Trump Timeline ... Trumpocalypse

[Michael Scally MD]

WASHINGTON — The still-secret report on Russian interference in the 2016 election submitted by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, last week was more than 300 pages long, according to American officials with knowledge of it, a length that raises new questions about Attorney General William P. Barr’s four-page summary.

Mr. Barr wrote to Congress on Sunday offering what he called the “principal conclusions” of the report — including that Mr. Mueller had not found evidence that the Trump campaign took part in a conspiracy to undermine the election. But he had notably declined to publicly disclose its length.

The total of 300-plus pages suggests that Mr. Mueller went well beyond the kind of bare-bones summary required by the Justice Department regulation governing his appointment and detailed his conclusions at length. And it raises questions about what Mr. Barr might have left out of the four dense pages he sent Congress.

Democrats, who like all other lawmakers have not seen the report, have all but accused Mr. Barr of covering up damaging information it contains. They have specifically focused on an apparent difference between the views of Mr. Barr and Mr. Mueller on whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice. Democrats have demanded that the attorney general make the full report and evidence public.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

When Donald Trump wanted to make a good impression — on a lender, a business partner, or a journalist — he sometimes sent them official-looking documents called “Statements of Financial Condition.”

These documents sometimes ran up to 20 pages. They were full of numbers, laying out Trump’s properties, debts and multibillion-dollar net worth.

But, for someone trying to get a true picture of Trump’s net worth, the documents were deeply flawed. Some simply omitted properties that carried big debts. Some assets were overvalued. And some key numbers were wrong.

For instance, Trump’s financial statement for 2011 said he had 55 home lots to sell at his golf course in Southern California. Those lots would sell for $3 million or more, the statement said.

But Trump had only 31 lots zoned and ready for sale at the course, according to city records. He claimed credit for 24 lots — and at least $72 million in future revenue — he didn’t have.

He also claimed his Virginia vineyard had 2,000 acres, when it really has about 1,200. He said Trump Tower has 68 stories. It has 58.

Now, investigators on Capitol Hill and in New York are homing in on these unusual documents in an apparent attempt to determine whether Trump’s familiar habit of bragging about his wealth ever crossed a line into fraud.

The statements are at the center of at least two of the inquiries that continue to follow Trump, unaffected by the end of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation. On Wednesday, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-democrats-request-10-years-of-trump-financial-records/2019/03/27/4a9b67d0-50ba-11e9-a3f7-78b7525a8d5f_story.html?utm_term=.c323cf297b53 (the House Committee on Oversight and Reform said it had requested 10 years of these statements from Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA.)

And earlier this month, the New York state Department of Financial Services subpoenaed records from Trump’s longtime insurer, Aon. A person familiar with that subpoena, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation, said “a key component” was questions about whether Trump had given Aon these documents in an effort to lower his insurance premiums.

Both inquiries stemmed from testimony last month by Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, who told Congress that Trump had used these statements to inflate his wealth — and then sent them to his lenders and his insurers.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Appearing in front of a congressional committee on Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was asked a simple question: When is the United States going to unveil the long-awaited Israel-Palestinian peace plan being crafted by the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner?

“I think we can say in less than 20 years,” America’s top diplomat said, laughing. “I prefer not to be more precise.”

The remark was intended in jest, but it highlighted an unfortunate fact: The Trump administration’s peace plan has already been a long time coming, and few details have been revealed. Pompeo was smiling, but those hoping the plan may be the solution to one of the Middle East’s most intractable problems fear they may be waiting not for Kushner, but for Godot.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

The Trump appointee who oversees Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare quietly directed millions of taxpayer dollars in contracts to Republican communications consultants during her tenure atop the agency — including hiring one well-connected GOP media adviser to bolster her public profile.

The communications subcontracts approved by CMS Administrator Seema Verma — routed through a larger federal contract and described to POLITICO by three individuals with firsthand knowledge of the agreements — represent a sharp break from precedent at the agency. Those deals, managed by Verma’s deputies, came in some cases over the objections of CMS staffers, who raised concerns about her push to use federal funds on GOP consultants and to amplify coverage of Verma’s own work. CMS has its own large communications shop, including about two dozen people who handle the press.

Verma, a close ally of Vice President Mike Pence, has become a lightning rod for pushing work requirements in Medicaid and spearheading the Trump administration’s efforts to unilaterally unwind pieces of Obamacare. She previously worked as a consultant to conservative states seeking to reshape health care programs for the poor.

Her agency’s use of outside contracts and subcontracts is legal, but experts and current officials say it is not transparent and raises ethical questions.

“Outsourcing communications work to private contractors puts the agency's ability to protect ‘potentially market-moving’ information from premature disclosure at considerable risk,” said Andy Schneider, a Medicaid expert who worked at CMS during the Obama administration and is now a researcher at Georgetown University.

And whether the issue was Medicare, Medicaid or Obamacare, prior heads of the agency were often quoted, profiled and in the news, so current officials said they’re puzzled why so much work is being outsourced.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

NOTHING BUT BUTT FROM BARR
https://claytoonz.com/2019/03/29/nothing-but-butt-from-barr/

Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr submitted his report to Congress on September 9, 1998. On September 11, Congress released it to the public. In case you’re a Republican, that’s two days.

Starr was appointed to investigate a bad land deal involving the Clintons and after four years, he sent a report to Congress about oral sex in the Oval Office. When it was released, 20 million Americans attempted to download the document. Being that it was 1998 with the report being over 400 pages, and most of those Americans were using AOL, they’re still downloading it.

The Mueller Report is reportedly around 300 pages, which is 299 and a half more pages than Donald Trump can read. While the House voted unanimously for the report to be released to the public, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is blocking an effort by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for the upper chamber to do the same. This is the second time McConnell has blocked it, and other efforts have been blocked by Senators Rand Paul and Lindsey Graham (Surprise!), who both did so while saying, “But Obama!”

Republicans are joining Donald Trump in declaring vindication and they’re perfectly satisfied to base that judgment on a four-page summary from Trump’s Attorney General, William Barr.

Barr should have recused himself from overseeing the report and making any decisions as to its release and content. He auditioned for the job by publishing a memo stating that it’s not possible for the president to obstruct justice. Barr, appointed by Trump after saying he can’t obstruct justice, ruled that there was no obstruction, and is now sitting his derriere on the report. There is now talk that the report will be released, at least partially in a few weeks.

Still, that’s not two days. When the Starr Report came out, it was published like a pulp fiction novel and sold in grocery stores, which is how I got it (I had AOL too and was NOT going to attempt to download it). It contained every scandalous detail of Bill and Monica’s canoodling. Every. Single. Gross. Detail. It should have only been read on Cinemax after 10:00 PM (Remember, this was 1998).

Since Donald Trump was “exonerated” by the report, why wait to release it? What is there to hide? It can’t be more embarrassing than the Starr Report where it had a president doing sticky things with an intern…unless this report has Trump and his goons doing sticky things with Russians.

Spoiler: Trump and his goons were doing sticky things with Russians.

At this time, I’m tired of seeing nothing but Bill Barr’s ass, Donald Trump’s ass, and every single Republican in Congresses ass. It’s been a week and there’s been nothing but ass. Let’s see the report.