal Judge James E. Boasberg of Washington, D.C., found that Azar’s HHS rushed approval of Kentucky’s uniquely punitive Medicaid work requirements without seriously considering how they would fulfill Medicaid’s statutory purpose of bringing affordable healthcare to low-income households.

Citing the state’s projection that 95,000 of Kentucky’s 1.2 million Medicaid enrollees would lose their eligibility within five years under the new rules, the judge found that Azar “paid no attention to that deprivation.” That made his approval of the program “arbitrary and capricious.”

How hasty was Azar? HHS issued a letter to all governors expressing its receptiveness to work requirements on Jan. 11, 2018, and approved Kentucky’s application on Jan. 12.

Michael Hiltzik
Michael Hiltzik
CONTACT

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Hiltzik writes a daily blog appearing on latimes.com. His business column appears in print every Sunday, and occasionally on other days. As a member of the Los Angeles Times staff, he has been a financial and technology writer and a foreign correspondent. He is the author of six books, including “Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age” and “The New Deal: A Modern History.” Hiltzik and colleague Chuck Philips shared the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for articles exposing corruption in the entertainment industry.



https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sessions-hits-back-at-trump-i-took-control-of-the-department-of-justice-the-day-i-was-sworn-in/
By KATHRYN WATSON CBS NEWS August 23, 2018, 1:46 PM
Sessions hits back at Trump: "I took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in"

Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired back Thursday, after President Trump said he "never took control" of the Justice Department.

Mr. Trump, in an interview with "Fox & Friends" that aired Thursday morning, asked "what kind of a man" Sessions could be to recuse himself from the Russia investigation after taking the job. Mr. Trump also complained that Sessions "never took control of the Justice Department."

Sessions, who rarely responds to the many criticisms the president has made about him in the last year, said he "will not be improperly influenced by political considerations." His statement came moments before he was set to arrive at the White House for a meeting on criminal justice reform.

"I took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in, which is why we have had unprecedented success at effectuating the president's agenda—one that protects the safety and security and rights of the American people, reduces violent crime, enforces our immigration laws, promotes economic growth, and advances religious liberty," Sessions said in a statement.

"While I am attorney general, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations," the nation's top law enforcement official continued. "I demand the highest standards, and where they are not met, I take action. However, no nation has a more talented, more dedicated group of law enforcement investigators and prosecutors than the United States. I am proud to serve with them and proud of the work we have done in successfully advancing the rule of law."

The president did not entirely rule out the possibility of firing Sessions in the Fox & Friends interview.

"I put in an attorney general that never took control of the Justice Department," the president said. "Jeff Sessions never took control of the Justice Department and it's a sort of an incredible thing."

This is a developing story and will be updated.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



THERE HAVE BEEN QUITE A FEW DAYS AND WEEKS WHEN THE LOCAL NEWS CHANNELS ANNOUNCED THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SWIM IN THE BEACHES OFF THE ATLANTIC FLORIDA COAST HERE IN JACKSONVILLE. THIS IS JUST ONE CITY AMONG MANY.

https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2018/aug/21/stringers-zonie-gets-sick-after-coronado-swim/#
CORONADONEIGHBORHOOD NEWSWATERFRONT STORIES
Zonie gets sick after Coronado swim
Banner U. docs say it was Gram-positive cocci
By Delinda Lombardo, Aug. 21, 2018

PHOTOGRAPH -- The swollen arm

While visiting San Diego from Arizona, Travis Moncur enjoyed a swim in the ocean off Coronado beach, but on his way home things took a turn for the worse.

“It’s super important that we really tell people how polluted our waters are,” he told me.

His shared his experience on Facebook after returning home.

On the weekend of August 10-11, Moncur visited the beach but during his return to Phoenix on Sunday, he didn’t feel well.

“I had been (swimming) directly between Dog Beach and the Hotel Del Coronado, maybe a little closer to the Del,” he told me.

"I had a sore throat and cold symptoms, thought nothing of it. Woke up 2 days later with a small red bump on my arm and extreme pain at 2 AM," he wrote.

