The walls are closing in even tighter on President Donald Trump and Russia.
Last week, Special Counsel Robert Mueller made it evident that his team has identified collusion between the Trump team and Russia. The next question: How compromised is he by this corrupt relationship?
We now know, thanks to Michael Cohen’s new guilty plea, that Trump lied about having zero investments in Russia. He lied to the American public, just as his associates have repeatedly lied to Congress. And while he lied, the Russians knew the truth—and could very easily have held that leverage over the new president.
Russia is a hostile foreign power. Russian operatives interfered in the 2016 election at the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin and continue to target US elections today. Instead of protecting the nation for which he is (so unfortunately) responsible, Trump plays the dutiful role of a puppet to its master.
As incoming House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff put it, “the compromise is far broader than we thought.” CAP Action’s Moscow Project broke it down late last week:
“The story of Trump and Russia is simple: A corrupt businessman was offered a corrupt deal by the Russians to betray the country. He took that deal and now is compromising our national security to pay back his debts to the Kremlin.”
THE COST OF SABOTAGE: AMERICA’S CHILDREN.
The number of uninsured children in the U.S. increased for the first time in nearly a decade.
A new study from Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families breaks down the numbers:
- An estimated 3.9 million children were uninsured last year.
- 276,000 more children were uninsured in 2017 than in 2016.
- 5% of children 18 and under had no health insurance in 2017.
The report also breaks down the most likely reasons for the sudden increase (as described by Vox):
- The GOP’s and Trump administration’s relentless Obamacare sabotage and repeal of the ACA’s individual mandate.
- The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. “Nearly 1 in 4 children in the US have a parent who is an immigrant, and [Vox has] strong evidence that an unwelcoming environment for that population leads them to pull out of public programs similar to CHIP and Medicaid.”
- Congress’ failure to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program for 114 days.
Note: ACA Open Enrollment is happening right now. If you or somebody you know needs coverage, sign up by December 15th.
REAL-LIFE VOTER FRAUD.
Donald Trump likes to rant about Democratic voter fraud. He should be more concerned with his own party.
Reports have emerged that in North Carolina’s ninth district, members of Republican Mark Harris’s campaign effectively stole absentee ballots from primarily elderly black voters by promising to finish filling out incomplete ballots on the voters’ behalf. There are serious concerns that hundreds of absentee ballots were illegally cast or destroyed.
Harris was declared the winner over Democrat Dan McCready by just 905 votes (as of Saturday). Now, the state election board is refusing to certify the race pending a full investigation of the claims. North Carolina is well-known for its disturbing voter suppression, most often in the form of partisan, race-based gerrymandering.