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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/ed-whelan-takes-leave-of-absense-after-inflammatory-tweet-thread

Ed Whelan Takes Leave Of Absence After Inflammatory Tweet Thread

Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, is taking a leave of absence due to what he describes as the “appalling and inexcusable” mistake of tweeting a baseless theory that one of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s Georgetown Prep classmates actually perpetrated the alleged sexual assault against professor Christine Blasey Ford in a case of mistaken identity.

According to a Sunday Politico report, the board of the policy center rejected his permanent resignation. Board members will reportedly meet in a month to revisit his absence.

Whelan released an apology on Sunday, focusing mostly on the damage he did to Kavanaugh’s classmate, as well as to Kavanaugh himself.

“I apologize deeply and sincerely to all those whom I have harmed by my appalling and inexcusable tweet thread last week,” he wrote in the National Review. “Above all, the person whose name I wrongly made public, but lots of others as well, including Judge Kavanaugh, my Ethics and Public Policy Center colleagues, those institutions and individuals who have supported my work or my colleagues’ work, the editors of National Review (who have made it possible for me to reach a wide audience here at Bench Memos since 2005), and many others who had placed their trust in me.’

He got around to Blasey Ford a paragraph down. “I also apologize to victims of sexual assault and to Dr. Ford for these and other tweets that did not address with respectful consideration the difficult question of how to assess allegations of sexual assault,” he said.

But he added a caveat: “I do not believe that all such allegations must be accepted as true, and I believe further that the usual inquiries into motivation, cognition, memory and other matters that apply to other charges properly apply to these as well.”

He insisted that his tweets came from a good place, his earnest and sincere belief that Kavanagh is a man of “honesty” and “integrity.”
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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/...st-week-tried-to-accelerate-confirmation-vote

GOPers Knew About New Allegation Last Week, Tried To Rush Confirmation Vote

Senior staffers of Senate Republicans knew about Deborah Ramirez’s sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as early as last week, resulting in their bosses pushing to hold Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote sooner, according to a Sunday New Yorker report.

Senate Democrats also found out last week, and at least two of the four who knew reportedly started investigating the allegation to assess its credibility. “This is another serious, credible, and disturbing allegation against Brett Kavanaugh,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-H). “It should be fully investigated.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is now calling for the confirmation hearing to be delayed until the FBI can investigate Ramirez’s alleged assault, which she says occurred when she and Kavanaugh were attending Yale, as well as that of professor Christine Blasey Ford, who says she was assaulted by Kavanaugh when they were both in high school.
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StringerBell said:
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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/...urns-having-sex-with-drunk-woman-with-friends

Mark Judge’s Ex Says He Admitted To ‘Taking Turns Having Sex With A Drunk Woman’ With His Friends


Elizabeth Rasor, a college classmate and former girlfriend of Mark Judge, the accused accomplice in Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s alleged sexual assault of professor Christine Blasey Ford, says that Judge admitted to her an episode when he and his friends took turns “having sex” with a drunk woman.

According to a Sunday New Yorker report, Rasor came forward with the information after seeing Judge’s denial that there was a culture of sexual assault at Georgetown Prep, where both he and Kavanaugh went to high school at the time that Blasey Ford’s assault allegedly occurred.

Judge had given an interview to the Weekly Standard where he called Blasey Ford’s allegation “just absolutely nuts” adding that “I can recall a lot of rough-housing with guys. I don’t remember any of that stuff going on with girls.”

“Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t reveal information that was told in confidence,” Rasor told the New Yorker. “[But] I can’t stand by and watch him lie.”

Rasor said that she has no knowledge if Kavanaugh was part of that episode, but shared it to contradict Judge’s statements that Georgetown Prep was squeaky clean.

Judge’s attorney says he “categorically denies” the charge.

Another woman and former attendee of a high school near Georgetown Prep told the New Yorker that male students routinely “would get a female student blind drunk” on “jungle juice” — grain alcohol and Hawaiian Punch — and try to take advantage of her.

