The Hill's Morning Report - Trump seizes House impeachment vote to rally GOP

By Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver - 07/18/19 06:28 AM EDT

President Trump seized on House Democratic foes, including four female freshman lawmakers of color whom he assailed by name, to animate his base and try to persuade voters that any Democratic nominee he faces is a “danger” to the country and to the economic gains he said his administration produced.

“The choice for every American has never been more clear,” Trump said during a rally in Greenville, N.C., on Wednesday night. “These are bad people.”

Following days of intense national criticism, a House vote on Tuesday to condemn his “racist comments” and Wednesday’s House vote to kill the first articles of impeachment filed against the president under the new Democratic majority, Trump plowed deeper into the race-saturated nationalist themes he believes will carry him to victory next year.

With exaggerated “thank yous” to House Democrats who joined Republicans to table a measure on impeachment sponsored by Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), Trump relished his opportunities to play to a cheering crowd while pointing to evident divisions between progressive and moderate Democrats who control the House.

The Hill: The House voted 332-95 to table articles of impeachment.

The New York Times: 95 Democrats signaled their support for impeachment, while 137 opposed it — a dramatic split signaling trouble ahead for a divided party. The measure highlighted the rifts between progressives who want to challenge Trump more aggressively and moderate Democrats who want to focus on a policy agenda that includes improving health coverage and raising wages for working people.

READ MORE:

https://thehill.com/homenews/morning-report/453652-the-hills-morning-report

Trump blasts minority Democrats, rally crowd chants 'send her back'

By Jordan Fabian and Brett Samuels - 07/17/19 08:54 PM EDT

President Trump used a campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday to stoke his supporters’ anger over a group of four minority, progressive Democratic congresswomen, drawing boos and chants of “send her back” when he ramped up his attacks.

The scene laid bare Trump’s effort to use the group to frame Democrats as extreme ahead of the 2020 election but also fueled the notion that he is seeking to exploit the nation’s racial divisions for political gain.

“The leading voices of the Democrat Party are left-wing extremists who reject everything our nation stands for,” Trump told the crowd in Greenville, N.C. “These left-wing ideologues see our nation as a force of evil.”

The president then mentioned each of the four Democratic lawmakers by name, running through a laundry list of quotes he said proved they are out of the mainstream. When Trump was in the middle of a diatribe against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), the crowd broke into chants of “send her back.”

The president continued his days-long attack against Omar, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia, over her past statements about al Qaeda, the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, ISIS and Israel.

Trump also mocked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) by refusing to call her by her full name. “We’ll call her Cortez. Too much time,” he said.

He joked Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), who is black, could be related to the singer Elvis Presley and of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), he said “that's not somebody that loves our country.”

“They never have anything good to say. That’s why I say, ‘hey if they don’t like it, let them leave. Let them leave,’ ” Trump said. “They’re always telling us how to run it how to do this — you know what, if they don’t love it, tell them to leave it.”

The comments at the rally, which took place in a state Trump won narrowly in 2016, were a chance to road test his attacks in front of a friendly crowd. The audience’s boisterous reaction was reminiscent of the “lock her up” chants Trump’s supporters use against former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

But the broader reaction could be a test of whether the strategy will backfire. More than 20 percent of registered voters in North Carolina are black and the state backed former President Obama in the 2008 election.

Trump set off a firestorm on Sunday when he tweeted the female progressive lawmakers “who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe” should “go back and help fix the totally broken crime infested places from which they came.” All four congresswomen are U.S. citizens.

The tweets were met with fierce backlash from Democrats and a handful of Republicans who decried them as racist. The House formally voted to condemn the comments on Tuesday.

But Trump has dug in, blasting the members of the self-described “Squad” in each of the past four days and asserting his tweets were not racist.

The president has indicated he believes the fight is politically beneficial, seeking to make the four congresswomen the face of the Democratic Party.

“I do think I’m winning the political fight. I think I’m winning it by a lot,” Trump told reporters before departing for Wednesday night’s rally.

He also sought to push back against the notion that his attacks could hurt him with suburban and female voters in next year’s election, in part by acknowledging people in the crowd holding “Women for Trump” signs.

“They say women don’t love Trump. I think they do,” he said, arguing they support his policies on taxes, law enforcement and the military.

Just before Trump landed in North Carolina, the House voted 332-95 to table articles of impeachment against the president. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) introduced the measure in response to Trump’s tweets about the four congresswomen.

Trump addressed the vote at the top of his remarks to supporters, calling the measure “stupid," describing the vote as “lopsided” and decrying the effort to remove him from office as a “disgrace.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/453644-trump-blasts-minority-democrats-rally-crowd-chants-send-her-back

Dems open to killing filibuster in next Congress

By Jordain Carney - 07/18/19 06:00 AM EDT

Democratic leaders are opening the door to eliminating the 60-vote legislative filibuster if they recapture the Senate majority in the 2020 elections.

