Week 58

This week Trump and the Republicans passed their first piece of major legislation, violating many democratic norms in the process: a wildly unpopular tax plan, which will massively redistribute wealth akin to an oligarchy. Polling shows the Republican Party could face a tsunami in 2018 as voters, especially women and voters under 35, are fleeing the party under Trump.

This week the Trump regime escalated their attacks on Mueller, the FBI, and the DOJ, seeking to discredit the probe and these institutions. The country braced for the very real possibility that Trump could fire Mueller, or replace Jeff Sessions or Rod Rosenstein as a way to do so indirectly. Many voices voiced concern about broken norms and our eroding democracy.

On Saturday, Axios reported Mueller has obtained tens of thousands of emails from 12 members of Trump’s transition team. The Trump regime discovered Mueller had the emails based on questions posed to witnesses.
Kory Langhofer, counsel for the transition team, sent letters to House and Senate committees claiming Mueller unlawfully obtained “tens of thousands of emails” from the General Services Administration.
The special counsel dismissed the claim, saying they obtained the emails in the course the criminal investigation, and secured them with “either the account owner’s consent or appropriate criminal process.”
On Sunday, as Trump returned to the WH and was asked about Mueller obtaining the emails, he responded, “my people are very upset,” adding, “and as we said, there’s no collusion. There’s no collusion whatsoever.”
WAPO reported Trump’s lawyers are set to meet with Mueller’s team this week. His lawyers have assured Trump the probe will wrap up by January or so, and they will ask Mueller what he needs to conclude the probe.
Trump advisers reportedly said he is not considering firing Mueller, but has been sharply critical of Sessions and Rosenstein. Trump has ranted about Rosenstein being “a Democrat” when, in fact, he is a Republican.
On Monday, WAPO further reported that despite Trump lawyers’ assurances, the Mueller probe could last at least another year. Mueller’s team continues to request new documents related to the campaign.
On Sunday, the Kremlin was the first to share that Putin called Trump to thank him for sharing intelligence which thwarted a terrorist bomb plot in St. Petersburg. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later confirmed the call.
This was the second time Trump and Putin have spoken in the past three days, and both calls were first made public by Russian sources. Trump’s Oval Office meeting in Week 26 was also reported by Russian sources.
The WH released an odd readout of the call between Trump and Putin. It is highly unusual for leaders to publicly disclose sharing intelligence information, or to publicly thank each other.
Former DNI James Clapper told CNN the exchanges between Putin and Trump are “illustrative of what a great case officer Vladimir Putin is. He knows how to handle an asset, and that’s what he’s doing” with Trump.
An AP-NORC poll found that 63% of Americans believe Trump tried to “impede or obstruct” the investigation into whether his campaign had ties to Russia.
Pew Research found 60% of Americans say Trump has made race relations worse in the US, while 8% say he has been them better.
Susan Bro, mother of slain Charlottesville heroine Heather Heyer, said she has had to hide her daughter’s grave because of hostility from neo-Nazis: “It’s a symptom of hate in society…I’m protecting my child now.”
Jayda Fransen, a leader of far-right Britain First, whose anti-Muslim tweet was retweeted by Trump in Week 55, was suspended from Twitter as part of the social network’s efforts to crack down on hate speech.
A federal judge in PA blocked the Trump regime’s rules which made it easier for employers to deny insurance coverage for birth control, saying the ACA has no statutory language allowing such “sweeping exemptions.”
A second federal judge halted the Trump administration’s rollback of Obamacare birth control coverage. The CA ruling focused on the fact the regime issued interim final rules without a chance for the public to submit comment.
LA Times reported Scott Lloyd, the anti-abortion activist who heads Trump’s refugee resettlement program, again unsuccessfully tried to block an undocumented teen from getting an abortion: a 17-year-old rape victim, “Jane Poe.”
Trump’s DOJ plans to fight the issue of whether underage detainees have a right to access abortion, hoping to have the Supreme Court hear the case. Sessions said of losing the Jane Poe case, “We’re disturbed about it.”
On Thursday, a federal court denied the Trump regime’s efforts to delay accepting transgender recruits into the military. Three judges have ruled the ban cannot go into effect while the case works through the courts.
