Judge rips into Roger Stone, bars him from speaking publicly on case: 'There will be no third chance'

A federal judge has completely barred former Trump political adviser Roger Stone from speaking publicly about his ongoing prosecution on obstruction and false statement charges, after a picture of the judge appeared on Stone's Instagram this week with what appeared to be crosshairs in the background.
The ruling followed a hearing on Thursday in which Stone took the stand to insist he was "heartfully sorry" for the picture, which Stone said he had reviewed prior to posting it -- although he suggested someone else had first selected the image.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson tore into Stone during the proceeding, saying she simply didn't believe his explanation that an unnamed "volunteer" was to blame.
"I have serious doubts about whether you learned anything at all," Jackson said. "From this moment on, the defendant may not speak publicly about this case -- period. No statements about the case on TV, radio, print reporters, or Internet. No posts on social media. [You] may not comment on the case through surrogates. You may send out emails about donating to the Roger Stone defense fund."
Jackson added an apparent threat to revoke Stone's bail and send him to jail: "This is not baseball. There will be no third chance. If you cannot abide by this, I will be forced to change your surroundings so you have no temptations."
Jackson had issued a limited gag order in Stone's case last week, preventing him from discussing the case near the courthouse. Stone was being questioned Thursday by Jackson and government lawyers as to why Jackson should not take action in response to the image.
On Thursday, Stone made the risky decision to take the stand, after an initial series of questions from Jackson to Stone's lawyer, Bruce Rogow.
The longtime Trump confidante walked into court wearing his signature circle framed glasses, but took them off before Jackson entered the courtroom. Stone's wife and daughter sat in the front row.
Under questioning from prosecutors and Jackson, the 66-year-old Stone -- who frequently looked directly at Jackson as he spoke -- said the image had been selected by a volunteer who was working for him, though he couldn't say who picked the photo or list the five or six volunteers who have been working for him when he was asked by prosecutors.
He said he had several photos to choose from and posted the image himself to his profile.
"You had a choice?" the judge interjected.
Stone said he picked the photo "randomly," a suggestion the judge almost immediately dismissed.
"It was an egregious mistake. I obviously wish I could do it over again, but I cannot," Stone said. "I recognize I let the court down, I let you down, I let myself down. ... It was a momentary lapse in judgment."
He has said the photo was "misinterpreted," the symbol was actually the Celtic cross, not crosshairs of a gun, and he was not trying to threaten the judge. But, he added, he wasn't sure what the symbol meant, because "I’m not into the occult."

Former campaign adviser for President Donald Trump, Roger Stone walks out of the federal courthouse following a hearing, Friday, Jan. 25, 2019, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Stone was arrested Friday in the special counsel's Russia investigation and was charged with lying to Congress and obstructing the probe. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (Associated Press)

At one point during Thursday's hearing, Rogow called the post that featured Jackson's image "indefensible." Jackson replied: "I agree with you there."
"I am under enormous pressure," Stone testified. "I now have TV people saying I will be raped if I go to jail. I'm having trouble putting food on the table and paying the rent." (Indeed, CNN senior political analyst David Gergen pondered on air Monday if Stone -- whom he called a "dandy" -- would be raped in prison.)
Stone deleted the Instagram photo shortly after posting it, but later posted the same one again, this time without the apparent crosshairs.
In court, Stone said he "didn’t recognize it as a crosshair" and "didn't notice" a crosshair in the image.
"This was a screwup," Stone said. "I admit it."
Jackson reminded Stone before his testimony that he would be subject to government cross-examination and was under oath. Asked whether he understood the picture could be construed as a threat, Stone replied: "I now recognize that. … I can’t rationalize my thinking because I wasn’t thinking, and that’s my fault."
"I am kicking myself for my own stupidity, but not more than my wife is kicking me," Stone later told Jackson. He added that "my consulting business has dried up" and said, "I've exhausted my savings."

