President Trump Attacks Amazon, Incorrectly Claiming That It Owns The Washington Post For Tax Purposes (recode.net) 426
The Washington Post, which has been critical of Donald Trump and his administration in its coverage, has become the latest victim in Trump's Twitter tirade. On Wednesday, he accused Amazon of not "paying internet taxes (which they should)," adding that the company is using The Washington Post "in a scheme to dodge" the taxes. Quick fact check: Amazon doesn't own The Washington Post, Jeff Bezos -- in his personal capacity -- does. At any rate, Trump's furious tweets come a day after The Washington Post reported that a fake issue of Time magazine with Trump on the cover was hanging in some of the president's golf clubs. The timing of this is also awkward because just last week the president met with Bezos and other top executives to discuss ways the White House can modernize government and aid the tech industry. But the two have a long history. As Recode reminds: Meanwhile, Amazon is about to embark on what could be a lengthy government antitrust review of its bid to buy Whole Foods. Already looming large over the roughly $14 billion deal are the president's own comments: He has previously attacked Bezos and claimed the Post is a tax-dodging scheme for Amazon. "He thinks I'll go after him for antitrust," Trump said at one point during his campaign. "Because he's got a huge antitrust problem, because he's controlling so much, Amazon is controlling so much of what they are doing." Months later, Trump charged: "Believe me, if I become president, oh, do they have problems, they are going to have such problems." Meanwhile, Bezos isn't one to shy about his anti-Trump views either. At one point during the election, Bezos tweeted that he'd save a seat for Trump on his Blue Origin spacecraft, with the hashtag "sendDonaldtospace."
It's not true. (Score:2, Insightful)
But it's accurate.
Re:It's not true. (Score:4, Informative)
It's not true ... But it's accurate.
No, .... It's alternatively true.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
No, but percussive psychosurgery works.
Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why the hell does anyone still care?
Don't get me wrong, the president of the US is a pretty important person and whatever he does has some effect on the world. But do we really have to hear every fart he passes? Who gives a shit about this anymore?
Wake me when he DOES something.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Sounds like you are tired of WINNING!!
Re:Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why the hell does anyone still care?
Don't get me wrong, the president of the US is a pretty important person and whatever he does has some effect on the world. But do we really have to hear every fart he passes? Who gives a shit about this anymore?
Wake me when he DOES something.
Why doesn't everybody in the US care that the United States of America has become the laughing stock of the entire rest of the human race? Trump has actually managed to upstage Robert Mugabe in terms of incompetence and corruption and Turkmenbashi Saparmurat Niyazov in terms of being just plain 'loco'. All that's missing is that pee tape and Trump will have upstaged Berlusconi in being a lecherous pervert. If I was a US American abroad I'd start training myself to end every sentence with 'eh' and tell people I'm Canadian but, mercifully, I'm not American, so instead I can have endless fun asking my American friends to explain why their countrymen voted for Trump. It's kind of fun (if admittedly quite mean) to watch them squirm for a while as they try to explain how the electoral college works and why the electoral college is essential to American democracy until they finally give up an admit they don't understand it either.
The Reason Why (Score:2, Troll)
Why doesn't everybody in the US care that the United States of America has become the laughing stock of the entire rest of the human race?
Because we have seen the opinion of the rest of the human race in this regard is about as valuable as spit, being prone to manipulation of opinion by the global elite.
And because most of the people of the U.S. only vaguely care about what the president does, since he has little impact over their lives in the end. It's not like other countries where you have to be scared
Re: (Score:3)
I don't know Trump's wealth, as he has not been up-front nor transparent about how much money he makes. Still waited for the promised tax returns...
Re:Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
The electoral college had its place in the early days of the US republic but it's a completely useless relic by now. It's by no means hard anymore for people to know the presidential candidates and know EXACTLY who they are voting for, there is no need for a trusted middle man who'd go and act on their behalf anymore.
Give the man a cigar... That is exactly the right answer, but most Americans just struggle trying to explain the college's purpose. I have the most fun with Republicans, they are usually the ones who earnestly believe the USA would sink into the seas in a rain of fire, brimstone and liberalism if the electoral college did not guarantee the conservative populations of sparsely populated states a much higher voting power than they'd have in a system where win without gerrymandering by gaining the majority of the popular vote, so it tends to be Republicans who end up to defending the electoral college and gerrymandering to the death.
Re:Really? (Score:4, Interesting)
No. Why would it work that way? There is no winner-take-all in any level in a direct popular vote. 3 or 4 cities are NYC, 8.1 million, Los Angeles, 3.8 million, Chicago, 2.7 million, Houston, 2.1 million. 16.7 million. Even near doubling that for suburbs (which often vote distinctly opposite from the city), that's about 10%. The population of the USA is about 330 million.
And in those cities, without a winner take all, the minority candidate's votes also accumulate. Think about the 40% of conservatives in California, or the 40% of liberals in Texas. So even if the large cities vote for one candidate by 65 to 35%, a 30% difference (which is very large) that's 16.7 million * 0.3 = about 5 million votes. (I'm equating population to votes, but it should be roughly proportional).
In a direct popular vote, every vote matters, and candidates would campaign and try to appeal everywhere. Conservatives in New York. Liberals in Kansas. Everyone. Why should a few states in the current system (FL, OH, PA, MI) get to matter more than many other states?
The electoral college worked great! (Score:5, Insightful)
If we had a direct population vote as you insinuate, then Los Angeles alone would overwhelm all of the votes of Oklahoma and Wyoming which deprives those states of representation. The electoral college assures their views are represented.
Sorry if you don't like it but it's the law of the land.....and for good reason.
Re: (Score:3)
Re:The electoral college worked great! (Score:4, Insightful)
The states are not just "artificial jurisdictional areas we call states". You grossly misrepresent their place in the pecking order.
