On Joe Biden: I had the opportunity tonight to attend an event in MD where
@POTUS
spoke. In fact not only did he speak, he spoke for an hour while standing - no notes - and didn’t miss a beat. He was sharp, funny, focused, and covered foreign policy, economy, infrastructure, /1
I see a lot of folks on twitter losing it over what Trump is saying during these pressers. I’ve got some advice - don’t watch these campaign rallies. Just turn it off. Unless it’s your job to cover him, allow yourself the luxury of tuning him out. Mental preservation is key.
If the media is discussing what meds the president is or isn’t taking, they are not talking about 90,000 deaths and insufficient testing. Stay focused on the real story y’all.
I have real issues w folks like Cipollone characterizing Pence as a hero in carrying out his legal duties. I get that we were millimeters from the end of democracy but he was the VP of the United States of America and his did his damn job. I am glad he did but I won’t deify that.
Tonight I’m not outraged. I’m resolved. There’s only three things that matter over the next six months (1) staying healthy; (2) electing
@JoeBiden
and (3) flipping the Senate. Don’t tell me you hate phone banking. If you hate Trump, roll up your sleeves and do something.
It’s been almost 48 hours since
@politico
has published a story about
@JoeBiden
even though he rolled out a plan for schools reopening on Friday. If your mission is to cover politics and you don’t cover the candidate running for president, you’re not covering politics,
@politico
.
Thread: A friend who is a Bernie supporter asked me for talking points for why Bernie supporters should vote for Biden, rather than sit this next election out. Sharing here in case others need the advice for folks they know who supported Bernie. /1
If you are Jewish, you were trained from a very young age to feel terror at a photo like this. This is why those anti-Semitic retweets by Trump in 2016 were such a flashing red sign. We studied in Hebrew school what signs to look out for and we were right to sound the alarms.
This is what we mean when we say “Representation Matters!” Now that five-year-old Pallavi can see her, she can BE her! SOUND UP to hear Pallavi learn that the
@VP
is half-Indian just like her.
#KHive
💛💜❤️
The one & only
@HillaryClinton
stumping in Bethesda MD for the fearless next U.S. Senator for Maryland - Angela Alsobrooks,
@AlsobrooksForMD
who is fighting to keep the U.S. senate for us all vs. Larry Endorsed by Trump Hogan. Donate:
Fun fact: Jack Smith and Jim Trusty both worked in the Criminal Division when I was there. Jack was the head of Public Integrity Section aka PIN. Jim was the head of the Organized Crime and Gang Section. Jim now represents Trump.
If you ever wonder why certain types of men don't want to elevate women into power, this, right here, is why. This is what they fear: Katie Porter calls BS and has the receipts and it is a glorious sight to behold.
I’m not sure it’s been said enough since yesterday - the 1st time
@JoeBiden
left his home in months was to honor the service of others. He didn’t choose to leave to pat himself on the back, to play golf, or to hold a rally. He only left to honor others.
The only times that
@JoeBiden
has left the house during
#COVID
have been to honor veterans, to attend a
#BlackLivesMatter
event, and to attend a meeting with the family of
#georgefloyd
. He hasn’t blasted people with tear gas, held an upside down Bible, or played golf.
#JoeBiden
This is a Joe Biden appreciation post. I’ve been very Kamala focused since Monday but I took a walk this afternoon without my phone and had some time to reflect. He has carried so much for himself and for all of us. We have been so fortunate.
This Barr explanation doesn’t quite add up. AG doesn’t just “drop in” like it’s down the hall. AG works on a different floor than Criminal AAG. For AG to get all the way to the CRM AAG conf room would have involved Barr security detail. Plus, on form, AG doesn’t go to others.
Remarkable. Sen. Graham says he talked to AG Barr this morning and they have set up a "process" by which Rudy Giuliani will now send his Biden "dirt" directly to AG Barr.
I’m taking a moment to reflect on the sheer volume of tangible accomplishments by the Biden-Harris Administration. Shots in arms. Relief Checks in banks. Jobs jobs jobs. Masks on the way out. Restoration of LGBTQ rights. So much. And it’s been like 150 days. Absolutely inspiring.
Where are the Department of Justice Whistleblowers? Career DOJ attorneys have been in the rooms where the corruption has happened; they’ve been on the email chains. They are witnesses. It’s time for them to tell us what they know.
I was asked yesterday what this bipartisan letter hoped to accomplish. My response: same as marching. We cannot stop impressing upon the American public the dangers we see in Trump, Barr, & this admin. It’s not normal & we must continue to fight.