On Friday, an appeals court ruled against Trump’s travel ban 3.0, saying Trump has exceeded his authority in issuing the directive. The ruling won’t have an immediate effect due to a Supreme Court stay.
LA Times reported Customs and Border Protection has awarded a division of Accenture with a $297 million contract to help recruit and hire the new agents and other workers as staffing levels continue to fall.
NPR reported the Organization for Competitive Markets, a small-farmers think tank based in NE, filed a lawsuit against Trump’s USDA for rolling back two Obama-era rules which protected small farmers.
Despite Trump’s promises to protect steel workers, steel imports have soared under Trump (some coming from Trump insiders and Russia per The Weekly List), and layoffs are coming.
The Education Department announced it will slash debt relief for students defrauded by their colleges, which Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said will “protect taxpayers.” Under Obama, defrauded students were given complete loan forgiveness.
In a boon to offshore drillers, the Trump regime concluded that the “incidental” killings of about 1,000 bird species are not illegal, reversing an Obama-era policy under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
WSJ reported the Trump regime reversed an Obama-era decision, granting a mining lease to Andrónico Luksic, a Chilean billionaire who is currently renting a mansion he bought in 2016 outside DC to Ivanka and Kushner.
Rick Dearborn, deputy chief of staff and one of Trump’s top aides, will step down early next year to pursue private sector work. Dearborn is the latest high-profile West Wing departure in recent weeks.
A federal judge ordered Trump’s Election Integrity Committee to turn over documents to one of its Democratic commissioners, Matthew Dunlap, who says he has not received information since a September 12 public meeting.
Sun Sentinel reported as Trump heads back to Mar-A-Lago, his “Winter White House” for the holidays, the Trump regime continues to thwart requests under the FOIA to publicly release visitor logs.
Trump’s HHS defended its decision to hide public comments on a proposal that could affect access to abortion and care for transgender patients. HHS received 10,729 comments on its proposal and has only posted 80 so far.
Sources say the HHS hand-picked the 80 comments posted, and almost all of them back the Trump regime’s policies or attack regulations advanced by the Obama administration. The move could lead to legal challenges.
On Sunday, the CDC director insisted there are “no banned words” at the agency. The NYT reported eliminating these words was meant to be a technique to help secure Republican approval of the 2019 budget.
WAPO reported Trump’s WH took down “We the People,” a popular online tool created by the Obama administration to create online petitions. Petitions with over 100K signatures required an official response.
All active petitions, including the most popular petition calling on Trump to release his tax returns, with over one million signatures, disappeared. The regime cited a maintenance effort to improve website performance.
On Thursday, Sessions’ DOJ revoked 25 guidance documents dating back to 1975. The documents interpreted and explained a wide range of federal laws, from accommodating people with disabilities to voting rights.
Also revoked was an Obama-era DOJ letter that asked local courts nationwide to be wary of slapping poor defendants with hefty fines for local revenue. Sessions said all the guidance documents overreached.
Matthew Petersen, a Trump nominee to the federal judiciary who in Week 57 struggled to answer basic legal questions posed by Senators, became the third Trump judicial pick to withdraw in the past 10 days.
The other two were Brett Talley also withdrew in Week 57, and Jeffrey Mateer, whose homophobic statements became public, including calling same-sex marriage “disgusting” and likening it to polygamy and bestiality.
Two Republicans joined Democrats to block Trump’s nominee to lead the Export-Import Bank, Scott Garrett. As a member of Congress, Garrett was a critic of the Export-Import Bank and voted twice to eliminate it.
Through a FOIA request, Motherboard obtained FCC internal reports which show the FCC investigated the Congressional Republican allegation that net neutrality was an Obama-led takeover of the internet.
The internal probe by the Inspector General found this claim, the premise for rescinding net neutrality, to be false. The findings were not made public prior to last Thursday’s 3–2 vote.
The Hill reported the EPA paid $3K in March for a company to do a “sweep for covert/illegal surveillance devices” of EPA chief Scott Pruitt’s office. Pruitt also has 24-hour security detail and a secure phone booth in his office.
