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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
It's the culture of corruption, yet again. The Senate Ethics Committee has appointed a special counsel to lead the investigation of Sen. John Ensign's affair with a political aide. The announcement Tuesday is a dramatic turn in the investigation of the Nevada Republican -- which ...read more
AP: "Businessmen with ties to both Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson discussed raising $1 million for Blagojevich to help persuade him to appoint Jackson to President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, according to a published report." >> ...read more