Four hours later, at 6 am his left arm was in complete paralysis.

"I was in the worst pain of my life. The redness was spreading up my arm and the swelling was getting worse. The ER department was at a loss to what it was. I was transported to Banner University where teams of doctors were trying to figure it out. It was acting like a bug bite but didn’t look like one in my blood work. They gave me all the IV antibiotics they could to just keep it from spreading.’

“I didn’t have any known scratches,” Moncur told me when asked how he might have been infected.

Doctors were able to stop the spread with antibiotics, but "they had to intervene with surgery to cut out the infection and bleed out all the bad stuff."

Moncur was diagnosed with Gram-positive cocci, the exact strain is still unknown, but it typically causes skin infections and sometimes pneumonia, endocarditis, and osteomyelitis. It commonly leads to abscess formation.

The doctors told him the infection was from swimming in the ocean.

"San Diego has been battling sewage issues along the coast from Tijuana Mexico but hadn’t seen any recent issues. The infection somehow got into my arm…. I am not out of danger yet but on the mend with antibiotics and the surgery. The only reason this didn’t kill me was it only was in my lymphatic system and not in my blood. Had it got in my blood it wouldn’t have turned out so good.

‘Just always be aware of your body after swimming or being out in nature. I got lucky."

According to a water quality report for Coronado, titled Swimmable Water’, conducted on 15 August 2018 by EnviroMatrix Analytical Inc., in the Microbiological Parameters by Standard Methods, Enterococcus was discovered in waters off of Coronado.

Enterococcus are Gram-positive cocci that often occur in pairs (diplococci) or short chains, and are difficult to distinguish from streptococci on physical characteristics alone.



https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2018/aug/23/ticker-sexual-orientation-change-only-one-way/
Former gays who lobbied against the conversion therapy ban
Does sexual orientation change go only one way?
Local state senators vote party line on conversion therapy
By Eric Bartl, Aug. 23, 2018

On Thursday, August 16, the California Senate passed Assembly Bill 2943 with a 25-11 vote. The bill would make “sexual orientation change efforts,” also known as “conversion therapy,” an unlawful business practice under the state’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi: “the faith community, like anyone else, needs to evolve with the times.”

Proponents of the bill say change to a person’s sexual orientation is impossible and services that claim otherwise are fraudulent.

Opponents say change is possible and argue the ban violates LGBT rights (the right to seek a wanted change.)

Costa Mesa State Senator John Moorlach called it “the bill of the year,” generating more emails and calls to his office than any other this year.

Attorney Dean Broyles of Encinitas says the Supreme Court has already rejected the “professional speech” exception to free speech the bill relies on.

San Francisco State Senator Scott Wiener co-authored the bill and introduced it to the Senate for debate on Thursday. He said, “Conversion therapy is nothing short of psychological torture.”

The bill would ban “efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.”

It does not specify whether efforts to change attractions to the opposite sex would be banned.

The proposed ban is now limited to “advertising, offering for sale, or selling services constituting sexual orientation change efforts to an individual.”

The California Assembly’s earlier version of the bill included “goods” along with “services.” There was an outcry against banning the sale of books (which might include the Bible). The California Senate removed “goods” from the bill before approving it.

People concerned the bill is an attack on religion pointed to Torrance Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi’s statement in support of the bill that “the faith community, like anyone else, needs to evolve with the times.”

Statements like that and the potential ban on the Bible provoked California churches to speak out. Legislators pushing the bill made some changes.

The Senate replaced the Assembly wording “engages in” with “offering for sale.” Senate commentary explains, “AB 2943 only applies in cases where a consumer transaction takes place."

San Diego state senators Joel Anderson and Patricia Bates voted against the bill.

Before the vote Anderson said the bill is being presented under the “ruse of protecting people. If they are questioning to be straight somehow that is wrong and evil, but if they question to be gay that’s good and acceptable. You can’t have it both ways.

San Diego senators Toni Atkins and Ben Hueso voted in favor. Atkins posted on Facebook, “What we need is compassion and acceptance, not a deceptive and fraudulent practice.”