“It was disgusting,” she told the New Yorker. “They treated women like meat.” This woman has also sent a letter with her account of the environment at the time to Blasey Ford’s lawyers.
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UK-EU flights could cease in event of no-deal Brexit, says government

In its latest set of “no deal” notices, the government said flights could be disrupted because the EU-issued aviation licences would not be valid and airlines would have to seek individual permissions to operate with respective states.

“If the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 with no agreement in place, UK and EU licensed airlines would lose the automatic right to operate air services between the UK and the EU without seeking advance permission,” said the government.

British media's Brexit coverage sows division – EU commissioner

The government says it would unilaterally grant EU airlines permission to land at British airports and hopes that member states would reciprocate. “It would not be in the interest of any EU country or the UK to restrict the choice of destinations that could be served, though if such permissions are not granted, there could be disruption to some flights.”

It would be easy they said
 
Rosenstein hasnt resigned or been fired he hes a meeting with trump thursday, and ive said it a million times over muller wont be fired the shit would be an absoulute disaster on trumps end,now he may fire rosenstein thursday but muller isnt going anywhere
 
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https://www.mediaite.com/online/kav...e-i-will-not-be-intimidated-into-withdrawing/

Kavanaugh Decries ‘Smears’ in Letter to Senate Committee: ‘I Will Not Be Intimidated Into Withdrawing’

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has sent another letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee following the New Yorker report on a new allegation of sexual misconduct.

Kavanaugh states rather bluntly, “Last night, another false and uncorroborated accusation from 35 years ago was publishes. Once again, those alleged to have been witnesses to the event deny it ever happened. There is now a frenzy to come up with something––anything––that will block this process and a vote on my confirmation from occurring.”

He denounces the allegations as “smears, pure and simple,” telling Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein that “such grotesque and obvious character assassination––if allowed to succeed––will dissuade competent and good people of all political persuasions from service.”

Kavanaugh continues:

“I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process. The coordinated effort to destroy my good name will not drive me out. The vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out. The last-minute character assassination will not succeed.”
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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-absolute-no-puerto-rico-statehood

Trump: ‘Incompetent’ San Juan Mayor Means ‘Absolute No’ On Puerto Rico Statehood


WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday declared himself an “absolute no” on statehood for Puerto Rico as long as critics such as San Juan’s mayor remain in office, the latest broadside in his feud with members of the U.S. territory’s leadership.

Trump lobbed fresh broadsides at San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, a critic of his administration’s response to hurricanes on the island last year, during a radio interview with Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera that aired Monday.

“With the mayor of San Juan as bad as she is and as incompetent as she is, Puerto Rico shouldn’t be talking about statehood until they get some people that really know what they’re doing,” Trump said in an interview with Rivera’s show on Cleveland’s WTAM radio.

Trump said that when “you have good leadership,” statehood for Puerto Rico could be “something they talk about. With people like that involved in Puerto Rico, I would be an absolute no.”

Cruz responded on Twitter: “Trump is again accusing me of telling the truth. Now he says there will be no statehood because of me.”

Jenniffer Gonzalez, Puerto Rico’s non-voting representative in Congress, tweeted: “Equality 4 Puerto Ricans shouldn’t be held up by one bad mayor who’s leaving office in 2020 & do not represent the people who voted twice for statehood.”

Trump’s position on statehood for the island puts him at odds with the Republican Party’s 2016 platform during its national convention, in which it declared support for Puerto Rican statehood.

The president’s remarks followed his claims earlier this month that the official death toll from last year’s devastating storm in Puerto Rico was inflated. Public health experts have estimated that nearly 3,000 people died in 2017 because of the effects of Hurricane Maria.

But Trump falsely accused Democrats of inflating the Puerto Rican death toll to make him “look as bad as possible.”

Trump’s pronouncements have roiled politics in Florida, which has crucial races for governor and U.S. Senate. The state was already home to more than 1 million Puerto Ricans before Hurricane Maria slammed into the island a year ago. Tens of thousands of residents fled Puerto Rico in the aftermath, with many of them relocating to Florida.

The issue of statehood for Puerto Rico — or some form of semi-autonomous relationship — has divided island residents in recent years. The debate over the island’s “status” is the central feature of its politics and divides its major political parties.

