“Michael Flynn and other advisers to Donald Trump’s campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race, current and former U.S. officials familiar with the exchanges told Reuters. The previously undisclosed interactions form part of the record now being reviewed by FBI and congressional investigators probing Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election and contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russia.” More…
Month: May 2017
How Trump Gets His Fake News
“The president rarely surfs the web on his own, but his staff have made a habit of slipping news stories on to his desk—including the occasional internet hoax.” More…
The Law Can’t Stop Trump. Only Impeachment Can.
“One of the oddities of the moment is that Republican officials who work closely with Trump almost uniformly regard him as wildly unfit for office. Trump’s gross unsuitability for office is the subtext of the constant stream of leaks that have emanated from his administration (and, before that, his campaign).” More…
Trump Officials Act to Tilt Federal Science Boards toward Industry
“New changes to EPA, Interior Department advisory groups could restrict or paralyze them, critics say.” More…
Trump’s “Small Business” Tax Plan Helps Only the Rich
Earn more than $700,000 under Trump’s “pass-through” business plan? Congrats. Everyone else? Sorry. More…
The Terrible Cost of Trump’s Disclosures: Top-Secret Codeword Information to the Russians Is Only Beginning
“To a remarkable degree, the United States relies on liaison relationships with other powers with whom it shares information. If Trump has indeed compromised a source of information, it is not merely a betrayal of an ally’s trust: It is an act that will jeopardize a whole range of relationships. After all, the Director of Central Intelligence cannot very well say, “Don’t worry, we won’t share that with the president.” So now everybody—even our closest allies like the United Kingdom—would be well-advised to be careful with what they share with us.” More…
Under Trump, Inconvenient Data Is Being Sidelined
“The Trump administration has removed or tucked away a wide variety of information that until recently was provided to the public, limiting access, for instance, to disclosures about workplace violations, energy efficiency and animal welfare abuses. Some of the information relates to enforcement actions taken by federal agencies against companies and other employers. By lessening access, the administration is sheltering them from the kind of “naming and shaming” that federal officials previously used to influence company behavior, according to digital experts, activists and former Obama administration officials.” More…
A Side-by-Side Comparison of Obamacare and the GOP’s Replacement Plan
“Here’s how the proposed Republican American Health Care Act—along with various amendments to the bill—compares to the 2010 Affordable Care Act.” More.
Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps and Unemployment on the GOP Chopping Block
“The House Budget Committee is considering instructing Congress to pursue the cuts to a rarely-touched slice of the budget that totaled $2.4 trillion in 2016 and which includes spending on safety-net programs like Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment benefits and food stamps.” More.
Thoughts From a Hospital Bed
“And what it means to be healthy, or unhealthy, in the United States of 2017.” More …