"This is not baseball. There will be no third chance."
— U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson

Stone has pleaded not guilty to charges he lied to Congress, engaged in witness tampering and obstructed a congressional investigation into possible coordination between Russia and President Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. The charges stem from conversations he had during the campaign about WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy group that released material stolen from Democratic groups, including Hillary Clinton's campaign.
The political operative and self-described dirty trickster is the sixth Trump aide or adviser charged in Mueller's investigation. He was arrested last month and has remained free on a $250,000 personal recognizance bond. Stone has maintained his innocence and blasted the special counsel's investigation as politically motivated.

Dem 2020 hopefuls Harris, Warren say they embrace idea of reparations for black Americans: report

Dumb & Dumber

 All the Democrats want to do is spend, spend, spend your money !

Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, left, and Kamala Harris of California have reportedly said they back reparations for black Americans affected by the legacy of slavery. (Associated Press)

Two leading Democratic presidential candidates -- U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts -- have reportedly said they support reparations for black Americans affected by slavery, reflecting a shift in the importance of race and identity issues within the party.
The New York Times reported Thursday that Harris doubled down on her support for reparations after agreeing with a host on the popular radio show “The Breakfast Club” that the race-conscious policy was necessary to address the legacies of slavery and discrimination in the United States.
"We have to be honest that people in this country do not start from the same place or have access to the same opportunities," Harris said in the statement to the Times. "I’m serious about taking an approach that would change policies and structures and make real investments in black communities."
Warren also supports reparations.
“We must confront the dark history of slavery and government-sanctioned discrimination in this country that has had many consequences, including undermining the ability of black families to build wealth in America for generations,” she told the Times. “We need systemic, structural changes to address that.”

"We must confront the dark history of slavery and government-sanctioned discrimination in this country that has had many consequences."
— U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Julian Castro, another Democrat running for president, has indicated that he would support reparations.
Fox News reached out to all three campaigns but did not immediately hear back late Thursday.
Reparations would involve the federal government’s acknowledgment of the ongoing legacy of slavery and discrimination and providing payment to those affected. Policy experts say it could cost several trillion dollars.
Scholars estimate that black families earn just over $57 for every $100 earned by white families, according to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey.
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who is also running for president, has proposed helping poor children by giving them government-funded savings accounts that could hold up to $50,000 for the lowest income brackets, the Times reported. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., supports a plan to allow Americans without checking accounts bank at their local post office.
Other prominent Democrats have stopped short of backing reparations, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who dismissed the idea in 2016. Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama have also expressed reservations.
Supporting reparations could come with much political risk. Republicans have long attempted to paint Democrats who support policies aimed at correcting racial inequalities as anti-white, according to the Times, and polling shows reparations for black Americans remains unpopular.