The future of the filibuster has emerged as a divisive topic in the crowded 2020 presidential primary field, which includes a half-dozen Democratic senators. Progressives who are pushing to nix it got a boost this week when the two highest ranking Democrats in the Senate didn’t explicitly rule the option out. But even if Democrats won the majority, it would be an uphill battle to get the votes necessary to pass such a controversial rule change.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters this week that while his first focus was on winning back the majority, if his party did “nothing is off the table.”

“Our first step is to get back the majority, period. Because without it, all will be lost. If we do, we’ll sit down and figure out the best thing to do to get things done, but we have to get things done and nothing is off the table,” Schumer said.

Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, told The Hill that he is also “reflecting” on the legislative filibuster.

“I tell ya, I’m reflecting on it now. This is a different Senate. It is unproductive under the current state of affairs,” Durbin said.

Durbin floated that a change will be “needed from what we’re currently working with” but added, “I don’t know what that is yet.”

This represents a shift for Durbin. Asked about the issue in February, when it began to creep into the 2020 discussions, Durbin warned that getting rid of the higher threshold would turn the Senate into the House and said “I don’t want to serve in the House again.”

A spokesman for Schumer, who would presumably be majority leader if Democrats win back the chamber, argued that his statement to reporters this week is “nothing new.”

READ MORE:

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/453641-dems-open-to-killing-filibuster-in-next-congress

Omar Responds To Trump Rally "Send Her Back" Chant As Dems Cry "Racist"

by Tyler Durden

Thu, 07/18/2019 - 05:30

Just days after House Democrats forced through a vote formally condemning President Trump's "racist" tweets targeting the progressive "squad" of freshman Democrats, the media is once again in an uproar over an unprovoked chant at a rally the president held in Greenville, North Carolina.

Trump was in the middle of criticizing Rep. Ilhan Omar for her history of anti-semitic remarks and other offensive comments about the 9/11 hijackers and the US forces who participated in the infamous 1993 "Black Hawk Down" mission in Somalia when the crowd burst into a chant of "send her back" - a reference to Trump's Sunday tweet saying the members of the "squad" should "go back" from the "crime infested places from which they came" if they're unhappy with how the country is being run. He also criticized Omar for comparing America to Al Qaeda and advocating on behalf of recruits attempting to join ISIS.

"Representative Omar blamed the United States for the terrorist attacks on our country, saying terrorism is a reaction to our involvement in other peoples' affairs," Trump said. "She smeared U.S. servicemembers involved in 'Black Hawk Down' -- in other words, she slandered the brave Americans who were trying to keep peace in Somalia."

In a tweet that resurfaced a few months back, Omar accused American soldiers of killing "thousands" of Somalis during the "Black Hawk Down" mission.

"Omar minimized the Sept. 11 attacks on our homeland, saying 'some people did something," Trump added. "I don't think so. 'Some people did something?' Yeah, some people did something, alright. She pleaded for compassion for ISIS recruits attempting to join the terrorist organization. She was looking for compassion. Omar laughed that Americans speak of Al Qaeda in a menacing tone, and remarked that, 'You don't say 'America' with this intensity. You say 'Al Qaeda,' makes you proud. Al Qaeda! Makes you proud. You don't speak that way about America.'"

"And obviously and importantly, Omar has a history of launching vicious anti-Semitic screeds."

Shouts of "traitor" could also be heard from the audience.

Trump never acknowledged the chant, or any other commentary from the audience about Omar.

READ MORE:

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-18/omar-responds-trump-rally-send-her-back-chant-dems-cry-racist

>>18110

Nice

OAN

Rep. Jim Jordan plans questions for Mueller on Steele dossier, FISA warrant

Special counsel Robert Mueller has agreed to appear before the House Judiciary and Intelligence panels to answer questions next week, and Republicans are ready to give him the grilling of his career. In an exclusive interview with One America's John Hines, Judiciary Committee member Jim Jordan talks about the infamous Steele dossier and his strategy for Mueller's upcoming appearance before Congress

FOX Business

Exclusive: Mitch McConnell talks Trump, border, budget and trade

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on President Trump, the Democratic Party's shift to the left, McConnell responds to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's comments, weighs in on the budget battle, China trade tensions and mounting tensions with Iran.

FOX News

Live: House Oversight holds hearing on Trump's child separation policy

Expected live at 10 a.m. ET: House Oversight & Reform Committee holds a hearing to "examine the Trump Admin's child separation policy, the treatment of immigrants detained in U.S, government facilities, and related issues."

OAN

Trump tweet feud exposes Democrat hypocrisy

The feud between President Trump and a group of progressive lawmakers is exposing hypocrisy in the Democrat Party. One America's Jennifer Franco compares the left's handling of this situation to another involving one of their own.

