[View here as a Twitter thread.] On Wed. I argued that our democratic institutions [appear to be] holding out against Trump’s onslaught. The federal reserve debacle provides another example. 1/ Trump was enraged when Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell raised interest rates. Why? Perhaps because Trump has $340 million of debt with Deutsch Bank and …
“Trump fought the Federal Reserve, and the Feds won” Read More »
[View here as a Twitter thread.] I wrote about sadopopulism earlier this week. Kay asked “Do you think Trump is purposefully doing this? Or it is it instinctual?” Answer: I think both. 1/ Yale professor and author of How Fascism Works, @jasonintrator, thinks Trump acts purposefully: “Trump is cynically using a set of fascist tactics …
[View here as a Twitter thread.] Our institutions [appear to be] holding out against Trump’s onslaught. Well, other than the GOP, which caved completely. [For some background on why the GOP is enabling Trump, see this thread on the history of the GOP & this thread on authoritarianism] 1/ Prosecutorial discretion and independence is a pillar …
Our Institutions are withstanding Trump’s onslaught Read More »
[View as a Twitter thread] Are you surprised that Trump is destroying the government-literally pulling down the house-while his fans cheer? They want a “disrupter” even if they’re the ones most likely to be hurt by a disruption. Don’t be surprised. It’s what Timothy Snyder calls Sadopopulism. From a Trump supporter: 1/ From @MaggieNYT: …
[View here as a Twitter thread] The indictment for Bijan Kian, Flynn’s business partner is here. Flynn’s partner, Kian—and another Turkish defendant—were indicted on Monday—the same day Flynn’s sentencing hearing went awry. Kian is charged with 18 USC § 951 (also conspiracy §371 and false statements §1001, but § 951 is more serious). Lawfare explains …
[View here as a Twitter thread] Scholastic Magazine asked me to rewrite one of my articles about Barbara Johns for a younger audience. What? You don’t know who Barbara Johns was? She was 16 years old in Farmville, Virginia, in 1951. She led a walkout of her high school to protest segregation. [From a …
[View here as a Twitter thread] People have asked variations of that question. Let’s look at this from Flynn’s viewpoint: He was feeling great ahead of yesterday’s sentencing. He and his supporters believed that the judge would be furious—at the special counsel for overreaching. Some Flynn supporters even predicted the judge would throw out Flynn’s …
[View here as a Twitter thread] [Filed under Trump crimes, although these are non-criminal violations] The NY Attorney General filed a lawsuit accusing the Trump Foundation (Trump, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric) of “persistently illegal conduct” and “repeated and willful self-dealing transactions.” The petition is here: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/court_stamped_petition.pdf The petition alleges that the Foundation was a …
The NY AG sues the Trump Foundation for willful self-dealing Read More »
[View here as a Twitter thread] From Stenner (Princeton) & Haidt (NYU): what’s happening an “authoritarian dynamic, which occurs when a person with an “authoritarian disposition” is faced with a “normative threat.” In their article “Authoritarianism is not a Momentary Madness” in this volume Stenner and Haidt explain that “normative threat” is a perceived …
[View here as a Twitter thread] Remember Flynn’s sentencing memo when he asserted, as a mitigating factor, that the FBI didn’t warn him that lying was a crime before they asked him questions? Yeah, I know. Appropriate reaction= Mueller (SC) has responded, asking the court to “reject” Flynn’s “attempt to minimize the seriousness of the …
Office of the Special Counsel Responds to the Flynn Memo Read More »