How some in the media embraced Jussie Smollett's discredited tale

The Chicago police superintendent made no effort to hide his fury as he denounced Jussie Smollett for "despicable" conduct in falsely claiming to be the victim of a racist and homophobic assault.
He also had a few choice words for the media for overplaying the melodrama.
"I just wish that the families of gun violence in this city got this much attention," Eddie Johnson said.
It still seems incredible that a star of the Fox show "Empire" would blow up his career and traumatize his city for what the cops say was an effort to force his bosses to give him a raise. And it left his defenders scrambling for something to say.
Johnson was extremely forceful at a televised news conference, saying he had to divert precious resources to investigate what was billed as a hate crime and turned out to be a hateful hoax.
"Why would anyone — especially an African-American man — use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations?" Johnson asked. "How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol and see an opportunity to manipulate that symbol to further his own public profile?"
And it was a hoax with a political twist since Smollett claimed his faux attackers — two Nigerian brothers he had hired — had shouted that this is "MAGA country." This fueled a corrosive narrative, which some journalists and commentators were way too quick to believe, that Trump supporters were roaming the streets with a rope, looking to beat up a prominent gay black man.
Indeed, the president, who once called the supposed attack "horrible," tweeted about the smearing of his Make America Great Again followers. "What about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!?"
So many things didn't smell right from the beginning. But journalists had little choice but to report the chilling charges being made by a television actor, especially with Chicago police saying they were seriously investigating the matter as a possible hate crime.
Most news organizations, in my view, acted with restraint in attributing the allegations to Smollett — and comments to the cops — after TMZ broke the story. And as red flags emerged — such as why Smollett delayed in calling the police and was reluctant to turn over his phone — those were reported as well.
But some journalists and pundits were quick to use the supposed incident to score political points.
Washington Post Global Opinion Editor Karen Attiah tweeted:
"Regarding the heinous attack on @JussieSmollett, yet another reminder that  Trump’s ascendance and the resulting climate of hate has meant that lives have been increasingly at stake since 2015."
DAN GAINOR: SMOLLETT GOT LOTS OF OXYGEN FROM CNN, OTHER NEWS OUTLETS -- NO WONDER PEOPLE DON'T TRUST THE PRESS
Buzzfeed writer Kevin Fallon tweeted: "Anyone who thinks supporting You Know Who isn't tantamount to providing artillery for weaponized bigotry needs to take a hard look in the mirror."
Fallon did do a followup post: "I deleted previous inaccurate tweets as more reports about Jussie Smollett come out. What a despicable act if updates are true: exploiting & amplifying the hate, division, & politicization; abusing media & police resources; and making it all the harder for victims to report."
Don Lemon said he called Smollett every day to see how he was doing. And the CNN host didn't exactly condemn him.
"If Jussie's story isn't true," he told viewers, "he squandered the goodwill of a whole lot of people. He even lied to a lot of people if it's not true, including me, and that's not cool."
Not cool doesn't begin to describe it.
What's also not cool are the journalists who not only rushed to judgment but rushed to use the supposed beating against Trump. In fact, there's been a whole lot of rushing to judgment lately, and precious little in the way of soul-searching.
Eddie Johnson called on Jussie Smollett to apologize. Some in the media should take that advice as well.

On premiere of 'Desus & Mero' show, Ocasio-Cortez explains 'farting cows' reference in 'Green New Deal'

Desus & Mero

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., defended the Green New Deal after the recent rollout of the New York Democrat's policy proposal got a lot of attention over “farting cows.”
In an appearance Thursday night on the premiere of Showtime's late-night “Desus & Mero" show, the comedy pair hosts of the program asked the freshman congresswoman why she thought the initial reaction focused on "cow farts."
“In the deal, what we talk about, and it’s true, is that we need to take a look at factory farming, you know? Period. It’s wild,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And so it’s not to say you get rid of agriculture, it’s not to say we’re gonna force everybody to go vegan or anything crazy like that. But it’s to say, ‘Listen, we gotta address factory farming. Maybe we shouldn’t be eating a hamburger for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Like, let’s keep it real.”

"Listen, we gotta address factory farming. Maybe we shouldn’t be eating a hamburger for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Like, let’s keep it real."
— U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

GREEN NEW DEAL'S INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN COULD COST TRILLIONS
“Slow down,” co-host Desus Nice joked.
“But we have to take a look at everything," Ocasio-Cortez continued, "and what we need to realize about climate change is about every choice that we make in our lives, you know?"
On the original FAQ page for the Green New Deal's rollout, Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats backing the plan had explained why the proposal included the goal of “net zero” greenhouse gases in 10 years.
“We set a goal to get to net-zero, rather than zero emissions, in 10 years because we aren't sure that we'll be able to fully get rid of farting cows and airplanes that fast,” the page said.
But after the FAQ page was widely mocked, the Democratic lawmakers took it down.
Also on Thursday's show, the Democratic socialist also defended her call for a 70 percent marginal tax rate on incomes over $10 million, which she said represented a “pretty good year.”
“It really comes down to the question of, ‘Isn’t $10 million enough?’ Like, when does it stop?” she asked. “At what point is it amoral that we’re building Jeff Bezos a helipad when we have the most amount of homeless people in New York City?”
Like Ocasio-Cortez, Desus Nice (aka Daniel Baker) and partner The Kid Mero (aka Joel Martinez) hail from the Bronx, N.Y.