#DOJ
I spent 19 years as a federal government attorney. I left so that I could help a political campaign and not run afoul of a law preventing fed employees from being political named the
#HatchAct
. Tonight the Trump admin made violating the
#HatchAct
a job qualification.
#TrumpChaos
It’s about our entire country. If that’s not compelling to the Bernie folks, then there is nothing else I can say. They will live with the consequences of another four years of Trump. Thank you for listening to my TED talk.
@JoeBiden
@TeamJoe
@JoeMamas2020
#JoeTime
/END
It was perfect. He said this just after he re-shared the good news of Taylor Swift’s endorsement. So basically tonight Eddie Vedder endorsed Kamala and Michael Stipe headlined a Kamala fundraiser in NYC: My heart is full.
RBG & Breyer will have to retire soon. The Pres will have 2 open seats to fill in the Supreme Court. If filled by Trump, they will be young, white & conservative. The issues that Bernie supporters care deeply about will be non-starters for a generation. I’m not exaggerating. /7
As well as covering anti-semitism, the deficit, jobs, junk fees, expansion of wireless internet. You and I couldn’t have covered what
@POTUS
covered while standing for an hour at 80. To be clear: he has done a tremendous job and I’m 💯 confident in his abilities and acuity./END
Two Democratic friends in GA have told me that they never see
@JoeBiden
and it doesn’t feel like an election is happening. I told them where he is and what he is doing. Media -
@CNN
and
@MSNBC
- can y’all please do more to cover and have
@JoeBiden
on your shows????
Boring and stabilizing is going to have to be good enough. I wanted Hillary and Kamala. I am now fundraising for and voting for Biden. I’m ecstatic about getting Trump out. And I will spend the rest of 2020 doing that because this isn’t about my first choice or me. /10
When a female opinion writer does a hit job on a female VP candidate 11 days before the election, without actually hitting the VP candidate on qualifications, policies or substance, the opinion writer is trying to sway female voters who look like her (the writer).
#WeHaveHerBack
NEW from
@TheJusticeDept
AG Barr has issued a new directive to all U.S. Attorneys telling them to prioritize investigating scam artists who are seeking to profit from the
#coronavirus
pandemic. "The pandemic is dangerous enough without wrongdoers seeking to profit," he wrote.
Throughout my 18 yrs at DOJ, I did attorney hiring. Any career attorney applicant who did this would’ve had the plug pulled before they walked in the door by the Office of Attorney Recruitment & Management. If he was on board when we learned of it, we would have pulled the offer.
Trump has stacked the federal courts with super conservative & young white male judges at a faster pace than any Pres. If he continues for 4 more years, any chance of climate progress, health care progress, economic parity, female progress, will be lost for a GENERATION. /6
Since its first days, the Trump administration has fought aggressively to silence reporters, women, public servants, and dissenters of all stripes. As a woman & former public servant, I’m grateful for my journey from quiet bureaucrat to vocal Trump critic.
I stand on the shoulders of giants, who risked everything for our freedoms. The baton has been passed to us to continue the fight to protect our right to vote.
Remember when Trump threw a paper towel roll at the Puerto Ricans after the hurricane? José Andrés threw them a lifeline with his amazing kitchen created to feed an island, & now is nominated for 2019 Nobel Peace Prize! Such happy news to a real leader.
The DNC did not decide who would be the nominee. The voters decided. There were countless debates & voters rejected Elizabeth, Kamala, Pete, etc. Bernie is not a victim any more than the rest are. He also took an active part in the formulation of the DNC debate rules 2019-20. /3
Biden can hit the ground running. His top pandemic czar Ron Klain was extremely successful under Obama. The advisors whom Biden selects can jump in & clean up a lot. They know how everything works & can try to right the ship to clean up more quickly than any others. /9
Why the hell are you so afraid of a man who spent his career at DOJ fighting Organized Crime including transnational Organized Crime and the Russian mafia? Transparent!
🧵Remember all of us who railed against not just DJT but also his appointees & close associates? Do you remember why those folks were just as bad as him if not worse? And why that mattered?
Because a president is not just one man doing the work. He’s got influential advisors./1
Key point —> Barr and DAG Rosen never have served as prosecutors. So when they posit the Stone sentence is too high, they don’t have a well of experience to pull from based on other defendants. So instead they determine it’s too high - for a white guy like them.
Even assuming no communic b/t DOJ and WH, Barr's account of the Stone sentencing discuss is very perplexing. He and his Dep have 0 experience as crim prosecutors: on what basis were they huddling--w/ AUSAs excluded-- and determining the straight GL sentence was "excessive?"
