emptywheel

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September 25, 2018

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Here are three things which are in some way related and worth more of our attention, whatever is left after the 800-pound gorillas Kavanaugh and Rosenstein are done with it.

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Left Theory

Democracy Against Capitalism: Democracy

6 Comments

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September 25, 2018

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Ed Walker

Is Ancient Athenian Democracy a good model for us today?

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Law

Brett Kavanaugh: "It Depends on What the Meaning of the Phrase 'Sexual Assault' Is"

121 Comments

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September 25, 2018

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emptywheel

The guy who helped impeach Bill Clinton for a blowjob just used an, "It depends on what the meaning of the phrase 'sexual assault' is" defense to serial accusations he committed sexual assault.

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2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

On Rosenstein, We Shall See ...

183 Comments

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September 24, 2018

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emptywheel

I'm not sure we really know what will happen if and when Trump fires Rosenstein on Thursday.

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Culture, Law

Not All Influencers Are Celebrities on YouTube

39 Comments

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September 24, 2018

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Rayne

There's something hinky going on with news feed in Twitter over the last two days. Is it faulty curation or deliberate promotion?

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Law

Brett Kavanaugh Just Provided Compelling Evidence He Received Sexually Explicit Emails from Alex Kozinski

152 Comments

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September 23, 2018

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emptywheel

Brett Kavanaugh just provided evidence that he's an assiduous record keeper. Which leaves just one credible explanation for why he refuses to check to see whether he received sexually explicit emails from Alex Kozinski.

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Trash Talk

Trash Talk: Possession is 9/10ths of the Law

52 Comments

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September 23, 2018

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Rayne

This weekend's Trash Talk has been hijacked -- I've taken adverse possession.

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2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

On KT McFarland's Belated Unforgetting of the Truth

83 Comments

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September 22, 2018

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emptywheel

KT McFarland just made it clear to Donald Trump -- who may be working on his take home exam from Robert Mueller as we speak -- that both she and Mike Flynn have made it clear that he ordered them to tell Russian they'd get sanctions relief.

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2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

Rob Goldstone Continues to Work the Press to Spin His Role in the June 9 Meeting

25 Comments

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September 22, 2018

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emptywheel

There's a really funny line in Rosalind Helderman's profile of Rob Goldstone in conjunction with the release of his book. First, Helderman comically asserts that Goldstone -- who did an interview for a long piece in the British Times that…

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2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

The Shiny Object of the May 2017 Russian Investigation: The Evidence Mostly Came in after August 1

57 Comments

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September 21, 2018

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emptywheel

The press' focus on what happened in May 2017, rather than what happened after August 1, totally obfuscates the history of the Russia investigation.

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2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

The NYT "Scoop" Appears To Be an Effort to Spin Opening an Investigation into Trump as an Erratic Act

79 Comments

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September 21, 2018

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emptywheel

Today's document dump appears to be an attempt to spin the decision to open a formal investigation into the President as the product of erratic Rod Rosenstein behavior.

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2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

NYT Gives Trump His Excuse to Fire Rod Rosenstein

60 Comments

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September 21, 2018

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emptywheel

None of the people the NYT cites as sources for the allegation that Rod Rosenstein was acting erratically in the days when he appointed Robert Mueller were, according to NYT's own descriptions, actual witnesses of his actions.

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Law

Brett Kavanaugh's Character Witnesses: Ken Starr, Bill Shine, and Donald Trump

76 Comments

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September 21, 2018

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emptywheel

Over the last week, some pretty curious character witnesses have come out to insist that Brett Kavanaugh is a nice man who would never sexually assault someone else. First, there's Ken Starr, who judged that Christine Blasey Ford had had…

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2016 Presidential Election, Cybersecurity, Mueller Probe, WikiLeaks

The Assange Exfiltration Would Have Taken Place in the Wake of Joshua Schulte Tor Activity

6 Comments

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September 21, 2018

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emptywheel

The timing of the reported exfiltration attempt of Assange last year is particularly telling, as it happened when things were falling apart for accused Vault 7 leaker Joshua Schulte.

