February is over, and another Events
article. Is it just me or is it becoming more difficult to distinguish between the usual and the absurd? Keeping the list
alive, so there is something to return to. I want to be able to
review the journey, and if that helps you as well, read on.
The month began with the temporary
resolution of the Government Shutdown of January. With a temporary
deal in place, Congress had only two weeks to finalize long term
budget. In spite of the President's public misgivings, Republicans
and Democrats were able to
agree to a deal, essentially identical to the one rejected by the
President and the Republican Senate in December. The President
signed it, but also
declared a National Emergency simultaneously to acquire the five
billion Congress had refused to appropriate for his border wall. He
did this despite
concerns from senior Republicans. As the month approached its
end, the House voted to reject the National Emergency, and enough
Republican Senators have indicated they will side with Democrats to
reject it as well. Meanwhile 16 states have sued to reject the
National Emergency. More to come in March.
During the temporary truce, as the two
parties worked out a deal, the President was re-invited to offer his
State
of the Union. Most pundits have finally stopped calling them
Presidential.
The President, and Nat-Sec Adviser John
Bolton, abandoned
a treaty regulating the use of Nuclear Weapons, which was signed
in 1987 by Reagan. And Putin
threatened nuclear missiles.
The public also learned there are still
citizens in the administration dedicated to subverting or
embarrassing it. One individual released the President's
internal schedule for the months of November, December, and January.
It indicated that the President usually didn't have an official
event until after 11am, stopped work by 3pm. According to the files,
which the White House did not dispute, he spent approximately 50 to
60 percent of his daily time between 8am and 5pm in unplanned
Executive Time.
A number of personal changes occurred
during the month of February. A reminder: the President has made a
mockery
of how Cabinet level positions are supposed to be filled (and
those he has filled are mostly with lobbyists). The FEMA director
quit. Temporary (and hopelessly unqualified) Attorney General Matt
Whitaker was grilled
over the Mueller investigation and reports that he talked to the
President
about issues which would be a conflict of interest. Later, the
Senate confirmed former Attorney General William
Barr to replace Whitaker as the new Attorney General. More
narrowly they confirmed former
coal lobbyist, Andrew Wheeler, to oversee the Environmental
Protection Agency. At the same time, the White House is in process
of creating a climate
panel to rebut the consensus among scientists at NASA, the EPA,
and other government agencies. It would include prominent global
warming deniers.
Other current and former Trump
officials exhibited further evidence of graft. Former
Interior Secretary Zinke, and current Commerce
Secretary Wilbur Ross. Speaking of commerce, farmers are
suffering
significantly under the President's
trade war.
The President continued to incite
violence against the press. A cameraman
was assaulted at one of the President's rallies. The President
refused to condemn a white nationalist, domestic terrorist, who
was caught before he could enact his race war inducing carnage.
Former temporary FBI director and Trump
nemesis, Andrew McCabe released a book with a number
of astonishing
claims, some
of which should be considered with caution.
The most serious, was also the most believable. That when the FBI
initiated its investigation into Trump, McCabe
told the Gang of Eight, and not a one objected.
With a number of international
adventures winding down, the President has found a new target, and
increased
the pressure on Venezuela.
The biggest collection of stories is
still the Russia Investigation. A report from multiple news outlets
proclaimed Mueller's investigation was wrapping up. This was
debunked shortly by the Department of Justice. My thought has always
been, reports have leaked consistently for the last year
continuously declaring the imminent end to the investigation. Anyone
saying this has a personal interest in its conclusion. These people want the public to believe
their truth, to become impatient with the ongoing investigation. Until a credible official, Mueller himself preferably (but otherwise only newly installed Attorney General Barr,
or Rod Rosenstein) declare the probe concluded, all stories are suspect.
A federal judge in charge of Manafort's
case agreed with Mueller that the defendant
had lied and broken his plea deal. Mueller argued that Manafort
should be sentenced to twenty plus years. The judge seems likely to
agree. Also Manafort
provided 75 pages of detailed polling to Russian contact Konstantin
Kilimnik on the 2nd of August, 2016.
Meanwhile, Trump confidant, Roger
Stone, indicted last month, was placed under gag-order when he posted
a threatening
image of the judge supervising his case.
And under-criminal, Michael Cohen,
provided limited, but detailed
testimony in a public House hearing about issues related to Russia,
but also Campaign Finance crimes.
Yet the most significant new
development of liability of the President
is the investigation into his Inauguration. There is concern
that he raised more than twice the amount of money as
President Obama (who was the highest at the time), and no one is
quite sure what
the money was spent on.
Wrapping up February were two major
events. The first was a dud. The President, after meeting North
Korea's Kim in Vietnam, left without any deal. The second, reports
indicate that the President ignored all advice to reject Jared
Kushner's application for a security clearance, and
gave it to him anyways.
If the full list of Events for the
month of February interests you, they can be found here.
Recent:
Relevant:
Comments
Post a Comment