I can’t imagine Biden will serve more than one term. That means we will be able to put forth more liberal candidate in 2024. That is the reality for those who wanted a woman POTUS and who are crushed that we again won’t have one. It’s not ideal but it’s not that far off. /8
Suburban women (like me) want safety, calm, security, trustworthiness, and honesty right now. We want a woman, but more than anything we want Trump out. We trust
@JoeBiden
to do that and we damn well don’t want a revolution.
Based on exit polls, it’s clear there’s a far bigger surge of suburban college-educated women for
@JoeBiden
than one of new Millennial and Gen Z voters for
@BernieSanders
. So Bernie’s not only losing tonight, he’s losing the “I’m the best guy to beat
@realDonaldTrump
” argument.
Most every democrat in America did not get their first choice of candidate. Everyone is understandably angry and frustrated when their candidate of choice is forced to drop out. We are almost all victims of having to settle. The anger and frustration will subside. /2
Every democrat I know has been saying
#VoteBlueNoMatterWho
since candidates have been dropping off. Everyone I know, including former Republicans who hate Trump, would have voted for Bernie had he been the nominee. /5
A shutdown doesn't just impact federal workers. It effects every American.
The weeks of uncertainty leading up to the shutdown mean that government work isn't necessarily focused on work -- it's focused on shutdown planning.
In effect, the shutting down started already. /1
Americans are scared. The notion of revolution didn’t appeal to a large swath of us. Our fear led us to traditional white old guys to the detriment of other candidates. & it led to the most moderate & experienced of the 2 old guys. It’s not personal to Bernie. It’s about fear./4
An aide, procured a salad. Fumbled the plastic eating utensils. Ms. Klobuchar berated her aide instantly for the slip-up. She pulled a comb from her bag and began eating the salad with it. Then she handed the comb to her staff with a directive: Clean it.
David Perdue lined his own pockets – trading medical stocks and dumping casino shares – while he lied to us about the threat of a virus that's now killed over 220,000 Americans.
He doesn't deserve to be re-elected.
#GASen
#GASenDebate
Maguire emphatically says no, Trump didn’t ask him identity of the whistleblower— but earlier in his testimony, Maguire claimed executive privilege when asked if he discussed the whistleblower complaint w Trump. So he definitely discussed the complaint with Trump.
#Whistleblower
Jake Tapper repeatedly badgering
@RepRaskin
on
@CNN
about
@vp
**after Raskin calls
@vp
an excellent running mate and excellent on substance and policy** reeks of front office intervention and makes
@jaketapper
look like a tool.
@POTUS
selects his running mate — not
@CNN
.
This week a white man sent bombs to democrats; another white man shot and killed black patrons at Kroger; and another white man just killed 8 at a synagogue and 3 officers. We don’t have a caravan problem. We have a white male domestic terrorism problem.
BREAKING / NBC News: Preliminary information from the scene in Pittsburgh is that 12 people have been shot, at least 8 are dead, 3 officers have been shot, and a suspect -- armed with an AR-15 style rifle and multiple handguns -- is in custody.
Reported with
@jonathan4ny
I am proud our campaign headquarters is in Rep. Elijah Cummings' district. Baltimore has become home to my team and it's disgraceful the president has chosen to start his morning disparaging this great American city.
I have no issue with you defending your wife. But doing it from your official DOJ account is contrary to DOJ rules and should land you in a heap of trouble with your DC bosses on the 4th and 5th floors. Open your own account but don’t use your position for personal reasons.
Biden apologizes to
@kaitlancollins
. “I owe my last questioner an apology. I shouldn’t have bene such a wiseguy with the last answer I gave,” he tells reporters.
This little guy practiced introducing himself to “Madam Vice President” all morning before meeting her on the tarmac in Atlanta.
@VP
seems to have quite the crowd too, btw.
#gapol
From my two independent, leaning Republican anti-Trump guy male suburban Atlanta middle-aged friends: “If every choice he (
@JoeBiden
) makes is this safe (
@SenKamalaHarris
), then he will be a good president for us where we are today.”
This is what it means to have courage.
@RepSlotkin
and
@RepSpanberger
are willing as freshmen to risk their seats in tough district. More courage in their pinkies than in the whole of the power hungry Republican Party. So glad I canvassed for Spanberger.