Thinking of the states from a sovereign perspective, Oklahoma has as much right to be represented in our national government as New York or California. Not more. But not less either. The electoral college and the senate are the most public examples of how we try to achieve that balance. We don't base it on population because NY and CA would always win.
Re: (Score:3)
The electoral college broke when they decided to limit the total number of Members of the House but still tie the number of electoral college votes to the number of members of Congress each state has. This means that winning one electoral vote in California takes on hell of more votes than winning the same electoral vote in Wyoming or Kansas or Montana.... giving rural states a much larger say in who is elected President of the United States.
Apportionment Act of 1911 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Votes
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Wake me when he DOES something.
If you would read slashdot instead of just troll posting then you'd realise he's DOING plenty and fucking up not only the USA but international relations around the world as he goes.
the wrong lizard might get in (Score:2)
The President is very much a figurehead - he wields no real power whatsoever. He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage. For this reason the President is always a controversial choice, always an infuriating but fascinating character. His job is not to wield power but to draw attention away from it.
Re:the wrong lizard might get in (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Why the hell does anyone still care?
Because he has a short attention span, a short temper, twitchy thumbs, and a big button connected to approximately 1481 nuclear warheads [wikipedia.org]
Re: (Score:2)
Wake me when he DOES something.
It doesn't thrill me to say this, but I still think it's going to be true. I'll set that alarm clock to wake you in January 2025 when Trump's successor gets sworn in. By the way, Trump's base is arguing for him that because "everybody" is against him that he hasn't had time do anything yet and it's not his fault. And yes, even if he destroys health care and his tax cuts ruin the US economy, he'll still get re-elected.
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Even if he's still in office for the next round of elections, the Democrats would have to fuck up even more mightily than last time for him to have a chance at getting back in. The people who wouldn't vote for him have seen what happens when they sit home and sulk instead of going out and voting, and I can't see them making that mistake again.
Re:Really? (Score:5, Interesting)
Wake me when he DOES something.
Time to wake up!
Trump is continuing his attack on the Press. That is bad.
Trump is at the same time incorporating lies into his public statements. That is bad.
Both of these are behaviors of those wishing to become dictators. Read The Atlantic from a couple of months ago, the one with the cover article "How to Build an Autocracy". For your filter-check, know that The Atlantic leans slight right.
Re: Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
It took 14 months for Watergate to lead to Nixon's resignation. Why is it you think that this particular investigation should have such a shorter timeline?
Re: Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
"Why is it you think that this particular investigation should have such a shorter timeline?"
Trump's complete lack of self control.
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^this
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There's a smoking gun, mate. Whether there's sufficient proof to tie it directly to Trump is something that we'll have to wait and see.
You know, Nixon's supporters were saying the same fucking thing, right up until he got into Airforce One and flew off to California.
Re: (Score:2)
The problem isn't electing more like him, who angers both parties, grinding government to a halt.
Fitting (Score:3, Insightful)
Distinction without difference (Score:4, Insightful)
Distinction without difference... The sentiment expressed is still perfectly plausible:
Re:Distinction without difference (Score:5, Funny)
Bezos is likely to have purchased WaPo with tax-considerations paying at least a partial role — the other big concern, no doubt, was to save money on lobbying, by flat-out owning the biggest loudspeaker in the capital.
Actually, he was testing the Amazon Echo in beta to see if it would subscribe to their newspaper and in the most literal sense Alexa did "buy a copy of The Washington Post." ;)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Distinction without difference...
Actually there is a real difference. Bezos, Chairman and CEO of Amazon, is a different role than Bezos, owner of Amazon. Ethical people generally recognize the differences in these roles and try to avoid overlap. I don't know if Bezos is a particularly ethical person, but if he is he's made sure that the reporting staff feel perfectly clear to criticize Amazon and/or advocate for issues with which he personally disagrees.
The sentiment expressed is still perfectly plausible:
Unlikely, if Bezos is ethical he gives the WaPo staff editorial independence (which is
The Hidden Punchline (Score:2)
Unlikely, if Bezos is ethical
Ha haha haha hahahahah ah aha hoe hhe hah hoe heh haha haha *gasp*.
in addition, read the actual tweet (Score:2)
And Trump didn't even claim ownership, he simply linked the two:
It should be obvious that Bezos bought the WaPo to promote his political views and the interests of his corporate empire, just like Carlos Slim bought into the NYT.
Re: (Score:3)
Distinction without difference... The sentiment expressed is still perfectly plausible:
Also, Trump sees no distinction between himself and the businesses that he owns (and, as president, no particular reason to distinguish between himself as president and the businesses that he owns, else he'd have divested or set up a blind trust, as previous presidents have), and he has no problem using one of his businesses to browbeat or reward someone involved in another, so he assumes Bezos is the same.
I don't know about WaPo, but generally newspapers have ownership arrangements structured to ensure t
Re: Distinction without difference (Score:2)
Which surely means that Amazon can't use the Washington Post losses to reduce their tax liability.
Re: (Score:2)
How is this different from the Koch brothers?
Oh...right...it's not.
Yeah, the Kochs don't like Trump either.
Koch network slams Trump immigrant ban [usatoday.com]
Koch network to Trump administration: "You are never going to win the war on drugs. Drugs won." [denverpost.com]
Re:Um, WaPo is a left wing paper... (Score:4)
. You don't like being called Racists. So much so that we can't even have a conversation about race any more. Sheesh, and you call us Snowflakes.
When everything is racist having a conversation about race and calling people racist is retarded and a waste of time. Or do I need to go to a progressive university like Evergreen to understand your version of racism?
Timeline of Treason (Score:5, Informative)
Donald Turmp hates the Washington Post because it accurately reports on his treasonous crimes.