Constitutional attorney Dean Broyles of Encinitas predicts the bill will follow other laws that have been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, including the California law that required pro-life pregnancy centers to inform clients of abortion options. He says the Supreme Court has already rejected the “professional speech” exception to free speech the bill relies on.

It doesn’t appear the American Civil Liberties Union has taken a position on the bill. The organization’s Rhode Island chapter came out in opposition to bans on conversion therapy because of potential “unintended consequences.”

The bill has returned to the Assembly for a vote on the Senate’s version. Votes on the bill have largely fallen along party lines. However, in April Republican Assemblyman Brian Maienschein voted in favor.



https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paul-manafort-trial-juror-says-one-holdout-prevented-conviction-on-all-counts/
CBS NEWS August 23, 2018, 6:36 AM
Manafort juror: Lone holdout blocked conviction on all counts, prosecutors were "napping"

The first juror in Paul Manafort's trial to speak out says prosecutors almost got the 18 guilty verdicts they wanted. Paula Duncan told Fox News that one juror caused a mistrial on 10 of the charges against the president's former campaign chairman.

In her interview, Duncan said she voted to convict him because the evidence was "overwhelming." She described a taxing and emotional deliberation process and said the discussions brought some jurors to tears.

Paul Manafort trial: What was said during sealed bench conferences
According to Duncan, she and her peers worked to convince the lone dissenting juror, but ultimately failed to prevent a split verdict Tuesday.

"There was one holdout," Duncan said. "We laid it out in front of her again and again and she still said that she had a reasonable doubt."

Manafort was found guilty on eight counts of committing various financial crimes not related to the campaign. The judge declared a mistrial on the ten other counts. On Twitter, the president called the case a "witch hunt." For Duncan, the facts were clear.

"The evidence was overwhelming. I did not want Paul Manafort to be guilty but he was and no one is above the law," Duncan said.

Duncan, a self-described Trump supporter, says she does believe the trial was an attempt to flip Manafort against the president in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. She also claims at times the prosecution seemed uninterested in the proceedings.

"I saw them napping during the trial….So it kind of sent a message of we're bored with this and I'm thinking, 'well if you're bored then why are we here?'" Duncan said.

Still, she says the process was fair.

"Did you feel like there were jurors who were either like yourself pro-President Trump or anti and that influenced their reasoning in any way?" Fox News' Shannon Bream asked Duncan who replied, "No, I don't."

Duncan also said while a judge placed her name and the names of her peers under seal for safety reasons, she doesn't feel like she's in danger. She said she came forward because she believes it's important that the American people know how the jury reached its final verdict.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


https://www.commondreams.org/tag/bernie-sanders?gclid=CjwKCAjwwJrbBRAoEiwAGA1B_TFSt0dwMdoPD8-1qhp_XXM77x3bqxiKySh8VX67OT6-qtZErpxgPRoCTJMQAvD_BwE
Bernie Sanders
'Incredible': New Poll That Shows 70% in US Support Medicare for All Includes 84% of Democrats and 52% of Republicans
By Double-Digit Margin, Poll Shows Sanders Mopping the Floor With Trump in Latest 2020 Matchup
Jessica Corbett, staff writer

PHOTOGRAPH -- "My focus right now is on 2018 and to do everything that I can to end one-party rule of the House and the Senate," insists the Vermont senator


IT’S NOT ONLY JUST THE CHARLATANS. BEFORE WE RELY ON “THE WISDOM OF THE CROWD,” WE’D BETTER LOOK CLOSELY AT WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT SORT OF PRODUCT COMES FROM THEIR MOUTHS.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/08/20/medicare-all-fact-check-hell-persists-sanders-rebukes-cnn-putting-blind-faith-right
Published on
Monday, August 20, 2018
byCommon Dreams
Medicare for All Fact Check From Hell Persists as Sanders Rebukes CNN for Putting 'Blind Faith' in Right-Wing Economist
"It is incredible how similar this is to the media's performance on Iraq. 1. Rely on charlatans and get everything wrong. 2. Justify your performance by pointing out that everyone else also relied on charlatans."

byJake Johnson, staff writer

PHOTOGRAPH -- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks on healthcare as Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) listen during an event September 13, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

After CNN posted a slightly corrected version of its falsehood-riddled Medicare for All fact check on Monday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) thanked network anchor Jake Tapper for admitting that his earlier video "was not factual," but added that the updated version is still full of "errors peddled by the Koch-funded Mercatus Center."

