(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . President Joe Biden---Day 1326---Fourth Year---Day 321---Evening Shade---Wednesday [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-12-18 YOU WILL FIND in the DIARIES a LOT of POLITICS THE PERSON who MAKES the FIRST COMMENT WILL GET TWO CRITTERS EVERY PERSON WHO COMMENTS WILL GET A CRITTER RULES IN THE DIARY WHEN YOU FIND SOMETHING in the DIARY that you LIKE YOU CAN REPOST IT AS COMMENT in the DIARY === LATE BREAKING: Thank you DA Willis: ‘Massive twist’ complicates Trump’s bid to kill Georgia election interference case: report. www.rawstory.com/… Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office dealt a major blow to Donald Trump’s effort to have his Georgia election interference charges dropped with a new round of objections. The Georgia prosecutor’s office in court documents filed Wednesday pushed back against the president-elect’s demand that his case be thrown out in light of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling, according to The New Republic, which called the development a "massive twist." "Appellant does not specify or articulate how the appeal — or indeed, any other aspect of this case — will constitutionally impede or interfere with his duties once he assumes office,” F. McDonald Wakeford, Fulton County's chief senior assistant district attorney, told the court, according to the New Republic. The filing added that Trump’s attorneys did not demonstrate “why state prosecution should be subject to a Justice Department mandate preventing the prosecution of sitting presidents,” ABC News reported. “The notice makes mention of these concepts without actually examining them or applying them to the present circumstances,” Wakeford wrote in the document. “In other words, Appellant has not done the work but would very much like for this Court to do so.” === Ouch! Perspective is everything. From Sven Johnson app.bsky.cz/... Four years doesn’t sound as bad as what we will experience: 24 long and stupid hours. 8,760 times. === Oh Sweet Jeebus... Possibly the first Johnson County, GA Honorary Sheriff’s Deputy to be named an Ambassador. bsky.app/... === Good! In reversal, key House panel votes to release Matt Gaetz ethics report. www.cnn.com/... CNN — The House Ethics Committee secretly voted earlier this month to release its report into the conduct of former Rep. Matt Gaetz before the end of this Congress, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter. The report is now expected to be made public after the House’s final day of votes this year as lawmakers leave Washington for the holidays, those sources said. The vote, which has not previously been reported, amounts to a stark reversal for the panel after it had voted along party lines in late November not to release the results of the investigation. The decision to release the report suggests that some Republicans ultimately decided to side with Democrats on the matter, and it is unclear if the committee will once again change course now that it has voted. === So of course, MTG is having a sad. 'Spill the tea': Jasmine Crockett throws Marjorie Taylor Greene threat back in GOP's face. www.rawstory.com/… Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) called Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) bluff when she threatened to expose wrongdoing by other lawmakers. ✂️ "For my Republican colleagues in the House and Senate, If we are going to release ethics reports and rip apart our own that Trump has appointed, then put it ALL out there for the American people to see," Greene posted on X. ✂️ "Looks like it's time to spill the tea," Crockett replied. "I don't know about your GOP colleagues but I'm all ears!" === Meanwhile, Matty seems a bit...concerned. Matt Gaetz makes threat to return to Congress and expose ex-colleagues. www.rawstory.com/... The money quote. Apparently attempting to get Republicans on the Ethics Committee to think twice about making the report public, he threatened in the afternoon, "Someone suggested the following plan to me: 1. Show up 1/3/2025 to congress 2. Participate in Speaker election (I was elected to the 119th Congress, after all…) 3. Take the oath 4. File a privileged motion to expose every “me too” settlement paid using public funds (even of former members) 5. Resign and start my @OANN program at 9pm EST on January 6, 2025." Between Matty and MTG, they sure seem to be hinting there are A LOT of GQPers with secrets out there....wouldn't it be delicious if it's the rethugs who expose the GQP involvement in J6 and why some wanted preemptive pardons..,? === One more, from Joyce Vance. bsky.app/... No man I ever dated "often sent funds" to me. Nor did I send funds to men I dated. Gaetz is talking about a business proposition here, not a social life. === The upcoming GOP assault on Social Security. Trump prepares to follow in George W. Bush’s footsteps … again. www.publicnotice.co/… During his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump aimed nearly as much rhetorical ire at the Bush family as he did at Hillary Clinton. He assured working class voters his presidency would mark a