"It's Going To Be Staggering": Epstein Associates Prepare For Worst As Massive Document Dump Imminent

by Tyler Durden

Thu, 07/18/2019 - 09:54

As the Jeffrey Epstein case continues to unfold, a laundry list of celebrities, business magnates and socialites who have flown anywhere near the registered sex offender's orbit are now tainted with pedo-polonium. Many of them, such as Bill Clinton, Ehud Barak, and Victoria's Secret boss Les Wexner have sought to distance themselves from Epstein and his activities - however their attempts have fallen on deaf ears considering their extensive ties to the pedophile.

As Vanity Fair's Gabriel Sherman notes, "The questions about Epstein are metastasizing much faster than they can be answered: Who knew what about Epstein’s alleged abuse? How, and from whom, did Epstein get his supposed $500 million fortune? Why did Acosta grant Epstein an outrageously lenient non-prosecution agreement? (And what does it mean that Acosta was reportedly told Epstein “belonged to intelligence”?)"

Also illuminating is a statement by attorney Brad Edwards, who said during a Wednesday press conference seated next to Epstein accuser Courtneey Wild that "There were other business associates of Mr. Epstein’s who engaged in improper sexual misconduct at one or more of his homes. We do know that," adding "In due time the names are going to start coming out."

What's more, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will release of approximately 2,000 pages of documents, likely over the next several days, which may reveal sex crimes committed by "numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known prime minister, and other world leaders," according to the court's three-judge panel.

The documents were filed during a civil defamation lawsuit brought by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a former Mar-a-Lago locker-room attendant, against Epstein’s former girlfriend and alleged madam, Ghislaine Maxwell. “Nobody who was around Epstein a lot is going to have an easy time now. It’s all going to come out,” said Giuffre’s lawyer David Boies. Another person involved with litigation against Epstein told me: “It’s going to be staggering, the amount of names. It’s going to be contagion numbers.” -Vanity Fair

Other famous names associated with Epstein include LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg, who Musk introduced to the registered sex-offender. Zuckerberg spokesman told Vanity Fair "Mark met Epstein in passing one time at a dinner honoring scientists that was not organized by Epstein," adding "Mark did not communicate with Epstein again following the dinner."

READ MORE:

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-17/its-going-be-staggering-epstein-associates-prepare-worst-massive-document-dump

Shock Daylight Arson Attack On Japanese Anime Studio Leaves 33 Dead

by Tyler Durden

Thu, 07/18/2019 - 10:20

A popular animation production studio in Kyoto, Japan has gone up in flames after a reported arson attack, leaving a shocking 33 people confirmed or presumed dead, and another 36 injured - some critically - according to Japanese fire department statements. It's Japan's worst case of arson in decades and among the highest mass casualty events in its recent history.

The three-story building was quickly engulfed after a man sprayed a flammable liquid onto it while reportedly shouting, "You die!" according to local media reports. Many among the deceased had been trapped on the top floor and perished attempting to to get to the roof.

Police arrested a 41-year-old man who had shouted “die” as he poured what appeared to be petrol around the three-story Kyoto Animation building shortly after 10 a.m. — Reuters

The suspect has been detained and is being treated for injuries at a hospital. Early reports didn't give a motive or were able to identify whether he had been an employee of Kyoto Animation Co., possibly disgruntled or engaged in revenge attack.

An emergency responder told the AFP, "Callers reported having heard a loud explosion from the first floor of Kyoto Animation and seeing smoke." It total some 70 people had been working inside the building at the time of the attack.

Though nation-wide Japan is marked by low crime incidents, occasional major senseless tragedies rock the country and grab world headlines.

Kyoto Animation has produced the "Sound! Euphonium" series and the upcoming "Free! Road to the World — The Dream" movie, according to Reuters.

It was among the deadliest fires in Japan's recent history, as the AP reports:

Authorities say 20 people have been now confirmed dead, with nearly 10 others presumed dead. The outcome makes the case the deadliest fire since a 2001 fire that killed 44 in Tokyo’s Kabukicho entertainment district.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the arson attack “too appalling for words” in a statement posted to social media

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-18/shock-daytime-arson-attack-popular-japanese-animation-studio-leaves-33-dead

>>18242

notable

>>18228

notable

>>18217

notable

>>18169

>https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2019/07/18/digenova-and-toensing-discuss-possibilities-of-upcoming-mueller-testimony/

FOX Business

DiGenova & Toensing’s Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova on how a FBI spreadsheet kept track of M16 agent Christopher Steele’s claims about President Trump’s possible collusion with Russia.

>>18270

>>18169

Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova discuss how an FBI spreadsheet was used to validate M16 agent Christopher Steele’s claims about President Trump’s possible collusion with Russia; and the upcoming possibility of Robert Mueller’s coached testimony.