On Background Checks for Trump Appointees, The Magic Number Is “Four”
On any given issue requiring Senate involvement, four Republican Senators joining with the Democrats have the ability to block Trump’s worst attacks on the United States.
Author Archive for: emptywheel
About emptywheel
Marcy Wheeler is an independent journalist writing about national security and civil liberties. She writes as emptywheel at her eponymous blog, publishes at outlets including Vice, Motherboard, the Nation, the Atlantic, Al Jazeera, and appears frequently on television and radio. She is the author of Anatomy of Deceit, a primer on the CIA leak investigation, and liveblogged the Scooter Libby trial.
Marcy has a PhD from the University of Michigan, where she researched the “feuilleton,” a short conversational newspaper form that has proven important in times of heightened censorship. Before and after her time in academics, Marcy provided documentation consulting for corporations in the auto, tech, and energy industries. She lives with her spouse in Grand Rapids, MI.
Entries by emptywheel
The Zombie Case against Trump’s Indicted Co-Conspirators
/25 Comments/in 2024 Presidential Election, Hunter Biden, January 6 Insurrection/by emptywheelSustaining the Mar-a-Lago case against Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira may slightly limit how Jack Smith describes his investigative discoveries in Mar-a-Lago.
Boris’ Shakedown
/37 Comments/in 2024 Presidential Election/by emptywheelThe report into Boris Epshteyn’s “consulting” appears to be a failed attempt to suggest corruption would keep key advisors out of the casino.
“Without Prejudice:” Jack Smith Moves to Dismiss the DC Case
/96 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection/by emptywheelJack Smith has moved to dismiss the DC case against Trump — but he is doing so without prejudice, meaning if Congress chose to impeach Trump on these charges, the case could be refiled.
Just a Quarter of Republican Senators Voted for Rick Scott
/15 Comments/in 2024 Election, 2024 Presidential Election/by emptywheelSenate Republicans will enjoy their time in the majority, and most of the time most Republican Senators will gleefully support what Trump will do. But when given a choice to capitulate immediately by voting for Rick Scott to be Majority Leader or to uphold their own prerogatives by voting for someone more like Mitch McConnell, an overwhelming majority of Republican Senators voted to defend their own privilege.
Pam Bondi Offers a Platform to Expose the Consequences of Trump’s Past Corruption
/43 Comments/in 2024 Presidential Election/by emptywheelDemocrats are likely to have more success making Republicans own the harm to Trump supporters that Pam Bondi’s inevitable corruption will cause than getting enforceable commitments to avoid politicizing DOJ.
WaPo Enthusiastically Joins Trump’s Attack on Rule of Law
/42 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection/by emptywheelIn describing Donald Trump’s plans to attack prosecutors who investigated his alleged crimes, WaPo conducts the same abusive act of replacing rule of law with false claims of grievance as Trump himself does.
Fridays with Nicole Sandler
/14 Comments/in 2024 Presidential Election/by emptywheelWe talked about Trump’s continued impunity from the law.
Amid Global Threats that Remain (Publicly) Unspeakable, Trump Makes Himself Vulnerable
/35 Comments/in 2024 Presidential Election/by emptywheelWhat Trump will do to the United States is awful.
But because he hates the US government so much, he’ll also make “America First” wildly vulnerable to hostile forces, at a time when they’re already poised to undercut America’s strength.
Yes, Trump Plans to Flush NATO, But It’s Part of a Larger Whole
/54 Comments/in 2024 Presidential Election/by emptywheelBy rolling out one after another wildly inappropriate nominee, Trump has brilliantly done what he always does: used a series of distractions to drown out any coherent discussion of the whole. To combat Trump’s assault on America, we need to maintain focus on that whole.