One of the best things about Good News Roundups is that they remind us how very strong the Resistance is and how resilient the American “experiment” truly is. When I first happened upon a Good News Roundup last year (oh, happy accident!), it was literally a turning point for me, psychologically, in the midst of our current political nightmare. My anxiety eased, the cloud of despair that I was struggling under dissipated, and the bright light of hope shone on me thanks to reading the evidentiary truth that we are in the majority, we are a resilient democracy rooted in the rule of law and — although we will always have to resist human greed and thirst for power — “the arc of history bends toward justice”.
Setbacks happen (2016 and the shitstorm that followed was a doozy, for sure). When there is a constant push/pull between conservatism and progressivism, progress happens in fits and starts and when we take one step backward it is understandable that we may temporarily forget it was after two steps forward and we still have a net gain of one step forward. Progressives will probably always have to fight against the (dwindling!) ranks of reactionary conservatives, but we can beat them and we will!
So, without further ado, on to Friday’s good news!
Another Witch Successfully Hunted!
Reuters’ white collar crime reporter, Nathan Layne, broke this scoop Thursday: Jeffrey Yohai, former son-in-law of Paul Manafort, has reached a plea deal with the DOJ in connection with undisclosed charges and has become a cooperating witness for ‘other criminal investigations’.
The guilty plea agreement, which is under seal and has not been previously reported, could add to the legal pressure on Manafort, who is facing two indictments brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his probe of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Nathan Layne, Manafort’s former son-in-law cuts plea deal, agrees to cooperate with government-sources, Reuters, May 17, 2018.
Former US Attorney (AL), Joyce Vance, explained on the Rachel Maddow show Thursday night that the specific prosecutor who filed the charges against Yohai and obtained the guilty plea, works in the major fraud section (of the L.A. district attorney’s office) and based upon the lower threshold of the types of cases this prosecutor would be looking at, Yohai was looking at likely 15 years minimum in prison if convicted of the crimes. The DA office’s case must have been very strong, because Manafort’s son-in-law chose to avoid a trial, plead guilty and take the plea deal to become a cooperating witness.
Although it is not known yet what other cases the DOJ will use Yohai’s information, testimony and cooperation to prosecute, it is a good guess (according to Vance and others) that he will be used as a cooperating witness by the Special Counsel, since he had a business partnership with Manafort.
This is very bad news for Paul Manafort and very good news for us!
Trump Moscow Bombshell Story
On Wednesday night during The Rachel Maddow Show, Yahoo News broke this scoop:
“Prosecutors and congressional investigators have obtained text messages and emails showing that President Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, was working on a deal for a Trump Tower in Moscow far later than Cohen has previously acknowledged. The communications show that as late as May 2016, around the time Trump was clinching the Republican nomination, Cohen was considering a trip to Russia to meet about the project with high-level government officials, business leaders and bankers.” Michael Cohen's efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow went on longer than he has previously acknowledged, Hunter Walker and Brett Arnold, Yahoo News, May 16, 2018.
Another Cohen/Trump lie exposed as the light of truth flashes through the cracks in the Trump Russia conspiracy cover-up!
Then, at 11:10 AM Thursday, Buzzfeed brought the receipts: The Crazy True Story of Trump Moscow. This article fills in the background of the Trump Moscow project for which Trump signed the letter of intent on the same day as the 3rd Republican Presidential debate (October 28, 2015). It’s got everything: emails, texts, insider information and the saga is as shady and the characters as despicable (and/or pathetic) as you might imagine:
“Everything will be negotiated and discussed not with flunkies but with people who will have dinner with Putin and discuss the issues and get a go-ahead,” Sater wrote to Cohen on Nov. 3. “My next steps are very sensitive with Putin’s very, very close people. We can pull this off.”…
Two days later, Sater told Cohen that their invitations and visas were being arranged by VTB Bank, and that Kostin, the bank’s powerful president and chairman, would meet Cohen in Moscow. Key to getting VTB on board was the former GRU spy; Sater told congressional and special counsel investigators that the former spy said he had a source at VTB Bank who would support the deal.
“Kostin will be at all meetings with Putin so that it is a business meeting not political,” Sater wrote to Cohen. “We will be invited to the Russian consulate this week to receive invite and have visa issued.”…
...Around Christmas 2015, polls had Trump at the top of the Republican ticket.
