ET Williams

The Doctor of Common Sense

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Another Leftist in the Trump Administration: Gary Cohn

Gary Cohn, another leftist SOB that we didn’t want or vote for

Reuters: Wall Street Banker Gary Cohn moving Trump Toward Moderate Policies

In a White House marked by infighting, top economic aide Gary Cohn, a Democrat and former Goldman Sachs banker, is muscling aside some of President Donald Trump’s hard-right advisers to push more moderate, business-friendly economic policies.

Cohn, 56, did not work on Republican Trump’s campaign and only got to know him after the November election, but he has emerged as one of the administration’s most powerful players in an ascent that rankles conservatives.

Trump refers to his director of the National Economic Council (NEC), as “one of my geniuses,” according to one source close to Cohn.

More than half a dozen sources on Wall Street and in the White House said Cohn has gained the upper hand over Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, the former head of the right-wing website Breitbart News and a champion of protectionist trade opposed by moderate Republicans and many big companies.

Cohn is a key administration link to business executives and White House sources say he will lead the charge for Trump on top domestic priorities such as tax reform, infrastructure and deregulation.

“Gary’s singular focus is tax reform and he’s working to try and get that done in 2017,” said Orin Snyder, a partner at law firm Gibson Dunn and a long-time friend of Cohn.

“He is working to implement the president’s twin goals of economic growth and job creation. The tax plan will also include a reduction in the corporate rate, but also tax relief for middle- and low-income Americans.”

Some conservatives fear Cohn may push through a tax plan that is unnecessarily complicated and argue that including tax relief for middle- and low-income Americans would not spur economic growth as much as cuts focused entirely or mostly on businesses and entrepreneurs.

Adam Brandon, president of the conservative group FreedomWorks, is disappointed Trump is not charging ahead with a plan unveiled last year during his campaign that would slash taxes on businesses and wealthy individuals.

That plan was shaped heavily by Stephen Moore, an economic policy expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, who advised Trump’s campaign. But it has since been shelved.

“I don’t like the idea of scrapping it and starting over again,” Brandon said.

A senior administration official said the White House has started from scratch on the tax plan and, while setting business tax cuts as the highest priority, is consulting with lawmakers, economists and business leaders before taking it to the Republican-led Congress.

Two administration officials said reports that the White House was considering a carbon tax and a value-added tax were incorrect, but that other ideas were on the table. “We are considering a multitude of options for tax reform,” a White House official said on Sunday.

RAPPORT

Associates of both Trump and Cohn say the two have developed a bond. People who have worked with Cohn say he is loyal, direct and assertive, traits that Trump likes.

Crucially, Cohn also has the trust of Jared Kushner, Trump’s adviser and son-in-law, and his wife Ivanka, Trump’s daughter.

Cohn hired his staff more quickly than other top officials, building a reputation for competence in an administration hurt by early missteps over healthcare reform and a travel ban, the sources said.

“Gary is a huge asset to the Trump administration. He’ll be of great help in eliminating unnecessary regulation, stimulating growth and reforming the tax code,” said billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson, an early backer of Trump who knows Cohn through Wall Street circles.

The son of middle-class parents in Cleveland, Ohio, Cohn overcame dyslexia and worked in sales before elbowing his way into a position as a Wall Street trader and rising to become president and chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N).

Kushner was a Goldman Sachs intern when he first crossed paths with Cohn. After Trump’s election victory, Kushner paved the way for Cohn to meet the president-elect, who had spent much of the campaign blasting investment banks as modern-day robber barons. Trump soon named Cohn his NEC director.

Apparently paying more heed to Cohn and other moderates on his team, Trump last week said he was open to reappointing Janet Yellen as Federal Reserve chairman when her term is up and he also held back from naming China a currency manipulator.

Both stances marked a reversal from his campaign when Trump criticized Yellen and vowed to label China a currency manipulator on “day one” of his administration, a move that could lead to punitive duties on Chinese goods.