I'm sorry that the Washington post documented your carelessly executed treason, Moscow Donald. [washingtonpost.com]
Before the election
Dec. 10, 2015
Lt. Gen Michael Flynn is part of a panel discussion in Moscow for the 10th anniversary of government-backed Russia Today, for which he receives payment (The Washington Post, Aug. 15, 2016). Officials notice an increase in communication between Flynn and the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, following the Russia Today event (CNN, May 19, 2017).
Late 2015
British intelligence agencies detect suspicious interactions between Russia and Trump aides that they pass on to American intelligence agencies (The Guardian, April 13, 2017).
March 19, 2016
Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta is sent an email that encourages him to change his email password, likely precipitating the hack of his account (CBS News, Oct. 28, 2016).
March 21
During an interview with The Post, Trump lists Carter Page as part of his foreign policy team. Page had been recommended by a son-in-law of President Richard Nixon, New York Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox (WP, March 21, 2016).
March 28
Political veteran Paul Manafort is hired to help the Trump campaign manage the delegate process for the Republican National Convention. He is recommended by Trump confidante Roger Stone (New York Times, March 28, 2016). Before joining the campaign, Manafort lobbied on behalf of Oleg Deripaska, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. That deal followed a memo from Manafort in which he offered a plan that could Ãoegreatly benefit the Putin Government.Ã His relationship with Deripaska ended in 2009 (Associated Press, March 22, 2017). Manafort also worked on behalf of the Russia-friendly Party of Regions in Ukraine, helping guide the party's leader, Viktor Yanukovych, to the country's presidency. Yanukovych would later be ousted. (WP, Aug. 19, 2016)
April 27
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) may have met with Kislyak at a reception at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington before a foreign-policy speech given by Trump (CNN, May 31, 2017).
June
At a closed-door meeting of foreign policy experts and the prime minister of India, Page praises Putin effusively (WP, Aug. 5, 2016).
June 15
A hacker calling himself ÃoeGuccifer 2.0Ã releases the Democratic National Committee's research file on Donald Trump (Gawker, June 15, 2016). News reports already link the stolen data to Russian hackers (WP, June 14, 2016).
July
At some point this month, the FBI begins investigating possible links between the Russian government and Trump's campaign (Wired, March 20, 2017).
July 7
Page travels to Moscow to give a lecture (NYT, April 19, 2017). The Trump campaign approved the trip (USA Today, March 7, 2017). This trip was likely the catalyst for the FBI's request for a secret surveillance warrant to track PageÃs communications (WP, May 25, 2017).
July 11 or 12
Trump campaign staffers intervene with the committee developing the Republican Party's national security platform to remove language call arming Ukraine against Russian aggression. (July 18, 2016).
July 18
At an event hosted by the Heritage Foundation as part of the Republican National Convention, Sessions and Kislyak have a brief conversation (WP, March 2, 2017).
Flynn delivers a speech at the Republican convention, joining in the crowd's ÃoeLock her up!à chant. ÃoeIf I, a guy who knows this business, if I did a tenth of what she did,à Flynn said, ÃoeI would be in jail todayà (C-Span, July 18, 2016).
July 22
Wikileaks releases emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee (WP, July 22, 2017).
Jul. 27
During his
Re:Timeline of Treason (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Donald Turmp hates the Washington Post because it accurately reports on his treasonous crimes.
I'm sorry that the Washington post documented your carelessly executed treason, Moscow Donald. [washingtonpost.com]
Before the election
Dec. 10, 2015 Lt. Gen Michael Flynn is part of a panel discussion in Moscow for the 10th anniversary of government-backed Russia Today, for which he receives payment (The Washington Post, Aug. 15, 2016). Officials notice an increase in communication between Flynn and the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, following the Russia Today event (CNN, May 19, 2017).
Late 2015 British intelligence agencies detect suspicious interactions between Russia and Trump aides that they pass on to American intelligence agencies (The Guardian, April 13, 2017).
March 19, 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta is sent an email that encourages him to change his email password, likely precipitating the hack of his account (CBS News, Oct. 28, 2016).
March 21 During an interview with The Post, Trump lists Carter Page as part of his foreign policy team. Page had been recommended by a son-in-law of President Richard Nixon, New York Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox (WP, March 21, 2016).
March 28 Political veteran Paul Manafort is hired to help the Trump campaign manage the delegate process for the Republican National Convention. He is recommended by Trump confidante Roger Stone (New York Times, March 28, 2016). Before joining the campaign, Manafort lobbied on behalf of Oleg Deripaska, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. That deal followed a memo from Manafort in which he offered a plan that could Ãoegreatly benefit the Putin Government.Ã His relationship with Deripaska ended in 2009 (Associated Press, March 22, 2017). Manafort also worked on behalf of the Russia-friendly Party of Regions in Ukraine, helping guide the party's leader, Viktor Yanukovych, to the country's presidency. Yanukovych would later be ousted. (WP, Aug. 19, 2016)
April 27 Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) may have met with Kislyak at a reception at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington before a foreign-policy speech given by Trump (CNN, May 31, 2017).
June At a closed-door meeting of foreign policy experts and the prime minister of India, Page praises Putin effusively (WP, Aug. 5, 2016).
June 15 A hacker calling himself ÃoeGuccifer 2.0Ã releases the Democratic National Committee's research file on Donald Trump (Gawker, June 15, 2016). News reports already link the stolen data to Russian hackers (WP, June 14, 2016).
July At some point this month, the FBI begins investigating possible links between the Russian government and Trump's campaign (Wired, March 20, 2017).
