Nancy Pelosi, dark money, and the embarrassing hypocrisy of the Center for American Progress

The optics were absolutely awful, and that’s what made it perfect. The Center for American Progress has launched a crusade against the corroding influence of dark money in politics and so … CAP invited the biggest dark-money Democrat to an anticorruption, pro-voter summit. The progressive powerhouse invited House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to speak early Monday morning. It was billed as a discussion with the “key congresspersons who are leading the fight to restructure the rules of democracy in order to rebalance power for the people.” But Pelosi is more than happy with the current balance of power. Go check the Federal Election Commission reports.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Pelosi absolutely loves that PAC money. Between 1989 and 2019, the Democratic leader has racked up more than $7 million from the political action committees. Don’t hate the partisan player, some might respond, hate the current political incentives. And they would be right. The system rewards this kind of fundraising these days. Legislation alone isn’t enough to leave a legacy. That requires a bundle of cash, and Pelosi has shown she is good for the money.

That ugly fact of politics doesn’t lessen the embarrassment though. Three weeks before giving Pelosi the podium, CAP called on Democrats to reject PAC money. “While discouraging, the public’s outlook on our democracy provides Democrats with a golden opportunity,” CAP wrote in a June 28 press release. “There is an important way in which Democrats can demonstrate that they aren’t corrupted by the corporate special interests who voters believe are running Washington: Stop taking their money.” CAP wants future Democratic candidates to be like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York and Rep. Conor Lamb in Pennsylvania, who the liberal group praises for rejecting “corporate special interest money.” Maybe it is a worthy goal. It would be a lot more persuasive though if CAP practiced what they preached.

While CAP doesn’t want candidates to take corporate money, they were more than happy to fill their own coffers with it. Released in 2013, the progressive goliath released a donor list that read like the New York Stock Exchange. They took money from Google and Walmart and Goldman Sachs. They cashed checks from T-Mobile and General Electric, Toyota and Visa. They filled their coffers with K Street dollars. With a history like that, it is no surprise that CAP invited a dark money politician like Pelosi to be their speaker.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/nancy-pelosi-dark-money-and-the-embarrassing-hypocrisy-of-the-center-for-american-progress

James Comey: Trump stood beside 'murderous lying thug' Putin, refused to defend the US

Ex-FBI Director James Comey excoriated President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday after the pair both repeated denials of Kremlin-linked interference in the 2016 U.S. election. "This was the day an American president stood on foreign soil next to a murderous lying thug and refused to back his own country. Patriots need to stand up and reject the behavior of this president," Comey wrote on Twitter.

Trump drew bipartisan ire following a press conference held at the conclusion of his first official bilateral meetings with Putin in Helsinki in which he said that he was yet to see any compelling reason why the Russian government would have meddled in the 2016 election. His comments come after special counsel Robert Mueller issued an indictment in federal court on Friday that alleged 12 Russian military officials hacked Democratic email servers during the campaign.

Trump added on Monday that Mueller's federal Russia investigation was a "disaster" for the country, reiterating that he ran a "clean campaign" and there had been "no collusion."

Comey was head of the FBI when the agency started probing possible links between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. He was later dismissed by Trump last year in a series of events that eventually led to Mueller's appointment as special counsel.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/james-comey-trump-stood-beside-murderous-lying-thug-putin-refused-to-defend-the-us

Sally Yates: Trump chose 'a tyrant' over US intelligence, American interests

Fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates blasted President Trump on Monday for favoring "tyrant" Russian President Vladimir Putin over members of the U.S. intelligence community and the best interests of the nation. "Our President today not only chose a tyrant over his own Intel community, he chose Russia’s interests over the country he is sworn to protect," Yates wrote on Twitter. "All Americans should raise their voices. Let the world know what we stand for."

Yates, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, has been a staunch critic of Trump since she was dismissed by the president for insubordination, for refusing to defend his administration's travel ban. Her comments follow bipartisan criticism of Trump over a controversial press conference he attended with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. Trump denied that there was any compelling reason to conclude that the Kremlin had interfered in the 2016 election.

Trump added that Mueller's federal investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election was a "disaster" for the U.S., reiterating that he ran a "clean campaign" and there had been "no collusion" between his team and the Kremlin.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/sally-yates-trump-chose-a-tyrant-over-us-intelligence-american-interests

Meghan McCain: This is the ‘worst day of the entire Trump presidency’

Meghan McCain labeled President Trump’s controversial performance in a news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday as the darkest day of his presidency. “This is hands down the worst day of the entire Trump presidency. A dark day for any patriot who is a defender of freedom and democracy. I should be less shocked but somehow I still am,” the co-host of “The View” tweeted.

McCain has been highly critical of Trump, but has also defended him against criticism from her left-leaning co-hosts. After Putin denied interfering in the 2016 election, Trump called Putin “extremely strong and powerful” when asked whether he believes Putin’s denial or the assessment of the U.S. intelligence community. He also attacked the FBI and asked about the Democratic National Committee’s email server and Hillary Clinton’s missing emails.

McCain said she was “horrified” by Trump’s comments. “I don’t have anything quippy to tweet,” she said. “I’m horrified - and have never been more proud of the fact that Putin hates my father so much he personally sanctioned him on Russia’s enemies list.”

Her father, Sen. John McCain, lambasted Trump for “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.”

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/meghan-mccain-this-is-the-worst-day-of-the-entire-trump-presidency

>>2178721

>>2178671

>>2178668

The rats are falling all over themselves over the Trump Putin meeting….wondering exactly what he told Trump! Fireworks are a coming!

>>2178558

Funny how they work so hard to cover their tracks only to really show who they really are all of them are completely rabid!! I am enjoying the rat squirm!