On today’s BradCast, given the reports that Donald Trump is now personally being investigated for obstruction of justice, we unpack the chaos that may soon come about if the Deputy Attorney General is forced to recuse himself (or is fired) from overseeing the Special Counsel’s probe of Team Trump. [Audio link to complete show follows below.]
But, while all the madness of the DoJ’s Trump investigations are going on, Senate Republicans indicated today that they will call for a vote on their secret Obamacare replacement bill before the July 4th recess next week. They also announced they will have the votes needed for passage. If they are right, the results are likely be devastating for millions of Americans, and not only the poor. One of out three elderly Americans in nursing homes, for example, rely on Medicaid to cover the costs, and the GOP is about to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from the program in exchange for massive tax cuts for the wealthy.
We discuss that and, as record heat blasts the Western US, the unbelievably stupid explanation for climate change just offered by Energy Secretary Rick Perry (it’s not CO2, he says, it’s “the ocean waters and this environment that we live in”!) We also offer a very quick preview of the U.S. House Special Elections being held today on 100% unverifiable touch-screen voting machines in BOTH Georgia and South Carolina. (We’ll have full results, whatever they are reported to be, on tomorrow’s show).
Then we’re joined by attorney, author, columnist and UNH asst. professor SETH ABRAMSON to step through his recent 50 tweet(!) tweetstorm detailing the ‘bedlam’ that is likely to ensue when and if (he insists “when”) Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein is forced to recuse himself from overseeing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Team Trump and, reportedly, obstruction of justice by the President himself in his firing of FBI Director James Comey.
The chain of events that could come about as the result of Rosenstein’s recusal, as Abramson details on the show today, are amazing and could lead to a very real Constitutional Crisis and even completely separate obstruction of justice charges against Trump based on an entirely different investigation related to his February mass firing of all of the US Attorneys.
Lots of somewhat jaw-dropping ‘bedlam’ unpacked and explained and to be absorbed in detail on this front on today’s show, including whether or not Rosenstein himself could come under investigation; who the next officials in line are to take his place (first, a friend of Ted Cruz’ named Rachel Brand, then a man named Dana Boente) and what their conflicts are; how Trump could personally come to appoint the person overseeing the Special Counsel’s investigation after we go through Brand and Boente; and why, if sitting Presidents cannot be indicted, as many argue, Mueller would be carrying out a criminal obstruction of justice investigation of Trump in the first place.
“Honestly, If I were to lay out the full complexity of the situation right now at the DoJ, which goes well beyond the question of Rachel Brand possibly becoming the Acting AG in the very near term, it would take — and I am not exaggerating — probably about 500 tweets,” Abramson tells me. “We are in so many unprecedented situations and sub-situations at the DoJ, it is bewildering even for attorneys,” he says, adding later: “This is the most complex and public litigation of probably the last 100 years in American political history.”
Finally today, another heartbreaking story of yet another immigrant victim of Trump’s, now facing deportation and separation from his family despite spending months in the clean-up efforts at Ground Zero after 9/11…
Brad, I really expected to read more about the Russian coup, treason and money-laundering on your site. Are you in touch with this? It has gotten to the point that I rarely check bradblog at all.
Jerry @ 1:
If you’ve followed The BRAD BLOG for any period of time, you know that I only report what can be independently verified. As to your specific complaint:
We’ve covered, in great detail, all of the claims about “the Russian coup” which, I’m sorry to say, are very much lacking in independently verifiable evidence. What is evidence is available is weak at best.
As to “treason”, well, I presume that would come from collusion in regard to “the Russian coup”. There is even less evidence to support the “treason” charge than “the Russian coup” charge.
As to the “money-laundering”, well, there is somewhat more evidence in that regard. Though conflicts of interest are more in evidence (as is Obstruction of Justice, Abuse of Power, etc.), even if Dems, for some reason, are not bringing Articles of Impeachment at this point, and they most certainly should be.
I assume you also know that I’m no fan of Trump. In fact, I find him to be an appalling liar and a small, pathetic, cretinous man. Nonetheless, I report what is verifiable, not what I would like to be the case. Always have.
Sorry to hear that, Jerry. But I report the news, not my feelings. Interesting, I have as many (or more) complaints that I cover the points noted above too much. Go figure.