July 7 Page travels to Moscow to give a lecture (NYT, April 19, 2017). The Trump campaign approved the trip (USA Today, March 7, 2017). This trip was likely the catalyst for the FBI's request for a secret surveillance warrant to track PageÃs communications (WP, May 25, 2017).
July 11 or 12 Trump campaign staffers intervene with the committee developing the Republican Party's national security platform to remove language call arming Ukraine against Russian aggression. (July 18, 2016).
July 18 At an event hosted by the Heritage Foundation as part of the Republican National Convention, Sessions and Kislyak have a brief conversation (WP, March 2, 2017).
Flynn delivers a speech at the Republican convention, joining in the crowd's ÃoeLock her up!à chant. ÃoeIf I, a guy who knows this business, if I did a tenth of what she did,à Flynn said, ÃoeI would be in jail todayà (C-Span, July 18, 2016).
July 22 Wikileaks releases emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee (WP, July 22, 2017).
Jul. 27 During his last news conference of the campaign, Trump asks Russia to release emails hacked from Clinton's private server. He later says that he was joking (WP, July, 27, 2016).
Aug. 9 Flynn Intel Group, a consulting firm founded by Flynn, signs a contract with Inovo BV, a firm run by a Turkish businessman close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for more than $500,000 (Daily Caller, Nov. 11, 2016).
Aug. 15 The New York Times reports on secret ledgers from the Party of Regions showing off-the-books payments to ManafortÃs consulting firm (NYT, Aug. 15, 2016). Those payments were allegedly hidden by passing them through third parties, according to Ukrainian leaders (WP, March 21, 2017).
Aug. 19 Manafort is fired from the campaign (NYT, Aug. 19, 2016). He'd reportedly lost the confidence of Trump's family, including son-in-law Jared Kushner (Politico, Aug. 19, 2016).
Aug. 21 Stone tweets, ÃoeTrust me, it will soon [be] Podesta's time in the barrelà (Aug. 21, 2016).
Aug. 23 Stone communicates with Guccifer 2.0 privately over Twitter (Smoking Gun, March 8, 2017).
September At some point in September, congressional leaders are briefed about the CIA's belief that Russia was intervening in the election to benefit Trump (WP, Dec. 9, 2016).
Sept. 8 Sessions and Kislyak meet in Sessions's Senate office (WP, March 2, 2017).
Oct. 7 The director of national intelligence and the head of the Department of Homeland Security release an unusual joint statement in which they warn of Russian efforts to meddle in the election and suggest that Russia had a hand in the Wikileaks document releases (DHS, Oct. 7, 2016).
Oct. 8 Shortly after the publication of a 2005 ÃoeAccess Hollywoodà video in which Trump discusses sexually assaulting women, Wikileaks releases the first emails from Podesta's email account. The leaks continue for weeks (WP, Oct. 8, 2016).
Oct. 12 Stone tells a reporter from a local news station in Florida that he has Ãoeback-channel communication with [Wikileaks' Julian] Assange,Ã though he'd never spoken to Assange directly (CBS, Oct. 12, 2016). Wikileaks later denies the assertion (CNN, March 27, 2017).
Oct. 19 During the final presidential debate, Trump says that Putin has no respect for his opponent, Hillary Clinton. She responds, ÃoeThat's because he'd rather have a puppet as president of the United States.Ã
ÃoeNo puppet,Ã Trump replies. ÃoeÃYou're the puppet.Ã
Trump then argues that Clinton doesn't know who's behind the hacking, if it's ÃoeRussia, China, or anybody elseà (WP, Oct. 19, 2016),
Nov. 8 An opinion piece supporting the Turkish government runs in the Hill under FlynnÃs byline (The Hill, Nov. 8, 2016).
Trump is elected president.
During the transition
Nov. 10 In his Oval Office meeting with Trump, Barack Obama warns the president-elect against hiring Flynn as national security adviser (WP, May 8, 2017).
Nov. 18 Trump offers Flynn the job of national security adviser (CNN, Nov. 18, 2016). Trump offers Sessions the job of attorney general. These are two of the first appointments Trump makes (WP, Nov. 18, 2016).
Late November Trump transition team members warn Flynn that his communications with Kislyak will be monitored by American intelligence agencies. To impress upon Flynn the risks of cozying up to the Russian ambassador, the team requests a dossier on Kislyak to share with Flynn. It's not known if he ever read it (WP, May 5, 2017).
Nov. 28 In an interview with Time magazine, Trump denies interference from Russia. ÃoeI don't believe they interfered,Ã he said. ÃoeThat became a laughing point, not a talking point, a laughing point. Any time I do something, they say Ãoh, Russia interfered.'Ã
He also addressed the hacking: ÃoeIt could be Russia. And it could be China. And it could be some guy in his home in New Jerseyà (Time, Nov. 28, 2016).
Nov. 30 The Justice Department informs Flynn that he is under investigation for his unreported lobbying on behalf of Turkey (NYT, May 17, 2017).
Dec. 1 (or 2) Flynn and Kushner meet with Kislyak at Trump Tower (NYT, March 2, 2017). Kushner proposes setting up a back-channel of communication between the administration and Putin, perhaps going so far as to use secure communications systems at the Russian embassy (WP, May 26, 2017). The FBI believes the conversation may have included a suggestion by the Russians that easing sanctions would allow Russian banks to offer financing to people with ties to Trump (Reuters, May 27, 2017). Sources close to Kushner indicate the the only focus of the back-channel would be Syria (Fox, May 30, 2017).
Dec. 8 Page is back in Moscow to meet with Ãoebusiness leaders and thought leadersà (NYT, Dec. 8, 2016).
Dec. 13 or 14 At Kislyak's urging, Kushner meets with Sergey Gorkov, chairman of Russia's government-owned Vnesheconombank and a confidante of Putin. The bank, known as VEB, is under sanction from the U.S. government (NYT, March 27, 2017).
