Trump's "cocoon of bitterness and resentment."
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November 15, 2018
A NOTE FROM FRED
 

This morning, President Trump tweeted allegations against the Mueller investigation that can only be described as crazy.  

The President claimed the investigation has “gone absolutely nuts. They are screaming and shouting at people, horribly threatening them to come up with the answers they want.”

Unhinged, undocumented attacks like Trump’s latest tirade are why our national coalition to protect the Mueller investigation has expressed great concerns about President Trump's appointment of Matthew Whitaker to serve as Acting Attorney General with responsibility to oversee the investigation.

Whitaker attacked the investigation on numerous occasions as a private citizen, going so far as to identify with the position that the Mueller investigation is a “lynch mob.”

Whitaker has shown himself to be biased and hostile to the investigation and unfit to supervise it.

Whitaker’s appointment led our coalition to conduct immediate nationwide protests last week calling for Whitaker’s recusal and Mueller’s protection. It is also why a letter from 29 organizations and ethics experts organized by Democracy 21 was sent to Members of Congress yesterday calling on them to act to help ensure Whitaker’s removal and Mueller’s protection.

Senators Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Chris Coons (D-DE) tried to bring a bipartisan bill to protect Mueller to the Senate floor for a vote yesterday but were blocked by Senate Majority Leader McConnell who continues to use his position to protect President Trump. 

The effort to pass the legislation in the Senate will continue and the bill will undoubtedly be considered early next year by the House, newly controlled by Democrats.

President Trump’s continuing irresponsible attacks against the Mueller investigation show the importance of the work that is being done by the many organizations in our coalition to protect the investigation.

With Democrats in control of the House next year, we will have a powerful new ally working to protect the Mueller investigation against any interference.


MUST READS

D21 NEWS
 
29 National Groups & Ethics Experts Urge Congress to Ensure Whitaker Recusal & Mueller Protections
 “As a result of his numerous attacks on the Mueller investigation, Mr. Whitaker has an irreparable conflict of interest in his role as overseer of the investigation, and is incapable of making publicly credible decisions in that capacity,” the groups and experts wrote in their letter to Congress. Read more
 
In Letter To Acting AG, D21 Urges Whitaker To Recuse Himself From Mueller Probe Oversight
“There is no rehabilitation for the bias you have publicly shown, and no way for you to establish that you can oversee this investigation in a fair and credible way now.” Read more
 

TRUMP & FRIENDS
 
Five Days Of Fury: Inside Trump’s Paris Temper, Election Woes, And Staff Upheaval, via The Washington Post. Read more
 
Trump, Stung By Midterms And Nervous About Mueller, Retreats From Traditional Presidential Duties
“Trump has retreated into a cocoon of bitterness and resentment,” via Los Angeles Times. Read more
 
CNN Sues President Trump And Top White House Aides For Barring Jim Acosta, via CNN. Read more
 
A White House Aide Picked A Fight With Melania Trump. The First Lady Won, via The Washington Post. Read more
 
12 Targets As House Democrats Prepare To Investigate Trump Administration, via The Washington Post. Read more
 
Interior Sec’y Zinke Is The Cabinet Official Most Vulnerable To Democratic Probe, White House Fears, via The Washington Post. Read more

Trump’s Coal Warrior: Inside EPA Head Andrew Wheeler’s Highly Effective Campaign To Sacrifice Public Health In Favor Of The Fossil-Fuel Industry, via Rolling Stone. Read more
VIDEO OF THE WEEK: THOUSANDS RALLY AROUND THE COUNTRY TO #PROTECTMUELLER
“It is the job of the American people to ensure we continue to be a government of laws by ensuring the Mueller investigation is protected against interference and allowed to proceed to its logical end.”
 
-- D21 President Fred Wertheimer
#ProtectMueller Rally, Washington, DC. November 8, 2018. Read more
PROTECT MUELLER
 
“Trump Just Crossed A Red Line”: Protesters Rally Nationwide In Support Of Mueller Probe, via USA Today. Read more
 
“Nobody Is Above The Law” Protests Held Nationwide To Support Mueller Probe, via CBS News. Read more/Watch

How Trump’s Move To Put A Loyalist Over Mueller Is Backfiring, via Politico. Read more
 
Sen. Flake Pledges To Block Committee Votes On Judges — Until Mueller Bill On Senate Floor, via National Public Radio. Read more
WATERGATE REFERENCE OF THE WEEK
SESSIONS & WHITAKER "SLOW MOTION" EDITION

The Latest Drama in Trump’s Slow-Motion Saturday Night Massacre
How to Stop Trump’s Slow-Motion “Saturday Night Massacre”
COMING SOON: THE 116th CONGRESS
 
Dems Say Their First Bill Will Focus On Strengthening Democracy At Home
Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD): “The path back to having the public trust government and politics is a long one, but we have to start someplace,” via National Public Radio. Read more
 
How Congress Stopped Working
“Today’s legislative branch, far from the model envisioned by the founders, is dominated by party leaders and functions as a junior partner to the executive, according to an analysis by The Washington Post and ProPublica.” Read more
 
Pelosi Cranks Up Campaign To Win Over Freshmen, via Politico. Read more
 
Meet Some Of The Newest Members Of The 116th Congress, via PBS NewsHour. Read more/Watch

MIDTERMS ARE OVER (SORT OF) …
 
The 2018 Midterms, In 4 Charts, via FiveThirtyEight. Read more
 
How Much Did Your Senate Vote Cost?
Spending in the Montana and North Dakota Senate races came out to more than $120 per vote, via Sludge. Read more
 
Tens Of Millions In Mystery Money Funded Final Weeks Of Midterm Ads, via Sludge. Read more
HISTORY LESSON OF THE WEEK

"The Living Room Candidate"
A Video Archive Of Presidential Campaign Commercials From 1952-2016

 
-- via The Museum Of The Moving Image. Watch
… AND 2020 IS UNDERWAY
 
It’s Not Too Early To Start Looking At The 2020 Senate Map, via Roll Call. Read more
 
Forget Impeachment. Mueller’s Real Threat To Trump Is In 2020. Via Intelligencer. Read more

Yes, It’s Almost Decision Time For Democratic Presidential Hopefuls, via National Public Radio. Read more
There will be no Wertheimer's Political Report next week. Our newsletter will return on November 29.
Happy Thanksgiving! 
By: Fred Wertheimer, Diane Alexander, and Jackie Howell. Follow Fred and Democracy 21 on Twitter @FredWertheimer.
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