But Cohen was antsy. He traveled to St. Bart’s with his family and grew impatient waiting for the invitation to Moscow. Four days after Christmas, he emailed Sater: “No response from Russia?”
The next day: “Where are they?”
Sater: “I’m waiting for them after New Year’s.”…
...But now, Cohen lashed out at his friend with a fusillade of angry text messages on Dec. 30. “One month plus since the signing of the LOI that I wasted my time on. I put the others all on hold and still, despite every conversation with you, nothing.” He went on: “I will not let you fuck with my job and playing point person.” And he revealed his deep-seated need for Trump’s approval: “Not you or anyone you know will embarrass me in front of Mr. T when he asks me what is happening.”
Like Cohen, Sater was also supposed to visit St. Bart’s over the holidays with his family, but he wrote Cohen that he was too hurt and embarrassed by a recent ABC News story that quoted Trump, from a 2013 deposition, saying he wouldn’t know Sater if he walked in the room.
Cohen: “I don’t give a shit about the story that lasted all of one day. No one picked it up because no one cares.”
Sater: “It lasted one day because I kept my mouth shut for you and your team.” He added: “The schmuck that I am I said no comment. Because you told me to kill it, and we have bigger fish to fry.”
The messages ended with a sharp rebuke from Cohen: “Not going to argue with you. Please don’t reach out to anyone any longer regarding this.”
But Sater refused to give up. The Crazy True Story of Trump Moscow, Anthony Cormier and Jason Leopold, Buzzfeed News, May 17, 2018.
There’s a lot more to this story, so read the whole thing if you’ve got some time. As Benjamin Witt tweeted, “This is, assuming it’s true, a holy shit story.” .
Coming up: the latest on Mike Pence’s chances of becoming president (hint: they’re not good!) right after the break. Yes, FLIP EVERYTHING, doggonit!
Commercial break
Mike Pence Will Be The Next President! (LOL No He Won’t)
We’re back! Some people have been pouring cold water over the Resistance whimpering “But even if we get 45 out, then we will have Pence!” and to be honest, the concern is legit, although possibly exaggerated (or even “overexaggerated” for the MAGA redundancy crowd). In a normal course of events, if the President is unable to finish his term — whether because of incapacity, death in office or removal from office — the Vice President steps up to finish the term. We’ve got lots of precedent for this, sadly. But these are far from normal times! The sheer insanity and avalanche of abnormal behavior by this administration means all bets are off on how things shake down in the end. Matt Bai from YahooNews sums up the situation very nicely and with a LOL touch of humor:
...Now, with Trump nearing the halfway mark, with the investigations plodding along and the country acclimated to daily chaos, people talk about Pence as the guy in Washington who most desperately wantsto be president, and who would say just about any noxious thing to set himself up as Trump’s natural successor…
...But if it’s true that Pence is scheming and charming his way into prime position, like some slow-eyed version of Frank Underwood, then he’s probably wasting whatever talent he has, playing chess on a checkerboard. Because history and common sense would tell you that this is probably as close as Pence is getting to the presidency — or at least if the voters have anything to say about it. Matt Bai, Why Mike Pence won’t be president, Yahoo News, May 17, 2018.
Bai outlines three possible scenarios for Pence to ascend to the Presidency, and he blows each one up using facts, history and did I mention humor? To wit:
Let’s look at three possible scenarios as Pence and his team must see them.
The first, I guess, is the 2024 plan. Trump gets reelected in 2020 on a soaring economy, leaves office a hero and bequeaths his legacy to his loyal No. 2, who vows to erect the new Trump Memorial on the site of the now-leveled FBI building.
Pence must know how unlikely this one is. Even if Trump were to be reelected and celebrated by a majority of Americans, which seems mathematically dubious, he’d probably try to keep the whole thing inside the family brand, drafting Ivanka to run, or maybe Jared, if they could teach him to speak without sounding like Mr. Bill from the old “Saturday Night Live”s. Matt Bai, Yahoo News
I’ll let you go read his whole piece to find out the other two, equally unlikely, scenarios and have a chuckle at the same time. Forget about that infernal “witch hunt”, Donny; look out for the wicked wit of Matt Bai!
Ronan Farrow Does it Again!