ProPublica and NYT reported on a mass exodus from the EPA: more than 700 under Trump, including over 200 scientists, have left the agency. Dozens of environmental rules have been either opened for reconsideration or overturned.
One example is the effluent rule, which the EPA is about to overturn, overruling science and prevailing industry practices to benefit a few coal-fired power plants that were having trouble meeting the new standards.
AP reported on the EPA’s Superfund Task Force created by Pruitt in May. In June, the task force issued a report containing 42 detailed recommendations, all of which Pruitt immediately adopted.
The task force was led by a political donor to Pruitt who has no environmental experience. Information released under a FOIA request shows the task force generated no record of its deliberations.
On Monday, Trump outlined his National Security Strategy, again evoking a dystopian worldview and zero-sum game relating to allies. The strategy drew wide condemnation from experts and former NSA Susan Rice.
WAPO Editorial Board issued a scathing rebuke titled, “Trump’s National Security Strategy isn’t much of a strategy at all,” noting inconsistencies, contrast to his actual approach, and noting Trump may not have read it.
Crain’s reported the Trump Organization fell steeply in their rankings of the largest privately held New York companies, from number 3 last year to number 40 this year.
Crain’s also noted the market for Trump-branded apartments in New York City is cooling fast: the price per square foot in Trump Tower has dropped 23% and Trump Tower on Central Park is down 24% since 2015.
On Saturday, Fox News escalated the anti-Mueller rhetoric. Host Jesse Watters said, “we may now have proof the investigation was weaponized to destroy his presidency,” and “if that’s true, we have a coup on our hands.”
In that same interview, as Kellyanne Conway spoke to Watters, the chyron on the screen read, “A COUP IN AMERICA?” Both were referring to Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who were removed from the special counsel investigation.
On Saturday, Rep. Jim Jordan told Fox News he’s gotten a commitment from Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to subpoena top officials at the FBI and DOJ in their inquiry into claims of bias against Trump.
On Tuesday, Kevin Jackson, a guest co-host on Fox News suggested the FBI agents who sent anti-Trump text messages may have planned to kill Trump after the he defeated Hillary Clinton last November.
On Tuesday, Donald Jr. told young conservatives in FL that FBI investigators are conspiring against Trump, “there are people at the highest levels of government that don’t want to let America be America.”
On Wednesday, Politico reported a group of House Republicans, led by Rep. Devin Nunes, have been secretly meeting for weeks to build a case against senior officials at the DOJ and FBI for mishandling contents of the dossier.
Their product could be used by Republicans to discredit the Mueller investigation, or to justify his dismissal. Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee were not informed, although committee documents are being used.
A WSJ/NBC News poll found American’s view on Mueller has become less favorable, with a net positive of 7 points in December, down from 13 point in June. The net decrease came from a shift in Republican sentiment.
Chris Christie, who served as chairman for Trump’s transition team, told MSNBC Kushner deserves scrutiny for his involvement in the Russia meetings. Christie also defended Mueller, saying he is “an honest guy,” who “will do an honest, fair investigation.”
In a pair of letters, 22 former US attorneys and 22 Republican and conservative officials pushed back against efforts to discredit Mueller, saying his team must be allowed to continue its work.
NBC News reported in the weeks ahead of his first high-level intelligence briefing on August 17, Trump was warned by the FBI that foreign adversaries, including Russia, would likely try to spy on or infiltrate his campaign.
Hillary got a similar warning. Both candidates were urged to alert the FBI to any suspicious overtures. The Trump campaign did not report overtures; although the FBI had started to investigate Trump campaign-Russia contacts.
After the FBI warning, Donald Jr. exchanged Twitter messages with WikiLeaks in September. In October, US intelligence accused WikiLeaks of acting as an agent in Russia’s covert operation to interfere in the election.
Bloomberg reported Mueller is looking at Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative, a foundation which claims to be about Russian adoption, but instead appears to be a lobbying vehicle against Russian sanctions.
The foundation was financed by $500K in donations from wealthy Russians. A woman who contacted the foundation met with Rinat Akhmetshin, a former Soviet intel officer who attended the June 9 Trump Tower meeting.