The federal government has said previously it would accept a change in the status of Puerto Rico if the people of the island clearly supported the decision. But for decades, Puerto Ricans have been divided between those who favor statehood and those who want to maintain the commonwealth, perhaps with some changes. A small minority continue to favor independence.

The last referendum, in 2017, strongly supported statehood but opponents questioned the validity of the vote because of low turnout.

Any changes would need to be approved by Congress. Statehood legislation, with support from Republicans and Democrats, was introduced in June but appears unlikely to gain momentum as politicians remain hesitant to take up such a thorny issue.
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Farris2k1 said:
Rosenstein hasnt resigned or been fired he hes a meeting with trump thursday, and ive said it a million times over muller wont be fired the shit would be an absoulute disaster on trumps end,now he may fire rosenstein thursday but muller isnt going anywhere
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Turns out the story is false and was leaked by Trump’s camp to try and push the Kavanaugh stuff out of the news. Rosenstein’s not going anywhere, at least for now.
 


https://www.mediaite.com/tv/gop-rep...ew-i-cant-compliment-your-hair-or-outfit-now/

GOP Rep. Criticizes #MeToo Movement in Bizarre Interview: I Can’t Compliment Your Hair or Outfit Now


Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) appeared in person on Fox News’ Outnumbered Overtimeon Monday to discuss the Brett Kavanaugh hearing and allegations, and he had some eyebrow-raising reactions and criticism of the #MeToo movement.

To begin, host Harris Faulkner related to Yoho the latest updates on the allegations, and then asked Yoho upended, “what do you make of this?”

Yoho started with a bang, invoking Judge Roy Moore and saying his character was assassinated.

“I think it’s like we see over and over again, it’s character assassination. We saw this with Judge Roy Moore,” he said. “You know it was real big going up to the election, as soon as the election’s over, you don’t hear anything about it.”

“These people have had ample time to come out in the last 30, 40 years and there’s not been any talk of this,” he continued. “If they are true, they should have come out earlier.”

Faulkner then asks how “complicated” it has become for leaders in Congress to look at allegations in light of the “#MeToo movement.”

“The #MeToo movement, you know if there’s wrong done to anybody, you know, we need to go after that. But it’s gotten so sterile up there,” assessed Yoho.

“It’s like right now I couldn’t compliment you on your hair or your outfit you have on now, or somebody would say that was pretty presumptuous,” said the Congressman to the prominent news anchor interviewing him about politics, sexual misconduct allegations, and the Supreme Court. “People are afraid to do their regular job during the day.”

Faulkner asked about the timing of Ford’s accusation, and Yoho said again that she should have come out much sooner, that Kavanaugh has been a Judge for a long time.

“I think it’s very suspicious when they wait till the very end and bring up something from college days. You and I went to college. I can’t remember what I did –” he said laughing.

“Well I wasn’t 15 at the time. She was a child not much older than my oldest child,” Harris corrected him. “But I hear what you’re saying in terms of this, the political timing for this now. He has been a federal judge a long time.”

Yoho also expressed his belief that allegations of sexual misconduct and investigating them are interfering with their jobs as members of Congress. He listed a number of issues facing the nation, including debt, China, and North Korea saying “we should focus on those things.”

“We can’t get our legislative work done because we get drug (sic) into — I don’t want to call it drama, if it was something that truly happened, there should be some closure to that. But we spend so much time working and spending over here that we can’t get the work done that we’re here to do in Congress. And I think at some point we need to set that aside and have that day in court but yet don’t focus or don’t drop the ball on what we should be focusing on.”

“You know who agrees with you,” said Faulkner. “The American people.” She also listed several things facing the government, such as healthcare reform, and said that “people just want their problems solved.”

Yoho remarked on a bill about foreign aid, saying it’s bipartisan.

“That’s the kind of stuff we can get done if we can focus on it,” he said. “But if we’re distracted––and I don’t want to call them side shows or circuses, but they kind of look that way to the American public. The American public, like you said, wants us to come in, get the job done that we were elected to do and run the country.”
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