After Democrats won the House of Representatives, the began their oversight duties.  One of the first witnesses they called, acting AG Matthew Whitaker, has already perjured himself.  A breaking NY Times article exposed the truth about his communication with Trump about an unprecedented level of interference in investigations of Trump’s crimes.  That interference could be the basis for a book: How to Obstruct Justice.

I strongly recommend reading the NY Times article in its entirety.  In the interim, I found a good summary.

President Donald Trump has called the Russia investigation a hoax, a witch hunt and fake news. But since he has been in office, Trump has tried to end the inquiry into his campaign’s possible coordination with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, opening himself up to questions about whether these efforts constitute attempts to obstruct justice.

A review by The New York Times found a continuous, behind-the-scenes effort by Trump to undermine multiple investigations that have touched his presidency. That includes seeking to derail federal law enforcement through targeted political appointments and a public campaign to discredit the Russia investigation, led by the special counsel, Robert Mueller.

Here are some takeaways from The Times report about pressure inside the Trump administration to protect the president from those inquiries.

— Trump wanted to put a perceived loyalist in charge of a federal inquiry in New York related to hush money payments made by his former personal lawyer.

After subjecting his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, to protracted humiliation over Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation and then firing him, Trump asked his newly installed acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, if one of the president’s perceived allies could take control of the federal investigation in New York involving him…

— Trump’s public attacks on the Russia investigation have evolved from a public relations strategy to a legal strategy.

The president’s assault on investigators on Twitter and in public interviews moved beyond his typical criticism of individuals into a mosaic of efforts to undermine every facet of the investigation. That includes attacking the investigators, raising questions about the legitimacy of law enforcement investigative tools and discrediting witnesses — most of whom were close allies he once praised…

— White House lawyers wrote a confidential memo about misleading public statements after the firing of Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser.

White House lawyers were concerned about the varying public accounts of the reasons behind Flynn’s abrupt departure. Flynn resigned Feb. 13, 2017, after it was reported that he was in touch with Russia’s ambassador to the United States at the end of 2016 and discussed recent Obama administration sanctions. Flynn said he resigned because he “inadvertently” misled Vice President Mike Pence and other senior White House officials about his discussions with the Russian ambassador…

— Trump believed he put an end to the Russia investigation when he fired Flynn.

During a lunch with one of his longtime allies, Chris Christie, the former Republican governor of New Jersey, Trump said firing Flynn would end the Russia inquiry…. [emphasis original]

Inserted from <The India Express>

Rachel Maddow covered this thoroughly.

Is it any wonder that Putin’s Puppet is so desperate to shut it down?  Shitaker is also begging for an orange jump suit.

I so hope SDNY indicts both Trump and Pence.

RESIST!!

The progressive left owes a huge debt of gratitude to Bernie Sanders.  He took ideas that, according to conventional wisdom, were beyond the pale,  and he made them mainstream.  Medicare for all, a guaranteed minimum wage, and grass roots campaign finance are just a few of those ideas.  This morning, Bernie announced his Presidential Bid for 2020.

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, the progressive populist who mounted a fierce challenge to front-runner Hillary Clinton in the 2016 White House campaign, said on Tuesday he will again seek the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2020.

Sanders, 77, a self-described democratic socialist who caucuses with the Democrats, joins an already-crowded Democratic race that includes fellow Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kamala Harris of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

The Brooklyn native announced his candidacy in an email to supporters, pledging to build a vast grassroots movement to confront the special interests that he said dominate government and politics.

Sanders said he would push for many of the same issues that powered his 2016 bid and resonated with younger voters, including universal healthcare, raising the hourly minimum wage to $15, and free public college tuition.

“Our campaign is about creating a government and economy that works for the many, not just the few,” Sanders said, asking for 1 million people to sign up to kick off his bid….

Inserted from <Reuters>

Here is Bernie’s announcement video from Bernie’s YouTube channel.

So, will I support him again, as I did in 2016?  I haven’t decided yet.

There’s a lot about Bernie that I like, but there’s quite a bit about his 2016 campaign I didn’t like.  For one thing, the claim that the nomination was stolen from him is not true.  He missed primaries and caucuses, because his inexperienced staff missed filing deadlines.  He complained about closed primaries.  I support closed primaries.  Republicans like open primaries, because they cross party lines to influence our results,as their candidates often run unopposed. Democrats have the right to decide on the Democratic nominee.  Bernie needs to convince his followers to join.  And this is my comment I left for him on YouTube.

I supported you last time. This time, I’m not sure. Although I am white, you need to learn that race matters more than class to those who still suffer the effects of Republican racism. Otherwise, you won’t get the Black vote. Without that, you can’t win the nomination.

Of one thing I’m sure.  If he wins the nomination, I’ll be happy to see it.

RESIST!!