"The question that must be asked is why would the corporate media would put their blind faith in a far right-wing economist whose past reports have been so thoroughly discredited by mainstream economists and experts?"
—Sen. Bernie Sanders
Pointing to the table in the Mercatus Center analysis that shows Medicare for All would save the American people $2 trillion over ten years—while also providing healthcare for everyone—Sanders accused CNN and other corporate media outlets of putting "blind faith" in Chuck Blahous, the right-wing author of the Mercatus study who deceptively insists that his numbers are being taken out of context.

"What Tapper and others have done is say we're wrong because Blahous didn't actually intend to find that Medicare for All would be a great deal for Americans," Sanders noted in a series of tweets. "The problem is: Blahous did find it would save $2 trillion—he just doesn't like that people are celebrating it."

In response to Sanders' tweets on Monday, Tapper stood by his thoroughly discredited fact check by pointing to other thoroughly discredited fact checks—including his own—for validation.

"I guarantee you Mercatus approached each one of these outlets with the same pitch, then after a bunch of them bit on the pitch, they hold them up as proof they are right. This, by the way, is exactly how the NYT got snowed on WMD in Iraq."
—Matt Bruenig, People's Policy ProjectAmong the articles Tapper linked to was a "fact check" by the Washington Post's Glenn Kessler, which had to be corrected multiple times after People's Policy Project founder Matt Bruenig highlighted the number of blatant factual mistakes it contained.

"They are all wrong," Bruenig wrote of the self-proclaimed fact-checkers Tapper cited. "Jake, to talk about the fact-checkers as if they are separate evaluations is nonsense. Each one of them got the same spin from the same Mercatus author who has been doing intentional outreach to get people like you to say this stuff. It's the same poisoned source."

The Intercept's Jon Schwarz argued that Tapper's tactic of pointing to articles that all relied on the same ideologically motivated source—the Mercatus Center—to justify spreading a false narrative bears a striking resemblance "to the media's performance on Iraq" and alleged weapons of mass destruction.

Bruenig echoed Schwartz's Iraq comparison in a tweet of his own, writing: "I guarantee you Mercatus approached each one of these outlets with the same pitch, then after a bunch of them bit on the pitch, they hold them up as proof they are right. This, by the way, is exactly how the NYT got snowed on WMD in Iraq."

By continuing to push the narrative that Sanders is "misleading" the public by misinterpreting Blahous' numbers—which are available for all to see in the pages of the study—Tapper's critics say the high-profile anchor is playing right into the hands of the Mercatus Center, which has been waging an aggressive public relations campaign ever since its attempt to discredit Medicare for All backfired last month.

Warren Gunnels, Sanders' policy director, provided evidence of this coordinated disinformation effort by posting a mass email he received from the Mercatus Center Monday morning—one that likely went out to countless others on Capitol Hill and in the media.

The email highlights all of the same articles Tapper cited in his Twitter thread and proclaims that the media has effectively discredited Sanders' $2 trillion savings claim.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License
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People power—not money power—is the heart and soul of the political process. And so while we constantly challenge the lies that seek to undermine a better world, we must also raise up the voices of those courageous enough to put their bodies on the line to make that world possible. We are a small non-profit that exists only because of the support of our readers. We need you. If you can help today—because every gift of every size matters—please do. Without Your Support We Simply Don't Exist.


