Day 145: Sessions Testimony

Today we had Sessions' testimony, where he essentially turned up and said "I'm not talking to you!"

• He strongly denied a third meeting with the Russian ambassador in a hotel room.
• Despite Trump not invoking executive privilege, Sessions was happy to do so for him. Furthermore, he was often spectacularly evasive and particularly forgetful.
• Kamala Harris was the only senator to call bullshit, pressing Sessions in a beautiful manner. She was shut down by a number of male senators, coming to the defense of the poor old forgetful white man.
• At least one journalist is sick of the bullshit, too.

As predicted, Sessions essentially ran interference for the President, without providing any information. His testimony highlights that Republicans are deeply uninterested in what Russia did to the US election in 2016. We should all be worried about that (both Republicans and Russia).

In (so much) other news:

• Big news today in the Russian hacking scandal: the attack was far broader than previously imagined, hitting multiple systems across 39 states. Read this, and demand action.
• A bipartisan agreement in the Senate to impose sanctions against Russia while also keeping the White House's grubby mitts off any sanctions has been reached. While Trump can try to veto it, it would put him in an incredibly awkward situation. However, fear not - not all is lost in the administration! Tillerson has gone out to bat for the Russians.
• In addition to the House trying to water down Dodd-Frank, the White House is also doing their darndest to do the same. This is primarily about loosening restrictions on the risky behavior of rich people, and I object!
• I'll let this headline speak for itself: Trump Administration Tosses Rule Protecting Endangered Whales and Sea Turtles
• Most Trump properties being sold are now sold to LLCs, which hide the true owners from the public record (compared to 4% before the election). There is a very real possibility of foreign governments at work, here.
• Because prisoners are meant to be exploited for monetary gain, the FCC dropped a rule capping phone call rates for prisoners to their family. Evidence that such calls reduce recidivism be damned.
• The Senate Rules Committee briefly tried to stop journalists from accessing Senators almost completely, before an uproar had them reverse course.
• In further anti-climate action, the US refused to sign the G7 document on climate change. Instead, the EPA released a completely fucked up statement claiming that they were moving on from carbon to worrying about marine litter and resource efficiency.
• ICE is up to its old tricks, this time trying to deport Iraqi Christians, in what is effectively a death sentence. Insofar as I can tell, this is the first move by the administration against its Christian support base.
• The FDA has undone more of Michelle Obama's legacy, this time rolling back regulations on clearer food labeling. I really don't have words.
• Sessions wants to go after providers of marijuana in states that have legalized medical marijuana, asking Congress to undo a 2014 rule that prohibits the DoJ doing so. Experts warn that doing so would greatly exacerbate the opioid crisis, but Sessions just wants his war on drugs.

I just want to reiterate that this administration does not represent me.