Open Thread for November 6, 2017

“Federal investigators have gathered enough evidence to bring charges in their investigation of President Trump’s former national security adviser and his son as part of the probe into Russia’s intervention in the 2016 election,” NBC News reports.

“Michael Flynn, who was fired after just 24 days on the job, was one of the first Trump associates to come under scrutiny in the federal probe now led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign. Mueller is applying renewed pressure on Flynn following his indictment of Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.”

“The investigators are speaking to multiple witnesses in coming days to gain more information surrounding Flynn’s lobbying work, including whether he laundered money or lied to federal agents about his overseas contacts.”

Everyone that works for Trump just happened to lie about their ties to the same country that meddled in the election https://t.co/1dnsqxYvZN

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) November 5, 2017

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross “shares business interests with Vladimir Putin’s immediate family, and he failed to clearly disclose those interests when he was being confirmed for his cabinet position,” NBC Newsreports.

“Ross — a billionaire industrialist — retains an interest in a shipping company, Navigator Holdings, that was partially owned by his former investment company. One of Navigator’s most important business relationships is with a Russian energy firm controlled, in turn, by Putin’s son-in-law and other members of the Russian president’s inner circle.”

New York Times: “Details of these arrangements surfaced in a cache of leaked files from Appleby, one of the world’s largest offshore law firms, which administered some 50 companies and partnerships in the Caymans and elsewhere connected to Mr. Ross.”

This Asia trip is going to be a disaster.  President Donald Trump is apparently disappointed that Japan failed to shoot down the North Korean missiles that flew over the country earlier this year, according to diplomatic sources that talked to the Kyodo news agency. Trump reportedly questioned the country’s decision during conversations with Southeast Asian leaders over the past few months. The president was particularly confused about the lack of action because Japan is a “country of samurai warriors,” according to the report.   Oh God.

New: My talk on why I fear ad-financed digital economy could lead us to surveillance authoritarianism, and how. https://t.co/V1sQi1jjav pic.twitter.com/FIwylgcQCQ

— zeynep tufekci (@zeynep) October 27, 2017

“Paul Manafort is offering to post $12.5 million-worth of assets — including his Trump Tower apartment — as part of a bail package to ensure that he appears for the trial he’s facing on charges of money laundering and failing to register as a foreign lobbyist,” Politico reports.

“In exchange for pledging the properties, Manafort is seeking to be released from home confinement at his Alexandria, Va. condo and permitted to travel freely in Florida, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and New York.”

Stan Collender: “There is absolutely no economic imperative for this bill. The only reasons congressional Republicans are rushing to get this done by the end of this year are political: Trump says he wants it, the GOP thinks its reelection prospects will suffer if it’s not enacted and there’s a general assumption that the more people learn about this bill the less they’ll like it. (Hint: It’s already unpopular.)”

“That’s why House Republicans are racing to get this to a vote and giving far less consideration to their tax plan than they typically do to a bill naming a post office. There will be no hearings, no expert testimony and no town halls to get constituent input.”

why it's essential to force Trump to release his taxes. Hip deep in Russian money?
https://t.co/DA2A9EpkPS

— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) November 5, 2017

“Two Russian state institutions with close ties to Vladimir Putin funded substantial investments in Twitter and Facebook through a business associate of Jared Kushner, leaked documents reveal,” the Guardian reports.  “The investments were made through a Russian technology magnate, Yuri Milner, who also holds a stake in a company co-owned by Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior Whit

“In late June, President Trump hosted a group of Native American tribal leaders at the White House and urged them to ‘just do it’ and extract whatever they want from the land they control,” Axios reports.

“The exchange turned out to be an unusually vivid window into the almost kingly power that Trump sees himself as holding, and which he has begun describing with increasing bluntness… The chiefs explained to Trump that there were regulatory barriers preventing them from getting at their energy.”

Replied Trump: “But now it’s me. The government’s different now. Obama’s gone; and we’re doing things differently here. So what I’m saying is, just do it.”

Whoa, this statement from @ChrisMurphyCT on the Sutherland Springs, Texas shooting is extremely powerful. Wow. pic.twitter.com/4qyP3sH9co

— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) November 5, 2017

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) told Fox News that the state’s concealed-carry law could help Texans confronted with mass shooters like the one at a church Sunday.

Said Paxton: “All I can say is that in Texas at least we have the opportunity to have concealed carry. And so if it’s a place where somebody has the ability to carry, there’s always the opportunity that gunman will be taken out before he has the opportunity to kill very many people.”

Right-wing terrorism studies crash course. pic.twitter.com/DF7ALcSmSk

— Sacha Saeen (@S_Saeen) November 5, 2017

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “is recovering from five broken ribs and bruises to his lungs, and it is unclear when he will return to Washington, aides said Sunday, signaling that injuries he sustained Friday are far more severe than initially thought,” the Washington Post reports.

“The second-term Republican senator from Kentucky and 2016 presidential candidate was attacked, allegedly by a next-door neighbor, Rene Boucher, 59, who was charged with fourth-degree assault… The nature of the dispute between Paul and Boucher remained a mystery Sunday to locals who know both men as medical professionals based in this southwestern Kentucky town.”

The AP reports “it is unclear when Paul will return to work since he is in considerable pain and has difficulty getting around, including flying. “

Gezus! At least 9 members of the Trump campaign had contact with Russia DURING the campaign. https://t.co/1ZzjyBzttC

— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) November 6, 2017

“Republicans are poised to begin debating details of their tax plan this week, but House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) signaled Sunday that party leaders are still mulling whether to use the proposal to end a central element of the Obama-era Affordable Care Act,” the Washington Post reports.

“The tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee is set to begin reviewing the GOP plan on Monday in public hearings that could stretch into Thursday. But significant differences remain, and new proposals could be added. Ryan signaled that a repeal of the health law’s individual mandate is still up for discussion, while a key New York Republican warned that he and other GOP lawmakers from highly taxed northeastern states remain opposed to the legislation.”

“A Russian lawyer who met with President Donald Trump’s oldest son last year says he indicated that a law targeting Russia could be re-examined if his father won the election and asked her for written evidence that illegal proceeds went to Hillary Clinton’s campaign,” Bloomberg reports.

“The lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, said in a two-and-a-half-hour interview in Moscow that she would tell these and other things to the Senate Judiciary Committee on condition that her answers be made public, something it hasn’t agreed to. She has received scores of questions from the committee, which is investigating possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Veselnitskaya said she’s also ready — if asked — to testify to Special Counsel Robert Mueller.”