Late Wednesday afternoon, Ronan Farrow filed this story, Missing Files Motivated The Leak of Michael Cohen’s Financial Records, which wound up being the biggest story on cable news that night, elbowing past the rest of yesterday’s blizzard of news like our Donny with a group of distinguished world leaders. It turns out that the 7 page report that Stormy Daniels’ lawyer released last week was based on just one of three SARs that apparently exist, but which appear to have been scrubbed from FinCen database:
The report also refers to two previous suspicious-activity reports, or sars, that the bank had filed, which documented even larger flows of questionable money into Cohen’s account. Those two reports detail more than three million dollars in additional transactions—triple the amount in the report released last week. Which individuals or corporations were involved remains a mystery. But, according to the official who leaked the report, these sars were absent from the database maintained by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or fincen. The official, who has spent a career in law enforcement, told me, “I have never seen something pulled off the system. . . . That system is a safeguard for the bank. It’s a stockpile of information. When something’s not there that should be, I immediately became concerned.” The official added, “That’s why I came forward.”
This turns out to be the second shoe dropping on that Michael Avenatti bombshell last week that outed drug giant Novartis and communications company AT&T among others, as payees into the Cohen “porn star payoff” LLC. I say only the “second” shoe to drop because this Russia/Trump/Corruption animal may turn out to be some sort of giant mutant centipede by the time all is revealed.
For instance, how does this make sense?: In the last week, we learned that Korea Aerospace Industries had paid $150,000 into Cohen’s shady LLC, Essential Consultants, AND that Cohen had paid a middle man between himself and KAI out of that same LLC — while none of the people involved apparently ever directly dealt with anyone else. Money in from Korean-linked company with business before US govt./Money out TO another Korean linked company connected to the first company. Sure, that doesn’t sound fishy or bribery or kick-backy or whatnoty AT ALL. Check it out:
A company spokesman in Seoul, who declined to be named citing office rules, said Korea Aerospace Industries had a contract with Essential Consultants, Michael Cohen’s company, for legal advice on accounting standards. The payment was made under a “legal” deal between the two, said the spokesperson, who refused to answer questions about the size or dates of any payments. AP via TIME, Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Says…, May 9, 2018.
vs.
+
A California man who says he served as a translator last year for Michael Cohen and a South Korean aerospace firm that paid Cohen’s company $150,000 said Tuesday that FBI agents recently interviewed him.
Mark Ko said in an email to The Washington Post that he spoke with the FBI about the arrangement “a few weeks ago.” Ko declined to provide details about investigators’ inquiries and said he was unsure whether the agents were part of the probe led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.
Ko’s statement is the first indication that federal authorities are examining Cohen’s contract with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) — one of several companies with substantial business before the U.S. government that hired Cohen, President Trump’s personal attorney and longtime legal fixer, after the 2016 election...
...Ko told The Post that his role in the business arrangement with KAI was minor, but he declined to say how he got involved. Ko runs a firm in Los Angeles called Demeter Direct that is described in state incorporation records as a retail Korean food business.
“My role as translator was small in this,” he wrote, referring questions to Cohen and KAI.
Ko said he worked with a translator and a lawyer for KAI. And he said KAI’s discussions did involve accounting. Shawn Boburg and Aaron C. Davis, FBI Agents said to be probing…, Washington Post, May 16, 2018.
=
Personally, I can’t make head nor tail of it, although it all sounds shady AF, but I bet Robert Mueller knows!
Public Service Announcement
A quick shout out to the unidentified official who sounded the alarm by leaking to Avenatti. They did so because they were so concerned about how extremely irregular it was for the SARs to have disappeared, especially in the current political chaos. The leak is a possible federal offense. The leaker can be prosecuted (and like Reality Winner, the leaker is likely to be identifiable by federal authorities), lose their job and possibly go to prison. Yet, they were willing to risk everything to blow this whistle. Several commentators last night opined that it is likely that the Special Counsel has the SARs, or even the banks likely have another copy since they generated the information, so maybe the leaker fears will turn out to be unfounded. Whatever the case may be, someone in that department saw something was not right and was willing to risk it all, which I think qualifies as pretty damn patriotic.
The Resistance has many people like that, and millions who may not have to risk it all but are ready to march, strike, protest, canvass, vote and work in any way we can to restore our democracy and oust the corrupt 45 cabal. That is non-stop GOOD NEWS, and now is a great time for this appropriate...