#ImpeachmentVote
I have studied the articles of impeachment, both Republican and Democratic reports, deposition transcripts, and public testimony. With a heavy heart and a solemn devotion to our Constitution, I will vote in favor of both articles. Read my full statement:
DOJ alumni: it’s not too late to sign onto our letter! The list of signatories is still growing. I’m honored to join 1100+ of my fellow DOJ alumni in standing up for the rule of law. I encourage my former colleagues to add their names—>
My latest: Where are the DOJ Whistleblowers? Despite the norms that the Attorney General has gutted, DOJ has not produced the slew of career whistleblowers and truthtellers that we have seen coming out of other agencies over the last several months.
Supporters of
@JoeBiden
- I continue to hear my friends and family ask me where is Joe Biden these days. His messaging & live videos are not getting out or sufficiently covered by the media. Democrats who will vote for him are wondering where he is. We need to amplify him.
How comforting it is to hear words like “expertise” and “science” from
@RonaldKlain
on
@FaceTheNation
. And as a bonus, he explained that they’ll get a briefing on the new strain of coronavirus this week.
Republicans: The government has no right to infringe on my individual freedom to refuse to place a mask on my body for the purpose of containing the spread of a deadly pandemic.
Also Republicans: The government has every right to control what women do with their own bodies.
Members of the GOP bristle at the notion of their government asking them to wear a mask. Yet, at the same time, they support the government’s ability to decide what a woman does with her body.
@Smartypants60
notes the irony.
The fact that the kids are named really turns up the heat on all of them and adds so many layers of competing interests and incentives for info sharing. Just wow.
Since Trump took office, voter turnout has surged in Virginia, the state that holds elections every year, leading analysts to conclude that even local races have turned into referendums on the president.
The Biden admin will release nearly $40 billion to confront what Biden calls an "acute, immediate child care crisis," distributing money to help providers pay rent and rehire workers, as well as make child care more affordable for low-income families.
@rtraister
Transition teams always raise money. It’s not unusual. It’s not bonkers. It’s how the US system works. Biden team is doing nothing wrong here. The government money they are OWED for winning is being held hostage. They would be remiss if they didn’t forge ahead on transition work
Among other things, the political news out of New Jersey today means that the Senate seat is likely to go from a man accused of taking gold bars as part of a bribery scheme to a man best known before running for Senate for doing this in the Capitol after Jan. 6 riots/
For the breathless press hammering the President, you do realize that you’re at the top of the former guy’s list to have your freedom taken away right?
Frank. People who are aiming for the job a heartbeat away from the POTUS have no obligation to make you CRY. Their job is to be qualified, smart, a patriot, a uniter. Dick Cheney didn’t need to make you cry. Joe Biden didn’t need to make you cry. Nor did Dan Quayle or Al Gore.
Kamala Harris has a powerful story. She needs to tell it better than she has to date, because she and Biden must use every arrow in their quivers to end this wretched presidency. My column >>>
Today
@WCKitchen
lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF air strike in Gaza. I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people…angels…I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia. They
I knew
@NatSecLisa
when she 1st joined the DOJ Honors Program (highly competitive program, we hired like 10 out of 1500 applicants) where she began as an org crime prosecutor. She was then the same serious, thoughtful public servant that she shows herself to be here.
@maddow
As Bill Barr diminishes the work of thousands of DOJ alumni and current career attorneys, I’m re-upping my piece for
@monthly
asking where — for goodness’ sake — are the DOJ whistleblowers?
Where are the Department of Justice Whistleblowers? Career DOJ attorneys have been in the rooms where the corruption has happened; they’ve been on the email chains. They are witnesses. It’s time for them to tell us what they know.
One more thought on Lisa’s courage here. Those of you at DOJ & FBI who have seen something, please find the courage to say something. Lisa Page has more to lose than most of you who have not been singled out by the POTUS. We need your voices and your witness accounts. Please.
I have to be honest. I've been in SUCH a bad mood for the past 10 days, mainly b/c of the news. I then started re-reading some of the
#BidenHarris
policies (I'm on a panel tonight) and -- I'm not kidding -- I immediately felt better. Focus on electing Joe, do the work, it helps.
@mtgreenee
That is a lie. I was in DC for three hours tonight and it was a beautiful night with folks enjoying their evening, eating outside, and getting back to normal life.
Funny story: In 2016, while trying to elect Hillary, I met an Atlanta woman named Heather Fenton, & we became political friends. Then, in Feb. 2017, I emailed her this from MD: “I keep hearing about some Atlanta Democrat, Jon Ossoff, do you know anything about him?” She replied⤵️
One of the few times I agree with Howard Stern: Preserving democracy is ‘the only f—ing issue on the table’ in midterms. (FWIW crime and gas prices won’t be better if we are in a fascist state instead of democracy)/