Akhmetshin asked the woman who her member of Congress was, so he could make an approach on her behalf. He also assured her, “things would change” after the upcoming elections.
BuzzFeed reported the Senate Intelligence Committee has asked Jill Stein’s campaign to turn over documents. Stein attended a dinner in Moscow, along with Michael Flynn, hosted by RT in 2015. Both sat at Putin’s table.
Foreign Policy reported WH counsel Don McGahn was looking into whether Flynn violated federal laws in the very first days of Trump taking office, according to confidential government documents.
According to sources, McGahn researched federal law dealing with both lying to federal investigators and the Logan Act, and concluded Flynn possibly violated one or both. McGahn turned his records over to Mueller.
Reince Priebus told “Meet the Press” on February 19 that Trump did not fire Flynn earlier because “the legal department came back and said that they didn’t see anything wrong.” Records given to Mueller’s team contradict this.
Gizmodo reported days before Flynn’s conversations with Sergey Kislyak, members of Trump’s transition team made inquiries to the director of national intelligence’s office about ways to encrypt Flynn’s conversations.
Internal conversations made public through a FOIA reveal that a messaging app called Signal, which allows users to exchange messages that can self-destruct, was recommended to the transition team. It is unclear if Signal was used.
The next day, Flynn attended a secret meeting at Trump Tower with Kislyak and Kushner. Kislyak later reported to Moscow that they discussed establishing a secret and secure communication channel.
Reuters reported Venezuela awarded licenses to a unit of Russian state-oil company Rosneft to develop two offshore gas fields. Rosneft’s CEO also discussed cooperation with Venezuelan state energy company PDVSA.
In Week 25, Citgo, whose parent company is PDVSA, was represented by Trump insider Corey Lewandowski, and per Week 26, made a $500K donation to Trump’s inauguration.
AP reported Russian hacking group Fancy Bear targeted 200 journalists, publishers and bloggers from 2014 until recently, providing new evidence to US intelligence that Russia intervened in the US election to help Trump.
Bloomberg reported a late-added perk in the Republican tax plan is a windfall for real estate developers like Trump. Sen. Bob Corker, who changed his vote to yes and is a real estate investor, said he was unaware of the change.
On Tuesday a WSJ/NBC News poll found support for the Republican tax plan has fallen to 24%, while 41% believe it’s a bad idea.
The poll also found 63% of Americans say the plan was designed to help corporations and the wealthy, and just 7% say it helps the middle class.
On Tuesday, the House passed the Republican tax bill, but because the version violated three provision of the Senate’s Byrd Rule, the vote was nullified and the House was forced to re-vote on Wednesday
On Wednesday, the Senate and House passed the Republican tax bill, a historically unpopular piece of legislation, while breaking norms including not holding hearings or waiting for Doug Jones from AL to be seated.
Guardian reported their analysis shows Trump will save up to $15 million under the bill, Kushner will save up to $12 million, and cabinet members Wilbur Ross, Linda McMahon, Betsy DeVos, Steven Mnuchin, and Rex Tillerson will save millions.
After passage of the GOP tax bill, FiveThirtyEight reported House Republicans are in a historically poor position (-12.2), which could turn a November 2018 blue wave into a flood.
In celebrating passage of the Republican tax plan, Trump falsely claimed he had “repealed Obamacare,” a key promise he made as a candidate.
Almost nine million Americans signed up for Obamacare, close to 2016 levels despite the Trump regime cutting the enrollment period in half, not advertising, and other steps cited in The Weekly List to hobble sign-ups.
On Tuesday, an Amtrak train derailed in WA. Trump said the derailment was “more reason why we must immediately start fixing the infrastructure of the US.” Trump’s 2018 budget cuts the Amtrak budget by $630 million.
Breitbart EIC Alex Marlow told CNN his website tried to discredit sexual assault allegations against Moore to protect Trump: “it’s not just about Judge Moore…It’s about what’s coming next for President Trump.”
Roy Moore has not conceded last Tuesday’s race. In a video, Moore said “immorality sweeps our land,” and “abortion, sodomy and materialism have taken the place of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello ordered that every death on the island since Hurricane Maria be reviewed. While the “official” death count is 64, NYT, Vox and Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism have all estimated the actual count is closer to one-thousand.