Liberal Washington Post Cartoons

Swalwell bypasses coffee inside Trump Tower, tweets about it

One Stupid Dude :-)

California Rep. Eric Swalwell was slammed on Twitter Wednesday for posting about his decision to bypass a coffee shop inside Trump Tower and walk a couple of extra blocks. (Rep. Eric Swalwell / Twitter)

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., got a different kind of roast after sharing how his trek to get a cup of coffee on Wednesday involved bypassing a café inside the Trump Tower and opting to brave the elements to find another coffee spot in New York City.
The leftist congressman posted about his coffee run on Twitter, alongside a photo of himself covered in a light dusting of snow.
"It's snowing in New York," he wrote. "I need coffee. The closest cafe is inside Trump Tower. This is me walking to an alternative."
Twitter users were quick to roast the potential 2020 presidential candidate.
“Swalwell later froze to death as slowly he came to the realization that most of NYC's cafes are run by a rival presidential candidate,” one user wrote, referring to former Starbucks CEO and independent presidential candidate Howard Schultz.
One Twitter user replied that Swalwell appeared to have taken his photo outside the Fendi store in Midtown Manhattan — an area steeped with coffee shops.
Swalwell's tweet received over 25,000 replies, some blasting the congressman while others poked fun at his dramatic winter journey.
The congressman, a member of the House Judiciary and Intel committees, did not update the post on whether he was able to locate another coffee spot.

Trump’s policy toward Russia makes McCabe’s 'asset' question ‘harder to justify,’ columnist says

President Trump’s policy toward Russia since taking office appears to make it ‘harder to justify’ the comments that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe made, questioning whether or not Trump is a “Russian asset,” Eli Lake, a columnist for Bloomberg said.
McCabe has detailed the origins of the counter-intelligence probe that the Department of Justice launched against Trump after the dramatic firing of FBI Director James Comey in May 2017. He said that he is not convinced that the president isn’t under the influence of Russia since the inquiry began.
Lake, who appeared on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” said McCabe’s theory may not hold water because the Trump administration has had a consistent policy of opposing Russia.
“President Trump has appointed Russia hawks at the highest levels of the government,” Lake said. “He has, in a lot of cases, not every single one, countered Russian interests directly, most recently being Venezuela, selling lethal arms to Ukraine. So there’s been no quo to the quid and the quid has yet to be established after two years of an investigation from the FBI.”
He continued, “What we haven’t seen is any kind of follow through in terms of the policy, nor have we seen the evidence that there was in all of these meetings that have come out and all of these contexts, we have yet to see coming close to that initial claim.”
McCabe has said in the past that the FBI had a good reason to launch a counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump was working with Russia and was a possible national security threat.
The former official was asked on CNN’s "Anderson Cooper 360" if he believes Trump may still be a Russian asset. He said he’s "anxious" to see the conclusion of Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation.
Kellyanne Conway, the White House counselor, told the network that McCabe's comment is "hardly [worth] dignifying with a response."
"He's a liar and a leaker," she said.