Dec. 14 Gorkov apparently flies to Japan, as Putin was visiting (WP, June 1, 2017).
Dec. 25 Flynn texts Kislyak to wish him a merry Christmas (NPR, Jan. 13, 2017).
Dec. 29 The Obama administration orders new sanctions against Russian organizations and individuals in response to Russian interference in the election. (WP, Dec. 29, 2016).
Flynn calls Kislyak a reported five times (Reuters, Jan. 23, 2017). Among the topics of discussion: the government's sanctions of Russia (WP, Feb. 9, 2017).
Dec. 30 In a tweet, Trump praises Putin's decision not to respond in kind to the U.S. sanctions (Dec. 30, 2016).
Jan. 4, 2017 Flynn informs Don McGahn, chief attorney for the transition effort, that he's under investigation by the FBI (NYT, May 17, 2017).
Jan. 6 American intelligence agencies release a report outlining why they believe Russia was behind the campaign hacking (NYT, Jan. 6, 2017). FBI Director James Comey attends a briefing at Trump Tower in which he first informs the president-elect that he isn't personally under investigation as part of the Bureau's counter-intelligence case (WP, June 7, 2017).
Jan. 9 The Trump transition team announces that Kushner will join the administration as an unpaid senior adviser (Fox, Jan. 9, 2017).
Jan. 10 The Senate holds confirmation hearings for SessionsÃs attorney general bid. In that hearing, Sessions is asked what he would do if Ãoeanyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this campaign.à Sessions replies that ÃoeI have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians, and I'm unable to comment on ità (WP, Jan. 10, 2017).
Outgoing national security adviser Susan Rice asks Flynn to approve an operation in Syria in alliance with Kurdish forces that would extend into Trump's presidency. The alliance with the Kurds is opposed by the Turkish government. Flynn declines (Miami Herald, May 17, 2017).
Jan. 11 At a news conference, Trump discusses the hacking that took place during the election. ÃoeAs far as hacking, I think it was Russia, but I think we also get hacked by other countries and other people,Ã he said (CNBC, Jan. 11, 2017).
Jan. 15 On CBS, Pence denies that Flynn and Kislyak discussed sanctions (CBS, Jan. 15, 2017).
Jan. 17 Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) sends a list of questions to Sessions, including one that reads, ÃoeHave you been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after Election Day?à Sessions responds, ÃoeNoà (WP, Jan. 17, 2017).
Jan. 18 Kushner submits his application for top-secret security clearance, excluding a number of meetings with foreign officials, including the one in December (NYT, April 6, 2017).
Jan. 20 Trump is inaugurated.
The presidency
Jan. 22 Flynn is sworn in as national security adviser (WP, Jan. 22, 2017).
Jan. 24 The FBI interviews Flynn about his conversations with Kislyak the previous month (NYT, Feb. 14, 2017).
Jan. 25 Acting Attorney General Sally Yates receives a breakdown of the Flynn interview and decides to inform the White House about what was said (ABC, May 8, 2017).
Jan. 26 Yates meets with McGahn, now White House counsel, and explains what Flynn revealed during the FBI interview and that it contradicts public statements from the vice president, making it possible that the Russians could compromise the national security adviser by threatening to leak that information (ABC, May 8, 2017). McGahn Ãoeimmediatelyà briefs Trump on the conversation (Slate, Feb. 17, 2017).
Jan. 27 Yates returns to the White House to meet with McGahn again at his request. McGahn asks to review the evidence against Flynn (ABC, May 8, 2017).
Trump called Comey at noon to see if he could come to the White House for dinner. During that meeting, Trump allegedly asks Comey to pledge that he'd be loyal to the president. Instead, Comey offers only his honesty (NYT, May 11, 2017). Comey again tells Trump that the president isn't under investigation (WP, June 7, 2017).
Trump signs his executive order on immigration (WP, Jan. 27, 2017).
Jan. 30 Yates invites McGahn to come to the FBI and review the evidence against Flynn (ABC, May 8, 2017).
Trump fires Yates after she refuses to enforce his immigration ban (NYT, Jan. 30, 2017).
Week of Feb. 6 Trump Organization lawyer Michael Cohen and business associate Felix Sater partner with a Ukrainian lawmaker on a proposal for easing Russian-Ukrainian tensions, which is delivered to FlynnÃs office. (NYT, Feb. 19, 2017).
Feb. 8 Sessions is confirmed as attorney general (Senate, Feb. 8, 2017).
Feb. 11 Flynn files a financial disclosure that omits his payment from Russia Today (Daily Beast, April 1, 2017).
Feb. 13 Flynn resigns as national security adviser (NYT, Feb. 13, 2017).
Feb. 14 During a meeting in the Oval Office, Trump asks Comey to move away from his investigation of Flynn. ÃoeHe is a good guy,Ã Trump said, according to a memo drafted at the time by Comey. ÃoeI hope you can let this go.Ã (NYT, May 16, 2017)
Feb. 15 In the wake of Trump's request, Comey tells Sessions that he did not want to be put into a position where the FBI director and Trump were alone, citing concerns about propriety (NYT, June 6, 2017).
Mid-February At some point after a Feb. 14 New York Times report about communication between Trump staff and Russia during 2016, the White House allegedly asked Comey and McCabe to publicly deny the report (NYT, Feb. 23, 2017). Comey later indicates that he told Trump that such communications between the White House and FBI were inappropriate (NYT, May 18, 2017).
March 2 Attorney General Jeff Sessions annouces that he will recuse himself from any Russia investigation after his meetings with Kislyak are revealed (WP, March 2, 2017).
