RNC speakers exaggerate Trump’s military drawdown from ‘endless wars’

 https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/aug/27/rnc-speakers-exaggerate-trumps-military-drawdown-e/

• Speakers at the Republican National Convention exaggerated President Donald Trump’s progress toward getting the U.S. out of “endless wars” in the Middle East.

• The Pentagon said there are currently more than 8,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan, about 5,200 in Iraq and about 500 in Syria, with plans for future withdrawals.

• Experts said the “endless wars” haven’t ended, peace in the Middle East hasn’t been achieved, and the U.S. presence in the region hasn’t significantly slimmed under Trump.

 

‘Civil Military Relations Are As Bad Today As They’ve Ever Been’: Fmr. Army Major General | MSNBC

Full Retired Gen. Zinni: 'Where Are Our Veterans In Congress?' | MTP Daily | MSNBC

'Closing In On Him': Trump Co-Author Says He 'Can't Hide' From COVID Lies | MSNBC

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Watch The 11th Hour With Brian Williams Highlights: September 10 | MSNBC

McEnany calls out White House press corps for lack of interest in Mueller team wiping phones

 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mcenany-calls-out-press-mueller-phone-wiping

 The White House press corps isn't paying enough attention to new and important developments surrounding the Justice Department's conduct in the Russia investigation, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on "Hannity" Friday.

"They don't care," McEnany told host Sean Hannity. "How many times have I been asked questions about very legitimate things like Michael Flynn, the injustice done to him?

 "Now we learn what Mueller's team was doing," she said. "Several dozens, think about that, several dozens of devices returned damaged, wiped clean, some of them intentionally so. One of those devices was Andrew Weissmann's ... who was rebuked 9-0 by the Supreme Court for prosecutorial overreach and misconduct -- and Lisa Page too, among these offenders.

 

Trump officials interfered with CDC reports on Covid-19

 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/11/exclusive-trump-officials-interfered-with-cdc-reports-on-covid-19-412809

 The health department’s politically appointed communications aides have demanded the right to review and seek changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly scientific reports charting the progress of the coronavirus pandemic, in what officials characterized as an attempt to intimidate the reports’ authors and water down their communications to health professionals.

Trump aides review CDC coronavirus reports to better align with president's upbeat messaging: report

 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-aides-review-cdc-coronavirus-reports-to-better-align-with-presidents-messaging-report

 The president's political aides have successfully demanded to review and, in some cases, modify weekly Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports on the coronavirus to better align scientific reports with Trump's upbeat messages, Politico reported.

Top Senate Republicans pressing for investigation on Mueller team phones being 'wiped'

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/12/politics/senate-doj-mueller-phones/index.html

Two top Senate Republicans are pressing Justice Department officials to investigate whether special counsel Robert Mueller's team violated federal record keeping laws during a probe by the Justice Department's watchdog into the FBI's Russia investigation

Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on Friday pointed to a recent Freedom of Information Act release from the Justice Department that shows at least 27 instances of phones assigned to Mueller's team being "wiped" or reset for various reasons, including 15 due to passcodes forgotten or being entered too many times.

Trump Bragged About Protecting Saudi Prince Whose Goons Dismembered a Journalist via Bone Saw

 https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/09/donald-trump-mbs-saved-his-ass

 In a world in which Donald Trump is president, it can be hard to remember scandals that happened two years ago, let alone last week. But try, if you can, to recall the incident in which journalist, U.S. resident, and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi was kidnapped and dismembered via bone saw, allegedly on the order of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Trump let Prince Mohammed get a way with it, because the kingdom bought some weapons from the U.S. and the guy was bros with Jared Kushner. (Also, because he has a fondness for dictators.) While you’re recollecting, also remember that Trump continued to defend the de facto Saudi leader even after Saudi Arabia admitted the killing was premeditated and the CIA separately concluded the prince directed the murder. (The prince, naturally, denies the whole thing.) All in all, it was a pretty messed up situation, even for a guy who muses about dating his own daughter. Also messed up? That Trump apparently boasted about helping bin Salman get away with the whole thing, according to—what else?— Bob Woodward’s new book. Per Business Insider:

 Donald Trump bragged that he protected Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from congressional scrutiny after the brutal assassination of the American journalist Jamal Khashoggi. That’s according to the veteran reporter Bob Woodward’s upcoming book, Rage, set to be released next Tuesday.… Woodward wrote that Trump called him on January 22 shortly after attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. During the conversation, Woodward pressed the president about Khashoggi’s gruesome murder. Khashoggi, 59, a longtime Washington Post columnist known for his criticism of the Saudi kingdom, was assassinated and dismembered at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, after going there to get paperwork for his upcoming marriage. “The people at the Post are upset about the Khashoggi killing,” Woodward told Trump on January 22, his book says. “That is one of the most gruesome things. You yourself have said.”

 “Yeah, but Iran is killing 36 people a day, so—” Trump began, before Woodward redirected the conversation and continued to press Trump about MBS’s role in ordering Khashoggi’s killing. “I saved his ass,” Trump had said amid the U.S. outcry following Khashoggi's murder, the book says. “I was able to get Congress to leave him alone. I was able to get them to stop.”

Poll suggests Trump may be losing support of some evangelical voters

Here's How Much Time Trump Spends Watching FOX News | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

It's hard to write a tell-all book when Trump is constantly telling on himself

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/12/opinions/woodward-book-impact-trump-zelizer/index.html

Veteran journalist Bob Woodward's new book, "Rage," hasn't even been released yet and it's already causing quite a stir. In it, President Donald Trump acknowledged in early February that the novel coronavirus was airborne and deadlier than the flu, even though he continued to downplay the threat of the virus in public.

 This is hard to believe given that the President does little to evoke calm. Indeed, as the story broke, and Woodward released recordings of his conversations with Trump, the President continued to tweet about the alleged breakdown of law and order in the country, stoking fears of violence in response to largely peaceful protests.

 Fast forward to 2020 and things are vastly different. It is possible that Woodward's book won't do much to sway public opinion. The intense partisan polarization in the electorate means that there are fewer undecided voters who might be swayed either way by the revelations in Woodward's new book.

 

Trump’s nomination makes a mockery of the Nobel Peace Prize

 https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-nobel-peace-prize-israel-peace-deal-uae-b421672.html

 President Trump is unfit for nomination and his inclusion makes a mockery of this important accolade. This is not merely due to his incendiary Twitter rants and threats of nuclear war. Trump has not dealt with persistent systemic inequalities and has mostly refused to deal with the climate crisis – as well as leaving a large Covid-19 death toll in his wake. This is not peace.

 “It’s hard to imagine an individual less worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize,” said Tim Wright, a 2017 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, recognised for his work with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. “He has fomented violence against his own citizens, abandoned longstanding arms control agreements, and undermined multilateralism at every opportunity. His few diplomatic initiatives, such as the summits with North Korea, have been little more than photo-ops.” It is unlikely that Trump will win the Nobel Peace Prize, announced via a virtual ceremony on 9 October, but regardless he has been nominated by right-wing Norwegian MP Christian Tybring-Gjedde for his purported role in the Israel-UAE deal.

 Anybody can be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize but only “qualified nominators” may throw their hat into the ring and offer suggestions for future nominees. You might be surprised to learn who qualifies to make this important choice – and you may even be able to make a qualified nomination of your own.