Sources close to Cohn and inside the White House said there are sharp policy differences between Cohn and both Bannon and Reince Priebus, White House chief of staff.

A White House spokesperson denied there was a power struggle inside the West Wing.

Cohn has already put his stamp on regulatory policy by working with Kushner to successfully push Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton for head of the Securities and Exchange Commission after billionaire investor Carl Icahn, an early Trump supporter, had vetted other candidates. Clayton’s nomination has been advanced to the Senate for a vote.

The vacant Federal Reserve vice chairman’s seat is a key regulatory role Cohn and his colleagues on the economic team want to fill soon. Cohn has interviewed nearly two dozen candidates and has whittled the list down. Randal Quarles, a veteran of the George W. Bush administration is one of several candidates left, a source familiar with the process said.

Cohn will also take a leading role in developing Trump’s infrastructure plan to rebuild airports, roads and bridges. The biggest challenge may be figuring out how to pay for the initiative, which Trump has estimated at $1 trillion.

While conservatives are concerned by Cohn, they note that Bannon is still part of Trump’s mercurial administration and that Cohn could fall out of favor as quickly as he has risen.

“Whoever is up today,” Brandon said, “could be gone tomorrow.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-cohn-idUSKBN17I0RD

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Judicial Watch Investigates House Intel Democrats

Breaking: Judicial Watch Sues CIA, DOJ and Treasury For Records Related To Flynn Leaks

Conservative Watchdog Group Requests Investigation Into Top House Intel Democrats

Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch on Friday called for a preliminary investigation into two top Democratic members of the House Intelligence Committee for potentially disclosing classified information to the public in violation of House ethics rules.

Judicial Watch has requested the Office of Congressional Ethics to look into whether Vice Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) broke House ethics rules for disclosing classified information to the public, with which left-wing groups have targeted its Republican chairman.

Last month, progressive groups MoveOn.org and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) requested an investigation into Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) after they said he had done the same thing.

Nunes temporarily stepped aside from leading a high-profile probe into Russia’s involvement into the U.S. presidential elections while the Office of Congressional Ethics is looking into whether any rules were broken.

Judicial Watch noted this double-standard in its request:

If the standard for filing a complaint or opening an ethics investigation is that a member has commented publicly on matters that touch on classified information, but the member does not reveal the source of his or her information, then the complaints against Chairman Nunes are incomplete insofar as they target only Nunes.

At least two other members of the House Intelligence Committee have made comments about classified material that raise more directly the very same concerns raised against Chairman Nunes because they appear to confirm classified information contained in leaked intelligence community intercepts.

The left-wing groups filed their complaint against Nunes after he told reporters on March 22 that he had seen evidence that the intelligence community had incidentally collected information about Trump transition team members, and that the information was widely disseminated and their names unmasked.

Judicial Watch noted that Schiff had spoken to an audience at the Brookings Institution the day before, on March 21, appearing to confirm a leaked December 29 conversation between incoming National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

“And then you have leaks that expose malfeasance or illegality. Now, I put that kind of leak, I put the Flynn leak in that category,” Schiff had said.

Judicial Watch also cites an April 3 Daily Caller story in which Speier, a committee member, appeared to confirm the contents of that call.

“Ambassador Kislyak and General Flynn were freelancing sanctions relief at the end of December, when he had no portfolio in which to make any kind of negotiations with Ambassador Kislyak,” the Daily Caller reported she said.

Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said in a statement, “At least two leading Democrats, Reps. Schiff and Speier, on the House Intelligence Committee, seem to have improperly disclosed classified information.”

“While the Ethics Committee examines Rep. Nunes’s innocuous statements on Obama’s surveillance on the Trump team, it ought to expand its investigation to include the other members of the Intelligence Committee who seem to have flagrantly violated the rules.”

The committee’s former chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) also called for Schiff to recuse himself from the Russia probe in a CNN op-ed earlier this month, for discussing classified information in public.