March 5 In an interview on NBC, former director of national intelligence James Clapper acknowledges that he had no knowledge of evidence proving that Russia and the Trump campaign colluded during the course of the campaign (NBC, March 5, 2017). He later clarifies that he would not necessarily have known about such evidence and that he was not aware of the FBI's investigation (Politifact, May 12, 2017).
March 20 Comey testifies before the House Intelligence Committee and, for the first time, confirms the existence of the investigation into Russian hacking and possible links to the Trump campaign (WP, March 20, 2017).
March 22 Shortly after being confirmed by the Senate as Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats attends a briefing at the White House with several other officials. As it wraps up, Trump asks Coats and CIA Director Mike Pompeo to remain in the room. During the private conversation that ensued, Trump asks Coats and Pompeo to try and intervene with the FBI to end the investigative focus on Flynn (WP, June 6, 2017).
March 30 Trump and Comey speak by phone. Trump asks Comey what can be done to Ãoelift the cloudà of the Russia investigation. Trump asks Comey to announce publicly that he himself wasn't under investigation (WP, June 7, 2017).
March 31 Flynn amends his financial disclosure report (Daily Beast, April 1, 2017).
April or May The FBI focuses on Kushner as a person of interest in their investigation as that effort intensifies. (WP, May 25, 2017).
April 11 Trump calls Comey to ask what had been done to make it clear publicly that he wasn't under investigation. Comey suggests he have McGahn speak with the acting deputy attorney general about the issue. It's the last time the two speak (WP, June 7, 2017).
subscribe The story must be told. Your subscription supports journalism that matters. Try 1 month for 99Ã May 3 Comey testifies before Congress (WP, May 3, 2017).
May 9 Trump fires Comey, citing the recommendation of Sessions (WP, May 10, 2017). In the letter firing Comey, Trump includes a line saying that he appreciates Comey telling him Ãoeon three separate occasionsà that he is not under investigation (May 10, 2017). The president later tells NBC's Lester Holt that the firing was because Ãoethis Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up storyà (CNN, May 12, 2017). Sources indicate that Kushner was a prominent voice behind the firing (CBS, May 17, 2017).
May 10 In a private meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kislyak, Trump reveals classified information shared with the United States by an ally, later reported to be Israel (WP, May 15, 2017). He also reportedly disparages Comey as a Ãoenut jobà to Lavrov and Kislyak and says that he Ãoefaced great pressure because of Russia,à which was now Ãoetaken offà with the firing of Comey (NYT, May 19, 2017).
May 12 Lawyers representing Trump release a statement indicating that the president's tax returns don't show income from Russian sources, with a few exceptions (NYT, May 12, 2017).
May 17 Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appoints former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee the Russia investigation (WP, May 17, 2017).
Sorry that the TrumpBots modded you to oblivion. They just can't handle the truth. Everything they hate and can't admit they call fake news.
Flynn took Russian bribes, colluded with spies (Score:2, Informative)
Michael Flynn colluded with Russian spies, took Russian bribes, and lied on the security clearance forms designed to identify this type of treasonous behavior.
Michael Flynn and Paul Montfort retroactively registered as foreign agents, because in their time with Trump they were secret foreign agents.
I guess you just don't care about this obvious, well documented treason because your only response is to attempt to change the subject with an article from a right wing fake news and propaganda site.
If you think that's bad... (Score:5, Informative)
Trump seems unaware that TrumpCare is a giant tax cut for the rich by repealing the taxes that funded ObamaCare.
A senator who supports the bill left the meeting at the White House with a sense that the president did not have a grasp of some basic elements of the Senate plan — and seemed especially confused when a moderate Republican complained that opponents of the bill would cast it as a massive tax break for the wealthy, according to an aide who received a detailed readout of the exchange. Mr. Trump said he planned to tackle tax reform later, ignoring the repeal's tax implications, the staff member added.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/27/us/health-care-bill-trump-pence.html [nytimes.com]
Re:If you think that's bad... (Score:5, Informative)
There were taxes that funded obamacare?
How else would the rich pay their fair share in helping the less fortunate?
I thought it was just paid for by jacking up my premium by 3x what it was before obamacare.
My policy decreased from $500 per month to $300 per month. Same coverage with a higher deductible. I don't qualify for tax subsidies.
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In other words, he pays less per month for the insurance, but will be paying out-of-pocket for most medical expenses.
My job provides free flu shots every year. Except for seasonal allergies, I haven't been sick in years. If I do go to the hospital, the deductible will be the least of my concerns.
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"Same coverage with a higher deductible" is not the same. You are paying less because you get less. Depending on what you spend towards your deductible, this may or may not be a better deal.
Higher Deductible + Lower Premiums + Healthy Person = Better deal
Higher Deductible + Lower Premiums + Unhealthy Person = Worse deal
YMMV
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When is it good to dodge taxes? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm really confused about the president's position on dodging taxes. If poor people don't pay taxes, that's bad. But if a rich person gets a tax break, that's good. If one of Trump's businesses, or he himself, avoids taxes, that's just his business expertise. But if Jeff Bezos does it, that's bad again.
Help me out here. I'm really confused...
Re:When is it good to dodge taxes? (Score:5, Informative)
HTH.
Re:When is it good to dodge taxes? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's "bad" because they get all the advantages and benefits provided by being a resident in the country while contributing little or none of the costs.
It's "good" because if they get a break, then that means they are contributing. But since they are contributing more than what poor people are, then it's unfair. Rich people could be using the difference to "stimulate the economy" or otherwise let the money "trickle down" to the poor (even though both have been shown to not work nearly as well as proponents claim.
See: Rich person
Bezos leans Libertarian/Democrat, not Republican. So that makes him a evil filthy poor person more so than a rich person. See: Poor person
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Help me out here. I'm really confused...
