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turbinetree's JournalFox & Friends Props Up Mitch McConnell's Planned Sham Trump Impeachment Trial
“Impeachment is gonna fade away” by the election, McConnell declared. “It will all be completed sometime, I assume, in the early part of the year. We all know how this is gonna end.”
By NewsHound Brian
Under pressure for a fair and legitimate Trump impeachment trial in the Senate, #MoscowMitch McConnell sounded a bit less cocky on yesterday’s Fox & Friends than he had two weeks before on Hannity.
You may recall that on the December 12 Hannity, McConnell repeatedly boasted about conducting the Senate trial “in total coordination” with the White House and he signaled a desire to acquit Donald Trump without hearing from witnesses.
But Fox’s own poll found that 52% of Americans think the Trump administration has not cooperated enough with the impeachment inquiry. A more recent Morning Consult poll found 54% think the Senate should call additional witnesses.
Also, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is holding on to the articles of impeachment. Her move simultaneously trolls Trump (who wants an immediate trial), pressures McConnell to provide a fairer trial and threatens the possibility of further articles.
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/fox-friends-props-mitch-mcconnells-planned
Why Did Christie Drop Trump's Casino Tax Debt From $25M To $5M?
New Jersey auditors and lawyers had been battling for several years to collect long-overdue taxes from Trump's casinos.
By Susie Madrak
Of course, there's no way an honorable man like Chris Christie would ever have cut some kind of improper deal with a con man like Donald Trump! (nudge nudge, wink wink), but the New York Times thought it was worth a look:
By the time Chris Christie became governor of New Jersey, the state’s auditors and lawyers had been battling for several years to collect long-overdue taxes owed by the casinos founded by his friend Donald J. Trump.
The total, with interest, had grown to almost $30 million. The state had doggedly pursued the matter through two of the casinos’ bankruptcy cases and even accused the company led by Mr. Trump of filing false reports with state casino regulators about the amount of taxes it had paid.
But the year after Governor Christie, a Republican, took office, the tone of the litigation shifted. The state entertained settlement offers. And in December 2011, after six years in court, the state agreed to accept just $5 million, roughly 17 cents on the dollar of what auditors said the casinos owed.
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/why-did-christie-drop-trumps-casino-tax
Crookie Good Guy Of The Year:
Adam Schiff
Thank you Adam Schiff for serving the Constitution and all of us
By Frances Langum
019 was quite a year for Adam Schiff. Crooks and Liars has SIXTY 2019 videos of Adam Schiff being calm and determined against the corruption and insanity of the Trump administration. Here's a couple highlights.
Above: From December 10, Rep. Adam Schiff notes that waiting for more evidence simply allows Trump to cheat "one more time."
And here's Adam Schiff skillfully flattening Andrew McCarthy, Fox Trump toady, back in June:
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/crookie-good-guy-year-adam-schiff
In Memoriam:
Rep. Elijah Cummings
The 2019 Crookie Awards pauses to bow our heads and thank the late Elijah Cummings for his service to America
We can't think of a better way to honor the late Rep. Elijah Cummings than to replay his own words.
And remember, Cummings signed subpoenas for the House Oversight Committee from his hospital bed.
Above, in July Rep. Cummings begged us to pay attention.
And here, from February, Cummings reminds his committee that Democrats have the majority in the House because the American people want Trump held accountable:
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/memoriam-rep-elijah-cummings
Crookie Performance Of The Year: John Oliver
John Oliver In 'Eat Sh*t Bob, The Musical'
Just give John Oliver all the Emmys for this one
John Oliver and his crew over at HBO may never top this particular episode. (Starting at around the 20-minute mark it goes full musical.) As we said in November:
After two years and a massive legal bill, HBO and John Oliver triumphed, and are able to speak about it.
Or sing on the streets of New York City in full Broadway regalia.
Our 2019 Crookie good guy award isn't much given how many Emmys you are likely to win for this alone, Mr. Oliver.
Still, we are glad you're still strutting!
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/crookie-performance-year-john-oliver-eat
The Crookie Awards 2019 Media Fail Of The Year:
Laura Ingraham
A very special award for a special failure.
By Frances Langum
(Above, June 7, 2019, Laura Ingraham directly contradicts what Trump said just hours before.)
Despite a lack of advertisers, Laura Ingraham has had quite a year. Here are three highlights:
September 24, Ingraham compares Greta Thunberg to “Children of the Corn.”
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/save-1225-crookie-awards-2019-media-fail
Crookie Award Worst Moment In Media (Not Fox):
Chuck Todd
Chuck Todd worried on the air that Democrats are "investigating too many things." NO, REALLY.
