Last night, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft announced that he has launched an investigation into outgoing Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley, claiming that Hawley hired campaign staffers to run his office while using taxpayer dollars.  Hawley ran for Attorney ...read more

• By Jeremy Fassler
  Dec 7, 2018

On Tuesday, Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for Stormy Daniels, released a document detailing millions of dollars paid to Trump's mobbed up lawyer Michael Cohen by both a Russian oligarch and several corporations: Among the other payments to Mr. Cohen’s company described in the ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  May 9, 2018

In March of 2017, Scott Pruitt, the Lord King of the EPA, was taking a regal nap in his lobbyist owned condo (we'll get back to that) when he was supposed to be at work. He wasn't answering his phone and apparently slept through the frantic knocking and doorbell ringing. So his ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

Politico reports that while Trump's advisers are telling him everything is going just great as Rome burns, Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan not only smell the smoke, but they can see the flames already creeping up the side of the building: Among GOP leaders, ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

Despite the media's reluctance to discuss the problem, it's been overwhelmingly clear for some time now that the American right wing is done with democracy. Now we have direct evidence that they would happily support the end of American elections in order to keep a grip on their ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

On Wednesday, Donald Trump openly threatened special counsel Robert Mueller during an interview with The New York Times, bringing us to death's door as a country of laws: When asked if Robert Mueller would be crossing a “red line” by investigating Trump’s personal finances, the ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

The conceit of libertarian philosophy is that the free market is the key to prosperity. History is very clear on this point, however... To continue reading this article, please go here. A Banter Membership gets you access to the magazine and all our Members Only content. Your ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

The Republican National Committee upheld the party's tradition of simply lying to the public's face with the assurance that no one in the media will dare to call them on it. Earlier today, the Attorneys General for Maryland and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

What did the Trump family see when they traveled across the country during the presidential campaign? The short answer is dollar signs. The Trump organization announced a new mid-grade chain of hotels named “American Idea” on Monday, which will debut in Mississippi. According to ...read more

• By Alyona Minkovski
  Nov 9, 2018

During the election, the press was consumed with the "optics" of Hillary Clinton's every move. If she coughed, there was a problem with the optics. If her State department helped a Nobel Peace Prize winner, the optics were problematic. If her foundation helped people, why ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

Lost in the daily deluge of scandal and incompetence from the Trump administration was this little nugget from embattled Attorney General Jeff Sessions: While talking to AM Hate Radio host Hugh Hewitt, Sessions said he might just be considering having an "outside counsel" ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

After Trump won the election, one of the (many) questions that flashed through my mind was: "What the fuck is Alex Jones going to do now?" His entire shtick depends on him being the "enemy" of the government. But Trump is a good buddy of his and if the shape-changing lizard ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Mar 6, 2017

With Trump's presidency on the brink of collapse (in just three weeks!), Republicans seem intent to strap themselves to the side of the Titanic and ride it all the way to the bottom of the ocean. Instead of investigating the now-screamingly obvious ties between Russia and a ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

I imagine that Trump's lunacy is driving parts of the press completely insane and it's not because he's an erratic toddler throwing temper tantrums on an hourly basis and putting the country and the world at risk. Rather, they're going insane because it is manifestly impossible ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Feb 14, 2017

On Thursday morning, Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Trump, walked into the White House Briefing Room and violated federal ethics laws during an interview with Fox & Friends. In response to the silly drama Trump whipped up with Nordstrom's after the retailer had the ...read more

• By Shannon Argueta
  Nov 9, 2018

In yet another sign that they're done pretending they work for the American people, House Republicans got rid of a regulation that keeps oil companies from secretly paying off officials in other countries: Using the little-known Congressional Review Act, the House GOP voted on ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

In a move that seems like it was designed to maximize the stench of corruption already permeating Trump's administration, FBI Director James Comey has been asked to continue in his role as the head of the allegedly nonpartisan agency: WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. director, James B. ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

Over the weekend, The Washington Post reported on the Republican plan to push through as many of Trump's Cabinet picks as they can as quickly as they can: A top ethics official has warned that plans to confirm Donald Trump’s top Cabinet choices before background examinations are ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

Update: Republicans have abandoned (for now) their plans to sell themselves to the highest bidder after a combination of a massive public outcry, a disapproving tweet from Trump and the lack of support from House GOP leadership made the move to gut oversight politically toxic. ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

The New York Times Editorial Board had some sharp criticism for both Donald Trump and the corporations that are enabling his blatant dishonesty: President-elect Donald Trump would like everybody to believe that his election is energizing the economy by forcing businesses to ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

Donald's recent tweets about Boeing, Rexnord and other companies seem to be random and capricious but they're not at all. These are the first stages of Donald turning America into a full-blown kleptocracy, a country where the openly corrupt leaders make themselves rich at the ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

Shortly before the presidential election, we brought you a story about Donald Trump having a meltdown over wind powered energy. The president-elect has long been fighting against the renewable energy source because of a wind farm just offshore of his golf course in Scotland. The ...read more

• By Shannon Argueta
  Nov 9, 2018

After Chris Christie was removed from Trump's transition team, VP Mike Pence has taken over and made good on his boss's pledge to impose a five-year lobbying ban on anyone who joins the administration. Reported Politico today: The lobbying ban is more stringent than Obama’s ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

The Guardian's Spencer Ackerman has dropped a bombshell about why the Federal Bureau of Investigation has suddenly become a central figure in the 2016 election and it should freeze the blood in your veins. According to the reporting, the FBI has become a tool of the Trump ...read more

• By Justin Rosario
  Nov 9, 2018

Even if soccer ('football' to rest of the world) isn't your cup of tea, you've probably heard that international organizing body FIFA (The Fédération Internationale de Football Association) is one of the most corrupt organizations on the planet. So corrupt in fact that top ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Dec 20, 2018

Bridgegate, the notorious 2013 incident in which  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and senior administration staffers allegedly caused a three-day traffic nightmare on the George Washington Bridge as revenge against a political opponent, is still unfolding. But Christie's goose ...read more

• By Tom McKay
  Nov 9, 2018

It's the million dollar question: Exactly how corrupt is Florida Governor Rick Scott? The answer may be "beyond our wildest dreams." A new lawsuit brought by former Democratic candidate for state attorney general George Sheldon claims that Scott has failed to disclose about ...read more

• By Tom McKay
  Nov 9, 2018

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, won’t win the election for President in 2016. No matter how enthusiastic the cheerleading gets from the Morning Joe team, Chris Christie’s chances at securing the Republican nomination are severely diminished. Turns out, there’s a limit to ...read more

• By Frederic Poag
  Nov 9, 2018