Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

Trump grows frustrated with Giuliani as Stormy Daniels drama rages on
Politico | Eliana Johnson | date

The recent shakeups of the president's personal and White House legal teams have done little to calm things down.

The president has been griping to associates that Rudy Giuliani, his new personal attorney, has failed to shut down the Stormy Daniels hush money saga. And he has expressed frustration that Giuliani's media appearances are raising more questions than they are answering, turning the story into a days-long drama capped by the admission Sunday that the president may have made similar payments to other women.

For now, White House aides said, Giuliani still has a direct line in to Trump -- the two speak almost daily -- and nobody in the West Wing is eager to insert themselves between the two irascible New Yorkers by yanking Giuliani off TV. But some aides said they expect the president to fire Giuliani if his behavior doesn't change.

In a phone interview Monday, Giuliani pushed back against the notion that the president is unhappy with his performance. "If I'm not up to it, I don't know who is," he told POLITICO. "I know the Justice Department better than just about anyone." ... Read more

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Points Out a Key Part of Mueller's Team's Fraught Day in Court that People Missed
AlterNet | Cody Fenwick | 05/04/18

Everyone focused on the fact that the judge was critical of the special counsel -- few noticed the crucial part of Mueller's team's response.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's team appeared to have a tough day in court on Friday as Judge T.S. Ellis was sharply critical of the prosecutors' grounds to bring their case against Paul Manafort -- but perhaps the most important and informative part of the exchange went largely unnoticed.

The judge pushed the prosecutors on why they were bringing the case focusing on bank and tax fraud and against Manafort, President Donald Trump's one-time campaign chair, when it was so far afield of the original mandate that led to the creation of the special counsel. ... Read more

New York Attorney General Schneiderman resigns in wake of bombshell report
Politico | Laura Nahmias | 05/07/18

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a frequent antagonist of President Donald Trump, resigned his post following an explosive report that detailed allegations against him of physical abuse by four women.

Schneiderman, who had been a rising star in the Democratic Party, said he will resign effective Tuesday at the close of business. He challenged the accusations of abuse by women with whom he had romantic relationships. ... Read more

The 10 Biggest Revelations from the Massive Trove of Internal EPA Emails
Mother Jones | Rebecca Leber | 05/07/18

The emails, first reported by the New York Times, reveal his staff going to great lengths to limit most press access to his events--save for those that they determined were "friendly" media. They also show staff preventing questions from the public at his events and exerting more control over the FOIA process.

Pruitt's troubles with transparency are well-documented. In the past, his staff defended his unusual practices, such as not advertising his schedule, as "security concerns." But these emails detail more preoccupation with avoiding distractions at events than any real worries about his personal security. ... Read more