SOUNDS LIKE SELF-AGRANDIZEMENT TO ME, LIKE THAT HHUUUGE CROWD AT HIS INNAUGURATION. EVEN IF IT DOES CRASH, THOUGH, IT WILL RISE BACK UP AGAIN IN A FEW DAYS.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-stock-market-crash-impeached/
By AIMEE PICCHI MONEYWATCH August 23, 2018, 2:56 PM
Would stocks "crash" if Trump were impeached?

President Donald Trump thinks the stock market would "crash" if he were impeached and "everybody would be very poor." Wall Street analysts beg to differ.

Exhibit A: For now, financial markets have largely shrugged off Mr. Trump's political woes. Leading stock indexes are little changed since Tuesday, when his longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, seemed to implicate the president in campaign finance violations and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted on eight counts of bank fraud.

Although investors famously hate the kind of uncertainty that can come with a major presidential crisis, analysts say Wall Street remains focused on more tangible concerns, such as how Mr. Trump's protectionist trade agenda could affect U.S. economic growth. Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR, also notes that investors are already reaping the benefits of Mr. Trump's economic policies, such as his steep corporate tax cuts.

"The market isn't sentimental," Hogan said. "It looks at the administration, and we've gotten the pro-business policies that the market wanted. That's locked and loaded."

The president's exit from the political stage could even benefit stocks given the widespread opposition in the financial and corporate world to Mr. Trump's trade policies, which have led to tensions with China, Europe and other major economies around the world. Mr. Trump's Twitter habits also wouldn't be missed, Hogan said.

"It loses [Mr. Trump's] disruptive tweets and bad economic policy toward trade, and the market looks at that as a positive," he said. Vice President Mike Pence, who would step into the president's role if Mr. Trump were impeached, "doesn't seem to be a protectionist and a hawk, so you might have a market that reacts positively to it at some juncture."

Investors are particularly concerned with the prospects of a prolonged trade war with China. Credit rating agency Moody's predicted in a report on Wednesday that America's trade relations with the world's second-largest economy would worsen and dent U.S. growth.

Meanwhile, a post-impeachment slide in stocks -- while that could affect investor and business sentiment -- likely wouldn't inflict a a serious financial toll on most Americans given that most shares are held by a small fraction of wealthy Americans.

In other words, many middle-class and lower-income households would feel little impact from a market downdraft simply because they don't own stocks.

Historical lessons
History offers some precedent for assessing how the stock market might react following the impeachment and ouster of a sitting president. During the Watergate scandal, when President Richard Nixon resigned rather than face impeachment, stocks fell sharply. The S&P 500 slumped more than 20 percent between the time of the Watergate break-in and Nixon's resignation.

But stocks were falling well before the drama over Watergate, Capital Economics notes, with investors focused more on a steep slowdown in economic growth at the time, the impact of OPEC's oil embargo and runaway inflation. More important, stocks came roaring back after Nixon's exit.

sp500-nixon.png
After President Clinton was impeached in 1998 on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, stocks actually rose sharply. While the nation may have been riveted by the political and personal spectacle, investors mostly looked past it and instead focused on the era's booming corporate profits, strong wage growth, low unemployment and surging tech sector.

sp500-clinton.png
One lesson from these episodes, experts say: Wall Street tends to concentrate on risks it can quantify. Those tend to be issues like tax and trade policies, unemployment, wages and corporate profitability.

"Of course, it would be unfair to dismiss the influence of politics altogether," Capital Economics said in a report. "The S&P 500 did rally strongly in the wake of President Trump's election victory, and has occasionally reacted to his statements on trade and the Fed."

Still, it added, "Overall, though, we think that influence of politics will remain small."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.