Center for Investigative Journalism reported the US Army Corps of Engineers hired only one company, Xperts, to collect the majority of Puerto Rico’s hurricane debris. In several municipalities, clean up has not begun.
NPR reported Refugees International, a human rights organization, issued a scathing report on the US response in Puerto Rico, calling it “uncoordinated and poorly implemented,” and saying it prolonged the “humanitarian emergency.”
Puerto Rico was hit hard in the Republican tax bill, which treats companies there the same as those operating outside the US, subjecting them to a tax of up to 12.5% percent on intellectual property.
Saying the Republican tax bill could hobble their economy which is still recovering from Hurricane Maria, Rossello vowed revenge in the midterm elections by mobilizing 5.3 million Puerto Ricans living on the mainland.
On Monday, NBC News reported senior Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee are preparing to wrap up their Russia probe in the coming weeks, saying Democrats just want to prolong things.
Business Insider reported the House Intelligence Committee has issued only one subpoena to a financial firm in eleven months, and not Deutsche Bank as Democrats requested. Nunes has subpoenaed Fusion GPS’s bank.
On Tuesday, the House Intelligence Committee grilled FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe for nearly eight hours behind closed doors. Fox News’s coverage was critical, saying McCabe drew blanks on Democrats’ funding of the dossier.
CNN reported McCabe told the House Intelligence Committee that Comey informed him of conversations he had with Trump soon after they occurred, suggesting McCabe could corroborate Comey’s account.
Ahead of his committee’s interview of McCabe, Rep. Elijah Cummings said, “This is a fight for the soul of our democracy. Nothing less. I’m going to work hard to make sure we save that democracy and I will fight until I die.”
Washington Examiner reported “frustrated” lawmakers pressed McCabe on the dossier. McCabe said dossier met the FBI’s standards of credibility to open an investigation, but would not say which parts had been verified.
On Wednesday, Sen. Mark Warner took to the Senate floor and warned of a “red line” if Trump moves to fire Mueller directly or indirectly, saying this could “provoke a constitutional crisis,” adding “no one, no one is above the law.”
Warner also warned against Trump issuing pardons. Warner told reporters he spoke out before holiday break because he sees a “coordinate effort to undermine Mueller, and in many ways more broadly even the FBI.”
On Friday, WAPO reported the FBI’s top lawyer, James Baker, is being reassigned. Baker was investigated in a leak probe, but has been cleared. Baker, like McCabe, is one of the senior FBI officials Comey confided in.
Late Friday, Politico reported, according to GOP sources, Baker was in touch with David Corn of Mother Jones in fall 2016. Corn was the first US journalist to report on the dossier. Corn said Baker was not a source.
Sally Yates penned a widely-read op-ed saying our country has “reach an inflection point,” our core values and democratic institutions are at stake, and it is time to “decide who we are as a country and what we stand for.”
On Wednesday, at a cabinet meeting, Trump threatened to cut off American aid for countries who vote for an UN resolution condemning his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
UN ambassador Nikki Haley also issued a stern warning, tweeting to UN members that the US is “taking names” on the vote. Haley also sent a letter to several UN members ahead of the vote.
On Thursday, former CIA director John Brennan slammed Trump’s threat to retaliate, tweeting Trump “expects blind loyalty and subservience from everyone — qualities usually found in narcissistic, vengeful autocrats.”
On Thursday, in a rebuke to Trump, the UN General Assembly voted 128 to 9, with 35 abstentions, passing a resolution demanding Trump rescind his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
On Friday, Haley invited the 65 countries that voted no, abstained, or did not cast a ballot to a reception as a “thank you for your friendship to the United States” on January 3, 2018.
Meredith, the company that purchased Time Inc. with backing from the Koch brothers, said the iconic Time Inc. name may be retired.
Esquire reported how Murdoch’s WSJ has increasingly become more Trump-friendly, leading to departures of top talent. The Journal recently killed a story on Trump’s mob ties on the editorial page.