Musical Interlude
“And the shame, was on the other side
Oh, we can beat them, forever and ever
Then we could be heroes just for one day”
David Bowie
NK will do “total, full, complete” de-nuke! (LOL No it won’t)
Mike Pompeo could hardly contain his glee on CBS’ Face the Nation last Sunday, giggling and Yes Ma’am-ing his way through the part of the interview where he describes how North Korea would be denuclearizing at the request of the USA. Sadly for the new Secretary of State and POTUS, those expectations blew spectacularly up in their faces with the news on Wednesday that NK was threatening to withdraw from the talks that were scheduled for June 12.
The so-called peace talks were probably never a serious thing, but the evaporation of even that diaphanous wisp of hope is not itself “good news”. What is good news is that this charade will help chip away a little bit more of the “great dealmaker’s” mask. A new article from David Frum gives a brief and helpfully simplified background on the complex politics in the Korean penninsula, but the overarching message of the column is that the Trump/Kim “peace talks” boondoggle is a multi-faceted, mortifying humiliation for our Donny. Here is one cringeworthy excerpt:
Much of the work of snookering Trump into the Kim summit has actually been done by South Koreans, not North Koreans. It was President Moon who slyly insinuated that Trump deserved a Nobel Prize for the summit—bait that Trump swallowed like a credulous guppy. In fact, it was a South Korean delegation that first put the summit idea into Trump’s head back in March. It was the South Koreans who immediately announced Trump’s impulsive “yes” answer at the very entrance to the West Wing, thus effectively locking the door behind the president before he understood the full implications of what he had done—and before he could be dissuaded by his staff and secretary of state. David Frum, Trump Can't Afford to Admit His Failures With North Korea, The Atlantic, May 17, 2018.
45 will try to bluster his way through this, but his incompetence and easily manipulated weak character has been exposed — once again — for all to see. It is NOT good news that the faint hope for progress with North Korea is all but snuffed out, but the reality is that it was a mirage all along. The silver lining is that the situation will probably not get worse, and may get better _ as Frum points out in the article — because having successfully snookered Trump, both South and North Korea may be ready to allow tensions to de-escalate, anyway. And the truly good news here is that debacles like this WILL gradually wear down support for this wannabe autocrat as his utter emptiness is repeatedly uncovered.
Actual Billionaire Mocks Poser Don
In recorded remarks, obtained by All In with Chris Hayes, Microsoft founder, philanthropist and multi-billionaire Bill Gates tells an audience about his meeting with POTUS, and there is a lot of laughter.
“He wanted to know if there was a difference between HPV and HIV,” Gates said in the clip. “So I was able to explain that those are rarely confused with each other.”
Actual Christians Rebuke Faker Don
I’m guessing that the Rev. Dr. Barber — universally respected for his sincere Christian values, his powerful and beautiful oratory, his indefatigable efforts on behalf of the poor, the sick and the marginalized and the champion of the renewed Poor Peoples’ Campaign — wrote this with some righteous anger. I don’t think, in ordinary times, that the good Reverend would have compared even our Donny to any animals, not even Biblical wolves. Yet, the tweet expresses a sharp point:
But Thursday night’s epic Rewrite by MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell was possibly the most worthwhile cable TV viewing I’ve seen in awhile. Lawrence confronted not only POTUS for his egregious “animal” remarks (referencing immigrants) but also the acceptance of language that, in the past, has been used to dehumanize people who were targeted for persecution and even murder. The segment ended with a climactic series of challenges not just to the fake Christian Donald but more importantly to the president’s real Christian supporters. Lawrence knows his scripture, he clearly despises fake piety and he simply wasn’t having it. He was quietly, sincerely and deeply outraged and at times, his emotion was palpable. It was searing, moving, powerful television. A tour de force. Well done, Lawrence. Thank you.
Watch it here.
We have many powerful voices with us in the Resistance, and that is good news!
Meanwhile From the Schadenfreude File: This Assh*le
Remember the hate-spewing bigot whose ranting at Spanish-speaking patrons and staff in a Manhattan restaurant went viral last week? Well, it appears that he is getting his comeuppance on an almost Shakespearean scale.