No no no. You're really over complicating it. Let me break it down:
Trump not paying taxes = good.
People giving money to Trump in exchange for not paying taxes = good.
Everyone else not paying taxes = damn communist who hates America and should contribute to making the country great again.
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It's actually really simple: he wants a more equal sharing of the tax burden:
https://taxfoundation.org/inco... [taxfoundation.org]
Note that poor people don't just not pay taxes, they get money back from the IRS.
If you look at total transfers, it gets even worse: the bottom 60% of income earners get more than they pay in:
https://taxfoundation.org/60-p... [taxfoundation.org]
That's not s
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It's good for rich people Trump likes (including Trump) to dodge taxes, for anyone else it's bad. Simple.
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I know its super fun to hate Trump, but the point he was trying to make about being smart to avoid taxes was that the tax system was screwed up and needs to be fixed. Same thing for lobbying, he doesn't like it but he had to play the game by the established rules.
Absolutely! His entire behaviour suggests that he plays the game of tax dodging and influence peddling with great reluctance. Just look at his entire career. (Rolls eyes.)
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That still doesn't explain why he's not celebrating Jeff Bezos rather than chastising him. I understand the position of "this is all messed up, but I have to play along"... but why doesn't Jeff get to play along, too?
Businesses don't pay as much tax as you think! (Score:5, Insightful)
The interesting thing about this is that he's only concerned about tax dodging when it involves a company he doesn't like. I'm sure there are plenty of tax loopholes that is businesses have been able to use over the years.
I think almost everyone knows that businesses don't pay the official tax rates, and the largest ones are able to pay zero or get tax refunds in some cases because they're able to buy loopholes and exploit them. Even small businesses, who are the most vocal about it, structure their transactions to avoid taxes. Wage-earners are about the only taxpayers who don't get these benefits because documented W-2 and 1099 income is directly tracked and taxed at the income tax rate. But, ask any small business owner what entity owns their car, house and personal debt -- I guarantee you the answer is "John Smith Enterprises, Inc." It's way too easy for individuals to just set up a corporation and filter every personal expense they incur through it. It's not technically legal of course, but that doesn't stop it from happening. And then those same people turn around and complain about being taxed and regulated to death...those arguments ring hollow for me.
WTF (Score:5, Informative)
But, honestly, we've come to expect this from Trump. He may actually understand how sales tax is collected, but this type of tweet is aimed at his low-information supporters to stir their rage against various targets Trump picks for them. Whatever it takes to keep the masses angry at anyone who "opposes" him, and to keep everyone confused.
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That's awfully generous (optimistic? naive?) of you. If I had to bet, I would bet that he has no clue how sales tax is collected or used. I've seen no indication that he has any understanding of anything (I mean that literally).
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He understands how to put on a show. He's a showman first and foremost. He's a reality TV star, and has a lifetime of experience as mascot for his company.
So far, ignorance has been free (Score:3)
Bezos tweeted that he'd save a seat for Trump on his Blue Origin spacecraft...
Trump's repeated failure to inform himself even slightly about the topics he involves himself in has so far cost him nothing.
Let's up the ante a little.
Offer Trump a place in history as the first political leader ever to take a trip into space. Offer him the choice of two tickets, both free: one would feature cramped quarters and extremely basic food for an extended trip, the other, the special "QV Laika Ticket", would feature luxurious accommodations for a considerably shorter, hotter trip.
Let him choose whichever one he likes. Since Trump has doubtless heard the term QV before, we can hope he makes the right choice.
Even better yet.... (Score:2)
offer him a comfy seat right inside one of the engine nozzles....
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I Laik it!
If (Score:2)
Wow! (Score:2)
While he seems to own Time magazine, because he prints out magazine covers with his stupid face on it to hang in his golf clubs.
Sad.
How low can one sink, he must live in a hole a trillion miles deep.
Quick Sanity Check (Score:2, Insightful)
Quick fact check: Amazon doesn't own The Washington Post, Jeff Bezos -- in his personal capacity -- does.
Quick sanity check: As long as Bezos runs Amazon, Amazon effectively owns The Washington Post.
Re: So what if it was for tax purposes? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's only smart if it's Trump avoiding taxes legally. The rules are different for anyone not lobbying him directly.
Re:So what if it was for tax purposes? (Score:4, Insightful)
The tax information we do have on Trump indicates that he has taken advantage of rolling over losses to reduce taxes, so, in reality, even if Amazon were doing what Trump said, Trump's done the same damned thing.
Just another bizarre outburst from the Tweeter-in-Chief
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It's a dead cat he's tossing on the table to distract from the same fake Time magazine cover linked in TFS.
Re:So what if it was for tax purposes? (Score:4, Informative)
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Re:So what if it was for tax purposes? (Score:4, Informative)
Yes, and if Amazon did buy the Washington Post to take advantage of any losses, that's perfectly legitimate as well, not that that is actually what appears to be happening.
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Amazon *didn't* buy the WP. Jeff Bezos did, as an individual. Bezos owns 17% of Amazon, but institutional investors (i.e. Wall Street) own 63%. As usual, Trump gets the details wrong.
Re:So what if it was for tax purposes? (Score:5, Insightful)
This why we need a businessman as president. Someone in business should be able to comprehend that a person can own many companies and not having each company interact with each other.
But we don't have a businessman as president we have a Son of a businessman who used the wealth and fame to more or less just maintain what he got, vs. Actually growing the business. Because if he just did normal investments with the money his dad gave him, he could be much richer.
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Where are the payroll taxes 25%?
Re:So what if it was for tax purposes? (Score:5, Insightful)
We need people well-versed in economics to run our public policy machine. Not just people who took economics in college, but people who have pushed the boundaries.