By Frances Langum
Chuck Todd was very very Chuck Todd this year. And above, Chuck worries that Democrats are investigating too many things, and therefore have a "PR problem." As our own Karoli Kuns wrote in June:
I wonder, was Chuck Todd so worried about Republicans muddled "messaging" when they were investigating the very bogus IRS "scandal," or the seven separate Benghazi investigations? No? I'm shocked, so shocked.
But right now, Chuck and his Gang of Three are very, very, very worried about all the investigations Democrats have been forced to open because of the utter craven malfeasance of the current occupant of the White House. As if it's somehow their fault that the Trump crime syndicate is operating in plain view of everyone.
In Chuck Todd's eyes, everything is about PR. He starts by mocking the House Oversight Committee's contempt vote, even as he says he's not mocking it. DUH, Chuck, of course you are.
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/crookie-award-worst-moment-media-not-fox
O Irony! Chuck Todd To Present A Special On The Spread Of Misinformation This is a joke, right?
Because who spreads it more?
By Susie Madrak
Rolling Stone has an interview with Chuck Todd about his upcoming special on the spread of disinformation in today's political media. And you know, it really has nothing to do with him!
The first Sunday of the Trump administration is when the phrase, “alternative facts” was debuted. It was on Meet the Press Rudy that Giuliani used the phrase “Truth isn’t truth.” So look, whether we’d liked it or not, our platform has been used, or they’ve attempted to use our platform to essentially disseminate, or to sort of, what I would say, is lay the groundwork for this.
And it’s clearly an epidemic. And I think that even if a special like this is only seen by people who already believe we have a problem, it is a reminder. I’m a big supporter of something called the News Literacy Project. My fear is the next news consumers: How will they know truth from fiction? How will they have the tools to discern from this?
Certainly not with THE LIARS AND SHILLS YOU BOOK ON YOUR SHOW, OVER AND OVER AND OVER, right, Chuck? Not with the fact that you allow their lies to go unchallenged, right?
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/chuck-todd-will-present-special-spread
Recently we have heard reports that your smart phone can be pinged...............
How to Track President Trump
By Stuart A. Thompson and Charlie Warzel
Dec. 20, 2019
If you own a mobile phone, its every move is logged and tracked by dozens of companies. No one is beyond the reach of this constant digital surveillance. Not even the president of the United States.
The Times Privacy Project obtained a dataset with more than 50 billion location pings from the phones of more than 12 million people in this country. It was a random sample from 2016 and 2017, but it took only minutes — with assistance from publicly available information — for us to deanonymize location data and track the whereabouts of President Trump.
The device’s owner was easy to trace, revealing the outline of the person’s work and life. The same phone pinged a dozen times at the nearby Secret Service field office and events with elected officials. From computer screens more than 1,000 miles away, we could watch the person travel from exclusive areas at Palm Beach International Airport to Mar-a-Lago.
[Related: Where Even the Children Are Being Tracked — We followed every move of people in one city. Then we went to tell them.]
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/20/opinion/location-data-national-security.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab
The Biggest Social Media Operation You've Never Heard of Is Run Out of Cyprus by Russians
By Lisa Kaplan
Wednesday, December 18, 2019, 2:00 PM
What the heck is TheSoul Publishing? I’m still honestly not sure.
Here’s what I do know: Measured in terms of views and subscribers, it had the third-largest reach of any group of entertainment channels on YouTube in November—outranked only by Disney and WarnerMedia. It is run by Russian nationals and based in and managed from Cyprus, with U.S. operations housed in a shared work space in New York. It funds itself with ad revenues from YouTube and Google worth tens of millions of dollars. And in 2018, it purchased a small suite of Facebook advertisements targeting U.S. citizens on political issues—and it made those purchases in rubles
Asked detailed written questions about the company, a spokesman for TheSoul Publishing responded with a statement and provided background information, which is reflected throughout. The spokesman stated: “Simply because a company has roots, international offices, and/or diverse global employees outside of the U.S., one should not jump to conclusions or automatically make assumptions that there is a hidden agenda. To be clear, TheSoul Publishing creates fun, non-political oriented content that is enjoyed by an incredible amount of fans globally.”
Indeed, TheSoul Publishing does create nonpolitical (and apparently lucrative) craft videos, reaching worldwide audiences. But it also creates political content, including pro-Russian versions of histories that contain inaccurate information. The social media platforms, which I made aware of TheSoul’s activities, have not taken action against the company—apparently having concluded that its activities do not violate their policies.
I researched the company without special access to data and using only publicly available information from sources such as the front-end data on the social media platforms, public records and interviews. Here is what I learned.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/biggest-social-media-operation-youve-never-heard-run-out-cyprus-russians
I just find in ironic that Wilbur Ross and his link to Cyprus bank are also located on that island ..................when he was employed there............................coincidence..................
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