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2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe, Trump Administration

The Committee Playing Games with Perjury Referrals Swears They Can Make Mark Judge Tell the Truth without Testifying

114 Comments

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September 20, 2018

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emptywheel

Chuck Grassley promises Mark Judge will be referred for perjury charges if he lies to the Senate Judiciary Committee. But that's what he said to Don Jr before Don Jr lied to the committee.

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2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

In Putin's Russia, Trolls Fool Even You

66 Comments

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September 20, 2018

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emptywheel

A NYT story on the Russian influence operation relays Russian propaganda while calling out Trump supporters as if they're the only ones who get fooled by propaganda.

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Cybersecurity

In media res: the FBI's WannaCry Attribution

13 Comments

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September 19, 2018

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emptywheel

There's a big gap in the FBI timeline blaming WannaCry on North Korea.

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2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

Donald Trump's Bubble May Be Robert Mueller's Greatest Weapon

124 Comments

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September 19, 2018

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emptywheel

Robert Mueller has a slew of really good lawyers working for him. But I think his biggest asset is Donald Trump's bubble. Consider this NYT story, in which a bunch of lawyers anonymously blame each other for getting 16 months into the Special…

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2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

Trump Wants Voters -- and Russia -- to Know What the Russia Investigation Looked Like on August 1, 2017, not September 14, 2018

64 Comments

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September 17, 2018

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emptywheel

In a desperate gambit to lead voters to forget that his campaign manager just turned state's evidence against him, the President is going to roll out a shit-ton of evidence about what the investigation looked like before evidence of the conspiracy Trump entered into with the Russians.

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Law

Father Doesn't Know Best: Kavanaugh and Women's Unshared Traumas

70 Comments

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September 17, 2018

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Rayne

The revelation of Christine Blasey Ford's name and the release of her letter to Senator Feinstein triggered memories for many of us, most quite painful. We come forward now to say this is enough.

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Three Things: CRC—What? An Indictment, Plus Shut Downs Ahead

Democracy Against Capitalism: Democracy

Brett Kavanaugh: “It Depends on What the Meaning of the Phrase ‘Sexual Assault’ Is”

On Rosenstein, We Shall See …

Not All Influencers Are Celebrities on YouTube

Three Things: CRC—What? An Indictment, Plus Shut Downs Ahead

Democracy Against Capitalism: Democracy

Brett Kavanaugh: "It Depends on What the Meaning of the Phrase 'Sexual Assault' Is"

On Rosenstein, We Shall See ...

Not All Influencers Are Celebrities on YouTube

Brett Kavanaugh Just Provided Compelling Evidence He Received Sexually Explicit Emails from Alex Kozinski

Trash Talk: Possession is 9/10ths of the Law

On KT McFarland's Belated Unforgetting of the Truth

Rob Goldstone Continues to Work the Press to Spin His Role in the June 9 Meeting

The Shiny Object of the May 2017 Russian Investigation: The Evidence Mostly Came in after August 1

The NYT "Scoop" Appears To Be an Effort to Spin Opening an Investigation into Trump as an Erratic Act

NYT Gives Trump His Excuse to Fire Rod Rosenstein

Brett Kavanaugh's Character Witnesses: Ken Starr, Bill Shine, and Donald Trump

The Assange Exfiltration Would Have Taken Place in the Wake of Joshua Schulte Tor Activity

The Committee Playing Games with Perjury Referrals Swears They Can Make Mark Judge Tell the Truth without Testifying

In Putin's Russia, Trolls Fool Even You

In media res: the FBI's WannaCry Attribution

Donald Trump's Bubble May Be Robert Mueller's Greatest Weapon

Trump Wants Voters -- and Russia -- to Know What the Russia Investigation Looked Like on August 1, 2017, not September 14, 2018

Father Doesn't Know Best: Kavanaugh and Women's Unshared Traumas

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