Trump revives 'enemy' rhetoric in denouncing NY Times, Washington Post

President Trump castigated The New York Times and Washington Post yesterday, dusting off his "enemy" rhetoric in the seemingly endless war with his two most aggressive newspaper adversaries.
The two situations could not be more different.
In his broadside against a lengthy Times report on the Russia investigation, the president chose a general denunciation, rather than specific denials, and said one thing that turns out not to be true.
In cheering on a Covington high school student’s $250 million lawsuit against the Post, Trump is seizing on the paper's initial reporting on the clash at the Lincoln Memorial last month, which was badly flawed. But that doesn't add up to a successful lawsuit.
The president pulls no punches against his hometown paper, despite recently granting its publisher and two reporters an 85-minute interview:
"The New York Times reporting is false. They are a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!"
I've said from the beginning that Trump has every right to hit back against what he sees as unfair reporting — but that such rhetoric, implying treasonous behavior, goes too far.
In a second tweet clearly inspired by the Times story, the president says: "The Press has never been more dishonest than it is today. Stories are written that have absolutely no basis in fact. The writers don't even call asking for verification."
But Maggie Haberman, one of the story's four co-authors, said on CNN that they went over the planned story in detail with the White House and Justice Department:
"I sent several emails that went unanswered until yesterday. We went through a detailed list of what we were planning on reporting. They chose not to engage, and afterwards, the president acts surprised."
In response to Trump's charge, Publisher A.G. Sulzberger said that "in demonizing the free press as the enemy, simply for performing its role of asking difficult questions and bringing uncomfortable information to light, President Trump is retreating from a distinctly American principle ... The phrase 'enemy of the people' is not just false, it's dangerous."
In the story, the Times says that Trump asked Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to intervene in the New York investigation focusing on such subjects as Michael Cohen and hush money. (This is separate from the probe by Bob Mueller, who was reported yesterday to have told Trump lawyers he has finished his report.)
The Times also said that as part of his effort to oust then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Trump asked Corey Lewandowski to pressure Sessions to resign. Neither Whitaker nor Lewandowski seems to have done anything. And the piece describes Trump changing his instructions to Sean Spicer to describe how Mike Flynn was forced out of the White House.
While Trump is castigating the Times, I've seen no specific denials that challenge what the paper reported.
Meanwhile, Nick Sandmann, the Covington teenager who was unfairly maligned by the media mob, has filed a lawsuit against the Post, accusing the paper of bullying him for political reasons.
Quoting from the lawsuit, Trump tweeted: "'The Washington Post ignored basic journalistic standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented biased agenda against President Donald J. Trump.' Covington student suing WAPO. Go get them Nick. Fake News!"
The suit, brought by lawyer Lin Wood, says: "In a span of three days in January of this year commencing on January 19, the Post engaged in a modern-day form of McCarthyism by competing with CNN and NBC, among others, to claim leadership of a mainstream and social media mob of bullies which attacked, vilified, and threatened Nicholas Sandmann, an innocent secondary school child."
While the initial reporting by the Post and others was seriously flawed, charges like "McCarthyism" are way off base.
In the first couple of days, the Post relied too heavily on an edited video that was misleading, and on an interview with Nathan Phillips, the Native American activist who confronted Sandmann, and who said things that were untrue and kept changing his story. Such media accounts did galvanize a social media explosion that unjustly crucified these Catholic kids, some of them wearing MAGA caps. But that doesn’t necessarily mean a courtroom victory.
It's highly unfortunate that the paper wasn't able to interview any of the students. But as for getting their side, the students' own school and diocese said in a joint statement that "we condemn" their behavior, and warned that some might be expelled. The diocese later apologized.
Even though much of the Post's reporting about Trump is negative, the first Covington story was written by three metro reporters covering a demonstration on deadline, not political reporters who cover the administration.
Two days later, the Post reported that the story was far more complicated than originally reported, including slurs from a black activist group, and quoted Sandmann's first statement on the confrontation, made to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
So it will be an uphill battle for Sandmann's parents, who filed the suit, to prove malice, as the legal papers claim. As for the eye-popping damages being sought, the suit says that $250 million is what Jeff Bezos spent to buy the Post — in other words, a symbolic figure.
Trump ended one of his tweets by saying the press is "totally out of control. Sadly, I kept many of them in business. In six years, they all go BUST!" The president has indeed boosted clicks and ratings for his media antagonists, but that last sentence is wishful thinking.