Schiff said he did not think Roger’s request “is a serious one.”

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/17/conservative-watchdog-group-requests-investigation-into-two-house-intel-democrats/

 

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Detroit Goes Full Ghetto Goon in Greektown Brawl

Typical day in Detroit

Violent Greektown Brawl Captured On Video

DETROIT (WWJ) – The caption says simply: “This happened in Downtown Detroit last night.”

And then starts a video that shows about 25-40 men punching, kicking and brutally beating people on the streets of Greektown, one of Detroit’s most popular hotspots. In the video, one man is lying with his head over the curb appearing unconscious and very badly injured. He gets punched and kicked as the cell-phone filming crowd of young men shouts and laughs.

Quickly becoming known as the Greektown brawl — the Saturday night fight was caught on video that was posted to Facebook.

By the time the police in Detroit were alerted to what was happening it was already over, they said. Police Chief James Craig said the department is vigorously working to uncover who was involved in the “troubling” incident.

Eight perpetrators have been identified, he said. They had all parked at Greektown casino, one in a rental car.

“Our message is ‘We know who you are, we are going to get you and arrest you so do yourself a favor and turn yourself in,” Craig said during a Monday morning presser. “In a matter of hours, we will have your identification.”

The family of the man seen with his head on the curb told myfoxdetroit.com he was at the casino celebrating his birthday when he was attacked. He is recovering from a skull fracture and other injuries, they said.

It’s unknown what caused the melee or if the young men knew each other or if one group was randomly attacking strangers. “They left that young man for dead, this is a serious situation and we’re not taking it lightly,” Craig said, adding the incident might be gang-related.

This follows a stabbing incident in Detroit’s Rouge Park, where people posted video on Facebook but no one called police. Both incidents disturbed Craig especially for the fact people watched — and celebrated — without calling police.

“At a minimum, you call the police … If you can’t do that because you’re too busy doing Facebook live, maybe going forward we should look into charging people who spectate,” Craig said.

He later added: “As a society, what have we become?”

If anyone recognizes anyone in the video or has any information pertaining to this crime please call the Detroit Police Department at 313-596-1616, 313-596-1855, 313-596-2260 or CRIMESTOPPERS at 1-800-SPEAK-UP. Citizens can remain anonymous, as always by leaving a tip on our app, DPD Connect.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2017/04/17/violent-greektown-brawl-captured-on-video/

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Michigan Trump Voters: He’s Gone Too Far the Wrong Way

We have been duped.

Exclusive — Michigan Trump Voters Lose Faith: ‘It’s Gone So Far Now the Wrong Way’

DETROIT, Michigan — President Trump’s base appears to be growing concerned with the direction of his administration, against the backdrop of a number of drastic policy shifts from the campaign period as well as his first few weeks in office.

As the notorious “first 100 days” mark rushes up on him, President Trump will have to perform a careful balancing act between the two evident camps in the White House: the nationalists and the globalists, between which a real reconciliation looks unlikely.

The former appears to be supported by the campaign’s base — the people who put Trump in office. The latter appears to appeal to the President on the grounds of more positive headlines, less contentious policy issues as far as establishment media coverage is concerned, and his preternatural, New York liberal outlook.

It’s not all bad news for the President, but it is a warning to be heeded. Here in Michigan, Trump voters, campaigners, and low-level donors expressed concern to this Breitbart News correspondent on the recent change in his direction — citing the travel ban, border control, and the power of his relatives in his administration as key areas of concern.

“We’re watching a man who can take action every single day,” Jeff, a long-standing Trump supporter, told me. He went on:

He doesn’t need to go to Congress. He can take action. We’re watching him carefully. We’re talking about people who have lives to live. Grandchildren to take care of. And we’re watching actions day to day and they’re falling flat. They’re receding from why we put the man there, and it is extremely, it is more than stressful. We’re keeping track, we’re watching it. We do not want to hear about family members having an impact. We voted. We have high expectations for impact.

