That’s an outrageous and indefensible position. Congress has a fundamental constitutional role to play overseeing the executive branch; the president cannot simply announce that he will not be overseen, that his administration will not obey […]
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Stephan: One of the reasons I think the Democrats must impeach Trump is that I am not sure he would leave office if he lost the election, and I have very grave doubts whether the Congressional Republicans would stand up for democracy. Here is an essay that lays out what might happen.
“Dear Leader” Trump Credit: Michael Tercha/Getty
At the end of his congressional testimony in February, Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former fixer, floated a nightmarish possibility.
“Given my experience working for Mr. Trump,” Cohen said, “I fear that if he loses in 2020, that there will never be a peaceful transition of power.”
Cohen’s comments may seem hyperbolic, but they are worth taking seriously. In the aftermath of 2018, Trump told reporters, “Republicans don’t win, and that’s because of potentially illegal votes.” In a 2016 presidential debate, Trump refused to say whether he would accept defeat. “I’ll keep you in suspense,” he declared. Since that election, Trump has routinely said that his popular vote defeat was the product of “millions and millions” of illegal ballots. Now, facing potential legal jeopardy from ongoing investigations into hush-money payments and any number of apparent financial crimes, he might reasonably conclude that staying in office is the only way to avoid being indicted.
So what would it look like if Trump refused to concede? Is there really a […]
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BOB BRIGHAM , - Raw Story
Stephan: I don't see how a person who sees himself or herself as an honorable person can possibly belong to the NRA. It is a measure of how scummy that organization has become that it is headed by Oliver North. I assume you remember North and his role in the Iran Contra scandal during the Reagan administration, in which the President of the United States did a cocaine and guns deal to fund terrorists -- a typical Republican operation. But now it comes out that all the money members of the NRA paid to the organization, as well as a lot of dark money was... well, read this report and find out. If after doing so you think you have to take a shower, I understand. That's how I felt.
Oliver North and Donald Trump
Credit: Fox
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) was sued in federal court on Tuesday for allegedly failing to enforce campaign finance laws against the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Giffords, the nonprofit organization founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) after she survived an assassination attempt, sued the FEC for allegedly allowing the NRA to violate campaign finance law — including to help Donald Trump.
The new lawsuit, reported by BuzzFeed court and justice reporter Zoe Tillman, mentions the word “Trump” thirty-five times.
“Plaintiff’s complaints demonstrate that the National Rifle Association (“NRA”) violated the Federal Election Campaign Act by using a complex network of shell corporations to unlawfully coordinate expenditures with the campaigns of at least seven candidates for federal office, thereby making millions of dollars of illegal, unreported, and excessive in-kind contributions, including up to $25 million in illegal contributions to now President Donald J. Trump,” the lawsuit charged.
The lawsuit attempted to explain the scale of the alleged campaign finance violation.
“The illegal contributions to the Trump campaign alone […]
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Deanna Paul, - The Washington Post
Stephan: Here's a little something to stir the pot. You might want to take a look at my novel
Awakening. 
Credit: Snopes.com
A recent uptick in sightings of unidentified flying objects — or as the military calls them, “unexplained aerial phenomena” — prompted the Navy to draft formal procedures for pilots to document encounters, a corrective measure that former officials say is long overdue.
As first reported by POLITICO, these intrusions have been happening on a regular basis since 2014. Recently, unidentified aircraft have entered military-designated airspace as often as multiple times per month, Joseph Gradisher, spokesman for office of the deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare, told The Washington Post on Wednesday.
Citing safety and security concerns, Gradisher vowed to “investigate each and every report.”
He said, “We want to get to the bottom of this. We need to determine who’s doing it, where it’s coming from and what their intent is. We need to try to find ways to prevent it from happening again.”
Luis Elizondo, a former senior intelligence officer, told The Post that the new Navy guidelines formalized the reporting […]
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