MSNBC MADDOW

TRUMP FOUNDATION MEETS NY AG BARBARA UNDERWOOD

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/new-cohen-subpoena-could-mean-new-legal-trouble-for-trump-family-1304666179927?v=railb
New Cohen subpoena could mean new legal trouble for Trump family
Rachel Maddow reports on the background of the investigations into the Trump foundation, as well as the Trump Organization's role in Michael Cohen's crimes and notes that Donald Trump's family and business are not protected from prosecution the way the presidency is.
Aug.22.2018 25:57


THIS SITUATION WAS REALLY STRANGE. ARE THEY TRAINED TO REACT THAT WAY?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/security-team-violence-lawsuit-adds-to-trump-s-legal-headaches-1304669763976?v=railb
Security team violence lawsuit adds to Trump's legal headaches
Rachel Maddow reports that a lawsuit over violence committed by Donald Trump's security team, including Keith Schiller, against protesters outside Trump Tower, will go to a jury.
Aug.22.2018


http://www.msnbc.com/hallie-jackson/watch/senators-show-mixed-reactions-to-cohen-manafort-guilty-verdicts-1304104003807
Senators show mixed reactions to Cohen, Manafort guilty verdicts
The day after guilty verdicts for former Trump attorney Michael Cohen and his ex-campaign manager Paul Manafort, some senators say the conviction shows the severity of the Mueller probe, while others argue should not be an option right now.
Aug.22.2018


http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/sen-warren-introduces-anti-corruption-bill-criticizes-trump-1304030275680
Sen. Warren introduces anti-corruption bill, criticizes Trump
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is introducing new legislation to end corruption in Washington, and she joins Morning Joe to discuss the bill. Sen. Warren also calls the Trump White House the most corrupt administration in living memory.
Aug.22.2018


http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/episodes
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/22/18
Who else may be implicated by Michael Cohen's guilty plea?
Rachel Maddow notes that Michael Cohen was not alone in committing the crimes to which he pleaded guilty, and wonders what can be expected to happen to the companies and individuals who worked with Cohen. Duration: 3:58


http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/episodes
Embed
HELP THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/22/18
Cohen takes extra step of filling out Trump scandal narrative
Joyce Vance, former U.S. attorney, talks with Rachel Maddow about whether Michael Cohen's guilty plea has put other people in trouble and why Cohen said more than was necessary in court. Duration: 4:45


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/21/18
Cohen more than happy to tell Mueller all that he knows: attorney
Lanny Davis, attorney for former Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen, tells Rachel Maddow that Cohen has knowledge that should be of interest to Robert Mueller and he is happy to tell Mueller what he knows about the "possibility of a conspiracy to collude and corrupt the American democracy system in the 2016 election" and also what Trump knew about computer hacking. Duration: 7:33


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/21/18
Cohen allocution may position Trump as unindicted co-conspirator
Paul Fishman, former U.S. attorney, talks with Rachel Maddow about the legal implications of former Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen implicating Trump in his allocution at his guilty plea hearing. Duration: 5:02


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/20/18
Maddow: Beware of media spin as Trump scandals intensify
Rachel Maddow notes that there is a lot of speculation about what ex-Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and White House Counsel Don McGahn are up to with very little in terms of reported facts to verify that speculation, cautionary conditions for self-serving media spin. Duration: 3:57


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/20/18
Russia's Alfa Bank fails in lawsuit over Steele's Trump dossier
Rachel Maddow reports that a judge has thrown out a lawsuit by Russia's Alfa Bank against Christopher Steele over Alfa Bank's portrayal in the Trump dossier. Duration: 11:19


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/20/18
Trump tantrums a threat to Manafort jury's impartiality
Barbara McQuade talks with Rachel Maddow about whether the judge in the Paul Manafort trial should have sequestered the jury in the case to avoid them being corrupted by Donald Trump's repeated tweeting in praise of Manafort and in criticism of Mueller prosecutors. Duration: 12:12


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/20/18
Cohen maybe not cooperating as much as conventional wisdom says
Rachel Maddow notes that despite repeated suggestions that Michael Cohen is working in some way with Robert Mueller's investigators, the fact that one of Cohen's Blackberry phones remains locked suggests that there's something askew with the Cohen cooperation narrative. Duration: 4:36


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/20/18
John Dean example haunts Trump but may guide McGahn with Mueller
Michael Beschloss, NBC News presidential historian, talks with Rachel Maddow about John Dean's legal fate in the Watergate scandal, the parallels to his story in the Trump scandals, and lessons current White House counsel Don McGahn might take to avoid Dean's fate. Duration: 5:47