We should be pushing for DIVERSITY in our leadership. And I don't mean the Hijacked description of diversity called ethnic diversity.... I mean Intellectual Diversity and Diversity of Experience is even more important.
We could start by Step 1. discounting political experience as a qualification to run for elected offices, especially discount lawyers --- instead of having lawyers be legislators - appoint them "Legal assistants" -- In other words, lawyers help to understand the laws but shouldn't have the role in decisionmaking.
Step 2. Play up practical domain experience in decisionmaking, Get more scientists and engineers in office.
Step 3. Implement Term limits for all legislator positions. You serve your 6 years house and/or 12 years senate, after leaving office you must take a 6 year break before running again, and that is IT... no more legislating for you.
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Actually what we really need is a president that will try to remain impartial to the party and try to find a fine balance between socialism and capitalism. A good president would know how to surround himself with a strong set of skilled people coming from different backgrounds with a variety opinions that line up with the larger portion of the population. The idea of party over country is getting old and its not helping the little guy. I compare it to when a player on a hockey team intentionally hurts anoth
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So you're saying that if you can eliminate an expense (tax) for free (i.e. without it being a tradeoff that comes with a downside) then it's all upside. I don't think any person would argue against you on that.
Re:So what if it was for tax purposes? (Score:4, Insightful)
The word of caution is if you win that (Chances are you don't need to worry); people have very bad misfortunes, and are rarely happy - it can destroy family and relationships, many a lottery winner wound up bankrupt or committed suicide -- you are first of all best to keep your identity secret, because you're bound to have so many desperate people with all manner of sob stories coming to ask for a handout, that if you handed them $100 a piece, you'd be bankrupt.
Take your winning ticket, lock it up securely in your safe: Don't tell a soul, and start contacting advisors to help setup the organizational Trust structure that will allow you to claim your winning ticket within the allowed time and remain anonymous and help you optimize your outcomes and happiness.
By the way 40 Million X 1.09 ^ 65 = 10 Billion
In other words... 9% Annualized returns over 65 years will do it.
Interest rates are low these days, because of Fed and government meddling,
that suppresses interest rates for debt and forces people to the higher-risk equities markets
if you want to generate returns, but there have been times in the past where you
could buy 40 Million worth of bonds and lock in a rate such as 12% - 15% interest.
At 12% it would be 29 years to turn 40 Million into 10 Billion.
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...the Post's only value is in it's ability to lose money to be written off for tax purposes
I'm sure the ability to spread CIA-approved propaganda doesn't enter into it.
Re: So what if it was for tax purposes? (Score:4, Informative)
...we need to scrutinize it in ways we would never do with other people...
The level of scrutiny is directly proportional to the propensity for conveying inaccurate information.
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We allow companies to pretend that income earned elsewhere, say in our own country, can be fed to an artificial Irish entity that does zero work, in order to park money there without paying what is due on the taxes.
So they benefit from all the roads, law enforcement, fire services, environmental controls, public education, and manage to get out of paying for it with a surreptitous act of money laundering.
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Not true. The key number is corporate tax + capital gains. The effective tax rate on investment is a very competitive number in the first world. Has to be, capital seeks returns.
Nations with no corporate tax have high capital gains taxes. VAT is orthogonal.
Re:Jeff Bezos, In His Personal Capacity (Score:5, Informative)
No, you're wrong.
Amazon is a public company, with stock traded on NASDAQ. Ownership is over 63% institutional [nasdaq.com]. Jeff Bezos is the Chariman, President, CEO [reuters.com], and a large stockholder, but by no means "owns" Amazon.
The Washington Post is a privately held company, which Jeff Bezos purchased through a holding company (Nash Holdings, LLC) for $250 million in 2013. Yes, he indirectly "owns" [gawker.com] The Washington Post.
Your descriptions of writing off of losses from WP to cover gains from Amazon is grossly inaccurate and ignorant of how business structures and taxes work in the United States.
Re:Get this crap out of here (Score:5, Insightful)
Usually, I moderate, today Ill reply.
Your wrong. -Everything- Chief Bozo says is news. If Chief Bozo disses the largest tech company in the world, that Big News. For me at least, being a cloud architect, and I regard that profession as quite nerdsy.
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Trump's new "internet tax", whatever that is, is absolutely something to do with technology, even if it's some fake tax he's dreamed up while drinking his covfefe.
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That's the problem when you only get news from one source that shaves it until it fits your political view. Try not thinking with pure emotions and using right and left wing news sources. Then TRY to peel the bias off of both and see what the news really is. I say TRY because it's not as easy as it sounds. People want to believe something they hear if it agrees with their ideas. But you have to put that to the side and see what's good for everybody not just you. It's hard to do. And it's the main reason I d
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The worst thing about Trump is that he's guilty of everything he complains about on twitter. People affiliated with a political party always ignore the hypocrisy of their representatives...
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Remember, they asked Republican controlled congress to investigate but they refused.
Be careful what you label as "undisputed facts"...
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When you see the attack words "Incorrectly claiming" in the TITLE of the article, how can one take seriously the article or the one who created the article?
What's the problem? Somebody claims something, the claim is incorrect, therefore that somebody is incorrectly claiming something. Elementary logic, elementary English. And how do you get from there to Political Hack site?
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For every billionaire on the Democratic Party's side, there are a dozen backing the Republicans. Not to mention that the Koch Brothers have contributed more to right wing causes than all three of the people you mention added together. And Fox News, right wing radio and a whole raft of conservative media vastly outnumber the few openly left wing media outlets. For that matter, the right wing bias stays just about the same even if you include hard news media that strive for accuracy. Accuracy, of course,
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In today's America, facts are leftist propaganda, and need to be "balanced" with alternative facts approved by the Dear (Orange) Leader.