Not everyone was so glum, however. One local cab driver dismissed such concerns, telling me that President Trump would listen to whomever he had to on a variety of issues, and if they tried to “bounce him” too much, he’d push back, perhaps even stop listening.

I asked him, given his sunny disposition on the issue, “Do you think the border wall will be built?”

He shot me a wry smile in his rear view mirror: “No. But I don’t think it matters.”

“I might take a permanent break [from Trump]!” said Cindy, a local Republican Party activists who admits to having preferred Sen. Ted Cruz in the primaries.

“Oh no you’re not!” her friend shot back. They laughed heartily about her irritation, but she continued still: “I look every day to see if he put that [travel] ban on. I look every day,” she said, insisting that the White House had not done enough to force through President Trump’s executive order pausing the flow of refugees and calling for extreme vetting.

Some even stated they’d be hard to win back, even though it’s been fewer than 100 days for President Trump’s administration.

Perhaps, I thought, their frustration emanates from the fact that candidate Trump promised so much on “day one.” His blunt approach during the campaign perhaps lulled supporters into thinking these were literal “day one” promises. He had said during the campaign that “day one” would include imposing Congressional term limits, repealing Obamacare, deporting illegal immigrants, fixing Veteran’s Affairs, redressing the balance of NATO, getting rid of gun free zones in schools, and a whole lot more.

Although President Trump swiftly acted on some issues such as “ending the war on coal” and appears to be moving toward a renegotiation of NAFTA, on others, he has performed a complete 180-degree turn, evidenced this week by his chumminess with NATO’s Secretary General, and a U-turn on replacing Federal Reserve chairman Janet Yellen and his prior disdain for the Export-Import Bank.

He relied heavily on these issues in his campaign videos, especially the ones targeted at The Great Lakes State in the final few weeks of the 2016 campaign:

While these names were not first to the lips of the dozens I spoke to in Michigan — which I am not claiming is science — they did stress their growing disaffection with the executive branch.

“I feel like it’s gone so far now the wrong way that it’s going to take something magnificent on his part to get people back. We’re fish that are off the hook right now. He only has one small chance to get us hooked again,” Penny, a middle-aged lady from Sterling Heights, told me, adding:

Jared and Ivanka were not on the ballot. I did not vote for them, nor would I if given the opportunity. There is a reason we have anti-nepotism rules. The fact that they were aided by the odious Jamie Gorelick in circumventing those rules pours salt in our wounds. Now it looks like the counterbalance of Bannon and Kellyanne is being marginalized. President Trump seems to have forgotten the loyal supporters who have been behind him since the early primary days. I feel so very betrayed.

And being in Detroit, a common theme was Islam and Muslim immigration. All bar one person I spoke to on the matter agreed that the Muslim Brotherhood should be designated as a terrorist organisation, and that refugee resettlement into the United States needs immediate curtailment.

With what I gathered in Dearborn and Hamtramck — as research for my upcoming book — I was hardly surprised.

“There is at least 50 people I know that are disappointed that the Hijra to America is continuing,” Cindy said, concluding: “Lay off the Freedom Caucus; we are the grassroots supporters.”

The writing is obviously not yet on the wall as far as a second Trump term goes. But if the first 100 days — especially the second half of that time period — are anything to go by — the Donald will have some serious explaining to do in about three years time.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/14/exclusive-michigan-trump-voters-lose-faith-gone-far-now-wrong-way/

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Trump Turning White House Into Democrat Love-Fest, Hires Risa Heller

This hostile Christ-hating bitch is BFF with Ivanka and the cuck Kushner

Weiner Rising in White House: Ally of Disgraced Ex-Congressman Hired

Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump enlisted the services of Risa Heller, a New York City public relations figure known for her work with Democrats including former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Gov. David Paterson (D-NY), when they came to Washington to take up their official posts in the Trump White House, according to a report in Buzzfeed.

