#BREAKING Nikki Haley Resigned as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations via @NYTimes nyti.ms/2A0IDZ7?smid=n… Nikki Haley resigns as UN ambassador, after meeting with Trump in WH—reportedly planned for 6 mos. Odd timing, tho, for Trump to lose a top woman after Kavanaugh & right before midterms? She’s been a notable loud voice against Russia’s malign acts. Will her replacement be also?

⚡️Mueller is unraveling a MAJOR & dark thread in Russia investigation. (Dead) GOP operative Peter Smith apparently wired money to hackers as "Russian students" at same time Clinton emails were released by Wikileaks. Elaborate secrecy & planned projects suggest foul play. THREAD👇

https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1049003295065460736

So GOP operative PETER SMITH had an elaborate & well-funded scheme to get Clinton emails. In email w/ apparent hacker, they discuss wiring $150k to "Russian students" & being pleased w/ released Clinton emails just days after Wikileaks releases in Oct. wsj.com/articles/gop-o…

🕯#OTD Oct 7, 2006: Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya murdered to silence her fierce voice on Putin mafia state corruption, atrocities, propaganda. Her truth is louder today: Putin's guard dogs hurtling Russia back to USSR abyss…Journalists risk death, bullet, poison, trial. #Politkovskaya was a journalist & human rights activist, not distinct in authoritarian Russia. Anna said journalists owe duty to tell the truth about the state. One last investigation was into mass poisoning of Chechen schoolchildren, authorities gaslighted as media mass hysteria

Oh gawd. Collins is repeating a Republican talking point about Democrats deciding before Kavanaugh was named to oppose him. So, folks, there you have it. OK for Republicans not to let Obama nominee have a hearing for a year, but Dems can't oppose a man, now credibly discredited. .@SenatorCollins, what a disappointment. She's reciting Kavanaugh's judicial record, but nothing about his overt lack of judicial temperament. Truly shocking. It's not just Trump. Republicans behave like Soviets, believing the ends justify the means. Every damn time. Wow

Grassley: “In another era, Kavanaugh would’ve been confirmed with a unanimous vote.” He ain’t wrong! And blames “left-wing” conspiracies. NEWS for Mr Grassley & Republicans: Women are constituents NOT conspirators! The era of dismissing women, our stories & our rights is OVER! Schumer: Kavanaugh was problematic from the day he was named by hard-right special interests. The dam broke with Dr Ford’s sexual assault allegations. Republicans blame Democrats bc they have a flawed nominee. It’s the shameful culmination of scorched-earth politics of hard right

More on that bar-room brawl, adding to a pattern of a belligerent & aggressive drunk/Supreme Court nominee: Kavanaugh wasn’t satisfied w an answer a guy in a bar gave him, so picked a fight, threw a glass of beer in the guy’s face. There’s a police report. apple.news/Am3cwBQu-TEKqo… Yale classmate who witnessed a bar fight: What the incident illustrates about Kavanaugh “is just the aggressiveness that came along with the alcohol, the hair-trigger machismo… [T]hat was kind of Brett’s shtick. He was aggressive… belligerent” when drinking.

Trump refuses to take questions from reporters about Kavanaugh nomination and how the WH is restricting the FBI investigation. He just told CNN @kaitlancollins to stop it, don’t do that, sit down. Then called on next reporter. (Kaitlan is still standing.) Trump’s in rant mode. But he made clear WH is restricting FBI Kavanaugh investigation to “what the Senate wants.” Speaking out of both sides of mouth—as usual—says FBI should do what’s necessary & wants comprehensive probe. But admits “free rein” is w/in limits of SEN REPUBLICANS

Who didn’t see this coming: WH Don McGahn sets parameters for FBI Kavanaugh investigation in ways that limit corroboration of Dr Ford testimony. No Swetnick interview. And no interviews about drinking at Yale. Hard to see this will fly w/ FBI or @JeffFlake or the American public NBC reports WH, under direction of Don McGahn, radically limits the scope of Kavanaugh investigation. If this stands, it’ll be as probative as having your mother write your recommendation to college. This sham while Trump said today FBI has “free reign.”😡nbcnews.com/politics/polit…

By raging he's being framed by a Clinton revenge plot conspiracy, Kavanaugh echoed Trump propagandists discrediting Mueller & Russia probe. That in itself is disqualifying from sitting on the Supreme Court. It also proves he won't be an impartial arbiter on those & other matters. Forget the alleged sexual assault & lies for a moment. Kavanaugh's partisan rant about a left-wing smear conspiracy is so off-the-rails improper for someone whose job is literally to DISPASSIONATELY & fairly interpret facts & law before him. And he wants a promotion to SCOTUS??

Christine Blasey Ford listens to Judiciary GOP chair Grassley falsely claim he’s done everything possible for a fair process and it’s Democrats who obstruct. He falsely equates what she’s been thru w/ Kavanaugh, falsely says Senate has already investigated so FBI doesn’t have to. Dr Blasey Ford’s voice breaks detailing her sexual assault by Kavanaugh. “I believed he was going to rape me. I was too afraid and ashamed to tell anyone… I tried to suppress it b/c recounting it caused panic and anxiety.” She’s breathing heavily, powering thru. What a hero.

