Rachel Maddow broke news last night with leaked audio of Rep. Devin Nunes giving some disturbing opinions on the Russia investigation, collusion, and Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.
At a closed fundraiser, Nunes gave us a new window into the culture of corruption and cover-up happening in the GOP-led Congress.
A few key admissions:
- Despite Nunes’ constant attacks on Special Counsel Robert Mueller, he admitted that collusion is, in fact, a crime.
- Nunes is openly selling the GOP to donors as a crucial last line of defense to protect Trump from Mueller’s Russia investigation: “If Sessions won’t unrecuse and Mueller won’t clear the president, we’re the only ones…If we do not keep the majority, all of this goes away.”
- Nunes considers the Kavanaugh nomination as deeply intertwined with the ongoing cover-up in Congress: “The Senate would have to drop everything they’re doing…and start with impeachment on Rosenstein. And then take the risk of not getting Kavanaugh confirmed.”
That’s the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee openly admitting a GOP-led effort to cover-up any potential crimes committed by the president of the United States.
This is the #CultureOfCorruption at work. It’s just another example of Republicans rigging the system to shove Kavanaugh—a Republican operative in a judge’s robe—onto the Supreme Court, an operative who would be the deciding vote to strip away American rights while protecting Trump from Mueller’s investigation.
For more on the Republican Congress’ cover-up and breaking news updates on the Russia investigation, follow the Moscow Project on Twitter.
TRUMP & DEVOS, TAX-DODGING DUO
We already know Trump and his Cabinet like to save themselves some cash here and there, whether it’s spending more than 1 million taxpayer dollars on flights or letting the public foot the bill for unnecessarily frequent golf weekends. Now, some of them may benefit from a provision they jammed through in December’s tax scam.
A new Treasury Department release goes into further detail about the controversial pass-through loophole in the tax scam, and—to no one’s surprise—Donald Trump will likely benefit.
The Trump Organization includes hundreds of smaller entities that count as pass-through entities, so they’re eligible for a new 20% tax break.
Many Members of Congress received large tax cuts thanks to the passthrough loophole; you might remember Rep. Vern Buchanan voting to give himself a potential multi-million dollar tax break and buying a new yacht the same day. See how your Member of Congress profited here.
Oh, and speaking of yachts and not paying taxes—news broke this week that Betsy DeVos’ yacht (recently untied and set to float free) is registered not to the U.S., but to the Cayman Islands.
Newsweek asks, “Why would an American billionaire’s floating palace moored at a northern Ohio dock be registered in an exotic archipelago?”
Good question. One possible answer: registering a yacht as foreign allows Americans to feign foreign status, allowing them to dodge paying standard tax levels on the “floating palaces.”
RISE UP FOR ROE.
This weekend, NARAL, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and Demand Justice are kicking off their Rise Up for Roe Tour. With 10 stops and countless inspiring women speaking along the way, this is a great way to get involved in the fight to #StopKavanaugh and defend Roe. Check out the website for details and event info.