The revelation came amid reports that a New York City set with a history of friendly ties to the Democratic party is gaining traction in President Donald Trump’s White House, much to the chagrin of conservative commentators. Members of the Kushner family itself donated large sums to Democratic causes until a few years ago, and Jared has reportedly been accused of being “a Democrat” by more nationalist and populist factions within the White House. Another oft-cited member of this NYC-clique is the Director of Trump’s National Economic Council, registered Democrat and former Goldman Sachs executive Gary Cohn.

Asked by Buzzfeed about her choice, Ivanka responded in a statement, “Risa is incredibly talented, driven and passionate. She is a formidable advocate and respected by all as a trustworthy and honest broker of facts.”

Her husband Jared echoed her sentiments. “She’s the best fighter in the business, is universally respected, and most importantly has always told me what she really thinks, good or bad,” he said.

Heller began her career in Schumer’s press office before expanding her horizons in and beyond the political field. She served as communications director for David Paterson as the New York governor, who replaced prostitute-patronizing Gov. Eliot Spitzer and found himself in crises of his own. In addition to allegations of witness tampering by his appointees, Heller managed Paterson’s image through the emergence of the sex and drug scandals that ultimately sunk his reelection hopes.

Anthony Weiner, perpetrator of perhaps politics’ all-time most embarrassing litany of faux-pas, also sought Heller’s help as he tried to weather the media storm of the century that surrounded his multiple ‘sexting’ scandals. Now banished from the political realm, Weiner sung Heller’s praises.

“If I had taken her advice at critical junctures even 5% of the time, I would have been infinitely better off,” he told Buzzfeed. “This may sound ironic coming from me, but she never advocates for not telling the truth. I repeatedly didn’t take that kind of advice where I should have.” For her own part, Buzzfeed reports Heller continued to argue Weiner was a “good person” even as the worst details of his improprieties were emblazoned on front pages around the world.

For her own part, Buzzfeed reports Heller continued to argue Weiner was a “good person” even as the worst details of his improprieties were emblazoned on front pages around the world.

Jared and Ivanka, until recently, haunted the same New York circles in which these Democratic politicians are hounded by the city’s notorious tabloid press. Kushner himself has used Ms. Heller, sending her to handle the New York Times earlier this year when that paper raised questions about a deal of his in China. Anthony Weiner, for one, seemed to think she was a natural pick to help Jared and his wife in DC. “It doesn’t surprise me that people like the Kushners would gravitate toward her,” he told Buzzfeed.

At the beginning of April, paparazzi supplied the Daily Mail with photos of Ms. Heller heading into Jared and Ivanka’s new home in Washington, DC. Some think Heller is an odd choice to bring so close to Ivanka’s father’s Republican administration. At least one of her own former Democrat colleagues in New York expressed horror at the move. “I think there’s a big difference between representing business interest and essentially helping to advance an agenda that is completely antithetical to everything that Democrats stand for,” the Democratic operative told Buzzfeed.

Heller was reportedly dismayed to be the subject of a Buzzfeed article, but offered a defense of her decision to work for the Kushners: “I fight tirelessly for my clients, period. That’s what I am in business to do. I am proud of what I do and who I do it for.”

Heller is not the first publicity figure the Kushners have brought in from sources Republicans traditionally might not consider. Jared hired PR-exec Josh Raffel right out of Hollywood earlier this month.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/15/weiner-rising-in-white-house-ally-of-disgraced-ex-congressman-hired/

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Berkeley Rally Is A Clash Between Trump Supporters and Protesters

Liberals hate it when anyone disagrees. Oath keepers protect Trump supporters at Berkeley.

Hundreds of Trump supporters and counter-protesters clash at Berkeley rally

Hundreds of pro-Trump demonstrators and counter-protesters clashed Saturday at a “Patriots Day” rally in Berkeley, the third time the two groups engaged in violent confrontations on city streets in recent months.

