Trump and the Mexico, Australia Phone Call Dump: ‘BradCast’ 8/3/2017

Guest: Dave Johnson of 'Seeing the Forest' | Also: Mueller reportedly impanels a new grand jury in D.C.; Senators work to keep him from being fired; And Iran charges new sanctions violate nuclear deal...

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On today’s BradCast, the Trump noose tightens, and the Trump leaks continue. [Audio link to full show is posted below.]

“Trump O’Clock” came particularly early today, so after shuffling things around at the last minute again, several times, we cover reports that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury in Washington D.C., which has issued subpoenas as part of the probe into Team Trump and various charges of collusion with Russia. At the same time, several Republicans in the U.S. Senate are reportedly filing legislation meant to prevent Trump (and/or future Presidents) from being able to fire a Special Counsel established by the Department of Justice without judicial review.

Also, getting lost once again in the “Russia” panic, as we explained on yesterday’s show, there is a good reason Bernie Sanders voted against the bill slapping sanctions against Russia, North Korea and Iran, as approved almost unanimously in both chambers of Congress, and signed reluctantly by the President on Wednesday. Specifically, as Sanders explained, new sanctions may give Iran justification for dropping out of the long-negotiated nuclear deal signed by them and the U.S., UK, Russia, France, China and Germany in 2015. Not long after we got off air last night, Iran declared that the new sanctions “violated” the deal.

Then we’re joined by DAVE JOHNSON, founder of the “Seeing the Forest” blog and formerly a Senior Fellow at the progressive policy organization People’s Action, to discuss the remarkable leaked transcripts, published Thursday by the Washington Post, of Trump’s phone conversations just after taking office with the President of Mexico and the Prime Minister of Australia.

The documents offer a fascinating — and often troubling — look at how Trump dealt with two of our closest allies on topics such as his proposed border wall with Mexico (and Trump’s insistence that President Enrique Peña Nieto NOT state publicly that Mexico won’t pay for the wall), and the agreement, struck during the Obama Administration, to consider U.S. entry for as many as 2,000 economic refugees who were, at the time, being held in detention camps on islands off of Australia’s coast (a conversation that ended with Trump abruptly terminating the call with conservative Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.)

Johnson offers his thoughts and insight on the apparent strong-arm tactics employed by Trump with the two heads of state, as well as what appears to have been a rather alarming lack of preparedness for the conversations and a startling lack of policy knowledge revealed by the published transcripts.

We discuss the policy implications as well as the political ones for both Trump and Republican in Congress who will have to run for office next year under this President, his broken promises, and the often gob-smacking revelations of his infamous “deal-making prowess”…

The BradCast with Brad Friedman 8/3/2017
Trump and the Mexico, Australia Phone Call Dump: ‘BradCast’ 8/3/2017  |  Guest: Dave Johnson of 'Seeing the Forest' | Also: Mueller reportedly impanels a new grand jury in D.C.; Senators work to keep him from being fired; And Iran charges new sanctions violate nuclear deal...   · · · · ·   Trump and the Mexico, Australia Phone Call Dump: ‘BradCast’ 8/3/2017  |  Guest: Dave Johnson of 'Seeing the Forest' | Also: Mueller reportedly impanels a new grand jury in D.C.; Senators work to keep him from being fired; And Iran charges new sanctions violate nuclear deal...
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Trump and the Mexico, Australia Phone Call Dump: ‘BradCast’ 8/3/2017

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  1. 1)
    karenfromillinois said on 8/4/2017 @ 2:16pm PT: [Permalink]

    from john brakey…..

    Folks, DEF-CON in Las Vegas proved again that our elections have been computerized, privatized, and outsourced! A voting system that we at AUDIT AZ see as a system that was built to cheat. (see video link below) A system for many years with built-in impunity to steal. A system run with a failed concept known as “Security by Obscurity,” which ultimately became the handy rationale for skirting transparency and fighting record request into the inter working and, once uncover, led us into the world of the insiders and who really runs/program elections.

    A tipping point is coming! 2016 / 2017 are the years that the average American is learning that their elections are easily gamed. Either we have elections that are transparent, trackable and publicly verified, and then maybe more people will vote!

    Or more people will stop voting because they’ve lost faith in their vote being counted as cast and see the system as sad joke that it is now! The solution is simple”¦ it’s transparency!!!

    In Las Vegas I filmed most of the speakers and will have up very soon. I also circulated close to 600 copies of this 2-page abstract: “Publicly Verified Elections are Key to De-Corrupting Our Democracy NOW!” Link to doc: http://tinyurl.com/y9sf2r77

    According to longtime friend and attorney Bill Risner, “Every study of the security of computer voting systems has identified insiders such as company employees and/or vendors and election department employees as the primary security risks. These same vendors when having their software certified, instructed the test labs “NOT” to check the software for security.” Court video. https://youtu.be/JE0kOvFjn_0

    /////////////////////

  2. 2)
    PPSFUSION said on 8/5/2017 @ 5:33am PT: [Permalink]

    This isn’t journalism, it’s witch hunting, and it won’t be forgotten.

    People haven’t lost faith in voting, they don’t want to vote for NEOCONS or PROGRESSIVES!

    The people touting DEF CON also tout they want to keep using Voting Machines. If you know the machines are bad, why keep beating the dead horse. You like the Free Swag bags and don’t care about the real problem, because that means you have to have SKIN in the game. IT means that techs and experts are no longer needed, what is needed is paper ballots.

    Meanwhile all this tech war ignores the VOTER FRAUD back with the registered voters. California in county after county has more registered voters than people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I don’t want to hear whining when people start fighting back, they justifiably had enough of this IC coup and want restored the Rule of Law.

    It’s pretty simple what WE want.

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