sharp break with past GOP policies. Yet Trump’s first — and only — major legislative achievement was to follow in the footsteps of George W. Bush’s first term by enacting massive tax cuts for the richest Americans. That gift to the wealthy proved to be a fiscal disaster for the nation and a political disaster for Trump and his party, ushering in a series of electoral losses for the GOP beginning with the 2018 midterms. Now, as Trump plans his second term in the White House, he’s preparing to follow Bush’s example once again. He and his billionaire cronies are making increasingly strong signals that he’ll begin his second term by attacking Social Security (and potentially Medicare), this time mirroring a political disaster that Bush brought upon the GOP during his second term. It is difficult to imagine a more politically foolhardy target than Social Security and Medicare. Yet, for decades, GOP politicians have been as tempted to attack these extraordinarily popular and successful elements of the social safety net as moths are to fly into flames. The “populist” Republicans of the Trump era are no different — a reality that portends great risk to Americans, but also huge political opportunities for Democrats. Click the link to read the whole thing. Its worth it. === from Kyle Griffin. bsky.app/... New. Liz Cheney responds to GOP calls to investigate her over her Jan. 6 Cmte. work: "Their allegations do not reflect a review of the actual evidence, and are a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth. No reputable lawyer, legislator or judge would take this seriously." Liz Cheney's full statement. === or as lscottman asked in the comments: [Liz Cheney is] no longer a member of congress, so now they can also investigate Gaetz? === Trump Is Not on a “Retribution Tour;” He’s on an Authoritarian Spree. www.emptywheel.net/… A wave of media commentary about Trump’s lawsuit against Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register for engaging in First Amendment protected speech has treated it as somehow more ominous than any of the other nuisance lawsuits Trump has filed over the decades. I’m skeptical whether this marks a newfound escalation (or even whether ABC’s settlement with Trump had any effect at all on it); remember Trump’s lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize for rewarding NYT and WaPo journalism that (as I laid out) got to the core of the Russian investigation rather than the stuff Trump distracted people with, which — like the ABC one — won the support of a Florida judge sympathetic to Trump’s bullshit misrepresentations, in this case about the Russian investigation? This Selzer lawsuit follows a long thread of similar ones that are just as abusive, attempts, like so much else that Trump does, to create his own false reality. What I do know, though, is that contrary to at least three columns (TPM, Puck, Status), Trump is not on a retribution tour. ✂️ If you believe Trump is on a retribution tour, you are accepting his claim that truthful reporting of (flawed) survey results, or truthful reporting of what sources say about Trump associates’ attempts to cover up their ties to Russia, or truthful labeling of lies as lies, amount to some kind of harm. If you use the term “retribution” to describe Trump’s attacks on the press, you are accepting his frame that free speech that accurately describes his faults is somehow wrong, an injury to be avenged. Worse still, if you adopt his frame — retribution — you are normalizing the false claims of grievance that animated Trump’s entire campaign, from the kickoff in Waco to the far right rally in Madison Square Garden — a campaign of grievance explicitly defending insurrection against democracy, as Jonathan Karl laid out over a year ago. === From Ron filipkowski. Essentially, "Hey GQP, how's your face feeling?" bsky.app/... Republican elected officials are going to rue the day they got into bed with him. Enjoy! === === From Marc Elias.bsky.app/... Per @oliverdarcy.bsky.social: Speaking of cable news ratings, “Morning Joe” hit a 17-year-low in the advertiser coveted 25-54 demo on Monday, averaging only 38K viewers. Oof. BTW--his newsletter is well worth the cost. www.status.news 38k? Seriously? Or as Opus posted in the comments: Joe and Mika = Joka === Evening Shade Seekers! Happy Answer the Phone Like Buddy The Elf Day! Happy National Wear A Plunger On Your Head Day! Wear a Plunger on Your Head Day is celebrated every year on December 18, yet no one really knows why. There is no good reason why you should wear a plunger on your head, but that is exactly how the day is celebrated! Go ahead, invite a bit of fun and silliness into your life! x x YouTube Video Happy National Whole Roasted Suckling Pig Day! x x YouTube Video Happy National Flake Appreciation Day! x x YouTube Video Happy National Twin Day! AND Happy National Bake Cookies Day! Tomorrow is National Oat Muffin Day and National Hard Candy Day. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/12/18/2292551/-President-Joe-Biden-Day-1326-Fourth-Year-Day-321-Evening-Shade-Wednesday?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/