Fistfights broke out near Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park, where Trump supporters had scheduled a rally. Fireworks and smoke bombs were thrown into the crowd, and a few demonstrators were doused with pepper spray.

Both groups threw rocks and sticks at each other and used a large trash bin as a battering ram. Several people suffered minor injuries.

At least a dozen demonstrators were arrested, according to some media reports.

Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers, said he came from Montana with about 50 others to protect Trump supporters. They were joined by bikers and others who vowed to fight members of an anti-fascist group if they crossed police barricades.

“I don’t mind hitting” the counter-demonstrators, whom he called “neo-Nazis,” Rhodes said. “In fact, I would kind of enjoy it.”

But Rhodes credited Berkeley police for new tactics that mostly kept the two sides apart and “our side chilled and relaxed,” though sporadic fights broke out among both groups throughout the morning and afternoon.

“It’s getting sporty,” said Oath Keeper John Karriman, 59, who is from Missouri and was among the group’s security leaders.

AJ Alegria, 31, of Sacramento said he also came to Berkeley to help defend Trump supporters. He said he pursued a counter-demonstrator down a side street and found himself surrounded by a dozen protesters in black masks who he said attacked him with sticks and pepper spray.

“These people create violence all the time… somebody has to stand up to them,” said Alegria, who was injured in the fight and treated by Trump supporters who bandaged his head, washed off the pepper spray and gave him encouragement, saying, “You’ve earned your stripes, bro.”

Alegria wasn’t the only one injured.

“Stand up America! Stand up!” shouted another Trump supporter in the middle of Center Street with a bandage on his head and streaks of blood on a sign that read “Stop Liberal Intolerance.”

Brenna Lundy, 28, said she drove to Berkeley from San Francisco to attend what she thought was an organizing event against the alt-right. As the violence unfolded, she stayed and attempted to talk to some of the people shouting insults at her.

“So I genuinely wanted to talk. I am trying to talk to you,” Lundy said to a woman screaming at her that “Obama hates blacks.”

Another woman from the pro-Trump side came up to Lundy and, putting a hand to her ear, said, “Ask her why she hates white people.”

Lundy looked confused. She gave up and turned away.

“This is more of a riot,” she said.

Meanwhile, giving a speech at a well-secured end of the park, alt-right blogger Lauren Southern railed against societal change, Kim Kardashian and the media. She called on members of her movement to “realize Trump is only a foot in the door.”

“We must become like them: subversive,” she said of her opponents.

The rally, one of many being held across the country, is sponsored by the pro-Trump group Liberty Revival Alliance and was originally scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. in Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park. A regularly scheduled farmer’s market, which is usually held adjacent to the park, was canceled as a precaution.

A single vendor showed up Saturday to sell organic produce. “Rain or shine or fascism we will be here,” said a young woman operating the cash register.

Berkeley Police Sgt. Andrew Frankel told CBS 5 that police would have extra patrols on duty in case things get out of hand. “We’ve staffed accordingly and are preparing for a number of different contingencies,” he said.

About two dozen police officers were at the park early Saturday and set up a narrow entrance to control access. Those entering the park are prohibited from bringing the following items: metal pipes, baseball bats, poles, bricks, Mace, knives, rocks, glass bottles, eggs and Tasers.

Dave Gottfried, 58, a self-employed Berkeley artist, passed “empathy kisses,” chocolate candy, out to both sides. He had hoped to “show empathy is the beginning of understanding.”

“I feel we are going down the rabbit hole,” he said of the current political climate.

Last month, 10 people were arrested and seven others injured at what was supposed to be a pro-Trump rally in the famously liberal community. In February, a scheduled appearance by conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was canceled amid a violent protest at UC Berkeley.

The unrest underscores the heightened political tensions that have taken hold since President Trump took office in January.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-berkeley-trump-rally-20170415-story.html