Foreign Policy reported Jennifer Newstead, Trump’s pick for top State Department legal advisor, acknowledged Saudi Arabia could be violating US and international law by restricting the flow of humanitarian aid in Yemen.
Mother Jones reported Definers, the overtly partisan PR firm which was awarded a $120K no-bid EPA contract in Week 57 for to perform opposition research on the media, has pulled out of the deal.
Foreign Policy reported Dan Meyer, the ED of Intelligence Community Whistleblowing and Source Protection, was escorted out of his office, pending a tribunal. Senate Judiciary Committee chair Chuck Grassley demanded to know why.
NY Daily News reported a law firm which represented Kushner’s real estate company in dozens of eviction and housing court cases is suing the company for over $100K of unpaid legal fees.
On Friday, NYT reported the US attorney’s office in the Eastern District of NY subpoenaed Deutsche Bank for records relating to hundreds of millions of dollars of loans to the Kushner family real estate business.
The Deutsche Bank subpoena is not related to the Mueller investigation. Kushner Companies also received inquiries from Brooklyn prosecutors about its use of the EB-5 visa program to finance two NJ projects.
CDC director Brenda Fitzgerald faced scrutiny from Senate Democrats on her ability to perform her duties, having pledged not to conduct government business where she has financial interests, including cancer and opioids.
Several states announced their Children Health Insurance Funding (CHIP) monies would run out at year-end. On Thursday, Congress finally passed a short-term fix which allows the program to run through March 2018.
On Tuesday, WAPO reported Trump considered rescinding Neil Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination, questioning his loyalty after Gorsuch said he found Trump’s attacks on the federal judiciary “disheartening” and “demoralizing.”
On Wednesday, Trump hosted a cabinet meeting. Similar to a cabinet meeting in Week 31, Trump’s cabinet took turns praising him after Trump started the meeting with 12 minutes of boasting to the press.
Pence praised Trump for nearly three minutes, offering 14 commendations — one every 12 seconds — on Trump’s words, his strategy and his results in light of the passage of tax cuts.
Following the cabinet meeting, the WH issued a statement, “Cabinet Meeting Marks Tremendous Year of Progress,” citing the praise for Trump by every cabinet member.
On Thursday, NBC News reported on order by Sessions, DOJ prosecutors have begun asking FBI agents for information on the now dormant criminal investigation of the Clintons and the Uranium One deal.
DOJ prosecutors have asked FBI agents if there was any improper effort to squash a prosecution. A DOJ official told NBC News this was prompted by allegations from Congressional Republicans that the case was mishandled.
Trump has also frequently tweeted and mentioned the Uranium One case, imploring Sessions and the DOJ to investigate. WAPO gave Trump’s repeated allegations against Hillary’s role “Four Pinocchios.”
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging Trump violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause, ruling the plaintiffs, led by CREW, lacked standing to bring the case, saying it was up to Congress.
On Friday, Bloomberg reported the House Intelligence Committee sent voluntary invitations to Bannon and Lewandowski to be interviewed behind closed doors as part of the committee’s Russia investigation.
WAPO reported the presidential coin has undergone a makeover: the national motto, “E pluribus unum” — Latin for “out of many, one” — will be replace with “Make America Great Again,” now on both sides of the coin.
Peter Hoekstra, US ambassador to the Netherlands, was asked by a Dutch reporter why he said there are “no go” areas in the Netherlands where radical Muslims are setting cars and politicians on fire. Hoekstra responded, “That’s fake news, I never said that,” and then the reporter showed him the clip where he’d discussed the zones.
NYT reported on a June WH meeting where Trump was furious so many non-white immigrants had entered our country since January. Reportedly Trump said his friends were calling to say he looked like a fool.
Of 15K from Haiti, Trump said they “all have AIDS.” Of 40K from Nigeria, Trump said once they had seen the US, they would never “go back to their huts” in Africa. Trump, John Kelly, and Stephen Miller blamed Tillerson for the inflow of immigrants.

“The List” — weeks 1–52 of The Weekly List are coming out as a book! You can pre-order your copy by clicking here.

The white men — Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Vice President Mike Pence, and House Speaker Paul Ryan, celebrate the passage of the Republican tax bill on the South Lawn at the White House.