Reporters waiting outside his Manhattan office seemed to frazzle him and he began darting to and fro, hiding behind an umbrella. It turns out that he has been barred from his office (and will be evicted), his law associate has severed ties (publicly, at least) with him and scrubbed her information from the firm’s website. He has been trashed on Yelp. Even the governor has taken the time to chide the lawyer for his bigotry. And then there was this, too:
Meanwhile, in a letter Thursday to the state court disciplinary system, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. (D) accused Schlossberg of misconduct for his “viral racist rant.” Diaz told The Washington Post that Schlossberg should be suspended or disbarred. Mary Papenfuss, Lawyer Who Ranted Against Spanish-Speakers Faces Office Eviction, Disciplinary Complaint, Huffington Post, May 17, 2018.
According to the HuffPost piece, Schlossberg has hurled similar tirades at other New Yorkers on other separate occasions, so he wasn’t just having a one-off “bad day” on Tuesday. Thursday’s experience of being the object of derision instead of being the tormentor hurling invective seemed to truly cause poor Aaron flutterings and palpitations. The Daily News gives a particularly colorful description of what transpired:
"Ow!" he inexplicably howled at one point as if injured, shaking his head before walking away unharmed.
The notorious racist inexplicably shot cell-phone video of the media even while marching along W. 60th St. on a rainy morning. No arrests were made despite his unfounded complaints.
The landlords at his Madison Ave. office building made it clear that Schlossberg was persona non grata after his oft-viewed outburst.
"Effective immediately, Aaron M. Schlossberg will no longer be allowed access," read a letter printed in all caps and posted Thursday afternoon outside 275 Madison Ave.
"We've decided to terminate his agreement with us," said Hayim Grant, president of Corporate Suites, the company that operates the facility that Schlossberg used for his law business.
"His actions don't fall in line with our beliefs and our community. We're a diverse community of global businesses that have mutual respect for each other. We don't believe anyone should be discriminated against based on the language they speak." Adam Shrier, Marco Poggio and Larry McShane, Manhattan lawyer keeps big mouth shut when reporters confront him after racist restaurant rant goes viral, Daily News, May 17, 2018.
The Daily News reporters didn’t pull any punches in this write-up and it was a refreshing change! Wouldn’t it be nice if all our MSM news was as bluntly honest? Anyway, when a “notorious racist” gets what’s coming to him, that is good news!
⚡️ Lightning Roundup ⚡️
Appeals court denies Trump request to stay Summer Zervos defamation case, Mark Berman and Frances Stead Sellers, Washington Post, May 17, 2018. (DISCOVERY goes ahead!) ⚡️
How Mueller’s First Year Compares To Watergate, Iran-Contra And Whitewater, Amelia Thomson DeVeaux, FiveThirtyEight, May 17, 2018. (Interesting comparisons).
A Promising New Ebola Vaccine Is About to Be Put to the Test, Megan Jula, Mother Jones, May 17, 2018.
Millennials projected to overtake Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation, Richard Fry, Pew Research Center, March 1, 2018. (older story but these kids can decide the election!) ⚡️
‘That Motherf*cker’: Read Spike Lee’s Passionate Anti-Trump Monologue From Cannes, Kyle Buchanan, Vulture, May 15, 2018. (Spike Lee speaks raw truth) ⚡️
New California Law Protects Undocumented Immigrants In Court, Sarah Ruiz-Grossman, Huffington Post, May 17, 2018.
Gun Owners And Non-Gun Owners Actually Agree On A Lot Of Gun Reforms, Nick Wing, Huffington Post, May 17, 2018.
Dark-Money Group Targets Devin Nunes for Attacking “Conservative Hero” Jeff Sessions, Bryan Schatz, Mother Jones, May 17, 2018. (HAHAHA!YOUCAN”TMAKEITUP!!) ⚡️
How the Trump Team Scrambled to Get Its Story Straight on Meeting With Russian Emissary, Dan Friedman, Mother Jones, May 17,2018. (Fear and panic in Trumpworld) ⚡️
Deportation bus’ banned from restaurants, breaks down in tough day for Georgia GOP candidate. Joshua Eaton, ThinkProgress, May 17, 2018. (Hahahaha! Couldn’t happen to a viler guy!)+(Yes, GA!)
A Blue Wave of Moral Restoration, Charles M. Blow, The New York Times, May 17, 2018. ⚡️
Round Up Wind Down
That’s it for this Friday round up. In the spirit of faith, love and hope which was so eloquently expressed by Lawrence O’Donnell tonight (I’m still not over it), I invite everyone to enjoy a little Bob Marley and the Whalers. Happy Friday, everyone!