Now: Trump touts trade deals and talks with world leaders at UN. Says his tariffs haven’t had any impact at all on the economy. He’s says he’s not happy about the Fed raising interest rates but it’s b/c “we’re doing much better than anybody ever thought possible.” Trump: “It wouldn’t have mattered if FBI came back with clean record, Democrats wouldn’t vote for Kavanaugh. But the FBI really doesn’t do that (investigate). Democrats are con artists. These are false accusations.”

Trump at @UN: “The US will always choose independence over global governance.… America won’t be victimized.” (It’s like he’s the fake leader of Parador. The entire world alternates between laughter, tears & nausea that the great USA has an illiberal imbecile for president) Trump’s UNGA speech was like getting your teeth drilled. The room literally laughed as his opening hit parade of braggadocio. The platitudes, fake victimization, the ending: Let’s choose sovereignty & patriotism over global domination and defeat. Forever strong, forever sovereign

KT McFarland revises “inconsistent” statement to Mueller, admitting she knew Flynn calls with Russian Ambassador Kislyak in Dec 2016 were about the sanctions Obama had just imposed on Russia for its election interference attack. washingtonpost.com/world/national… I wonder if Mueller let McFarland revise her lie b/c she offered other information? Her initial intent to cover up seems clear. She helped Flynn strategize the Kislyak sanctions calls. She even called journalists to push back on the story exposing Flynn. She lied to Congress too.

Is @NYtimes playing into the latest Mueller Russia probe assault by attacking Rosenstein? Story claims he suggested wearing a wire to record Trump for 25th Amendment purposes. Someone else said it was sarcasm. He denies it, adding there’s no need for Am25. nyti.ms/2xxNdwl?smid=n… CNN @EvanPerez just now: Rosenstein has a good relationship w/ Trump, after early chaotic weeks. People around Trump don’t want him to make matters worse by firing Rosenstein before Mueller is done. They’re likely telling him now, ‘don’t listen to McCabe. He has an axe to grind.’

Pretty sure Trump just called Poland’s President Andrzej Duda “President Dude” as he read a statement before joint news conference with the Polish president at the White House. Reading was stiff, little ad-libbing. Seems tired +/ uninterested. Focus on energy security in Europe. Trump gives the first question at news conference with Polish President Duda to fake news conspiracy theory site “One America News Network” asking about war and Syria. Trump goes off on big “unfair” costs of NATO, says US will get “billions and billions” to defend Poland.

Trump is releasing sensitive FISA classified information "without redaction" to try to undermine the Russia investigation. This isn't a man doing his duty to defend US national security. But it's a nifty distraction from #Kavanaugh debacle, esp for FoxNews propaganda programming

https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1041801368376242176

Look, anyone who knew anything about how Russian influence ops work recognized that the Trump campaign was likely compromised. The FBI would have been derelict in its duty to protect US national security if they DIDN'T open an investigation. Page, Manafort were known quantities.

Trump: #Kavanaugh’s never had even a little blemish. I have great faith in the Senate and their process. If it [confirmation] has to be delayed a little, then it will be. Feinstein had this information and didn’t bring it up. It should’ve been brought up a long time ago. #SCOTUS GOP @SenatorCollins: #Kavanaugh was emphatic in denying sexual assault allegations. Obviously if he lied about it, it would be disqualifying.

#BREAKING: California professor, writer of confidential Brett #Kavanaugh letter, speaks out about allegation of traumatic sexual assault. “I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” she describes how he forced himself on her, pinned her, shut her mouth washingtonpost.com/investigations… Anita Hill's sexual harassment by Clarence Thomas was ignored. Now we're at a new low. Republicans want to rush through a SCOTUS nominee credibly accused of attempted rape…to gut a woman's right to abortion. We are not free if we can't make decisions about our bodies. #Kavanaugh

#Manafort charging document for today's guilty plea includes details of his planting disinformation in US press to smear political rivals of his pro-Russia clients in Ukraine. Eg "Plant some stink on Tymo"—painting a female rival as a criminal who paid for murder. Sound familiar? Manafort had used the same propaganda smear tactics in Ukraine that Trump rolled out in his campaign for president in 2016. Manafort not only had Tymo soliciting murder. He pushed tribal divisions, using "Obama Jews" & anti-Semitism to tarnish her. assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4883…

OMG Pussy Riot member Pyotr Verzilov has been hospitalized in grave condition for suspected poisoning. Ekho Moskvy & Meduza report he’s been in emergency care since Tuesday. He’s lost his eyesight and ability to speak. #Russia
apne.ws/LvfLzd5 THIS is #Russia: Artist/activist Pyotr Verzilov is in critical condition in suspected poisoning. He became ill after a court hearing over protests on Sunday. He recently served jailtime for running onto the World Cup field along w/ other Pussy Riot members.meduza.io/en/feature/201…

NEW: Trump admin to target foreign election interference with Executive Order imposing sanctions. Trump may sign new EO as soon as tomorrow, to preempt congressional push for new legislative sanctions on Russia.
reuters.com/article/us-usa… Sanctions by Executive Order may just be official “Trump is tough on Russia” propaganda. Problem is they want to preempt coming “Sanctions from Hell.” Also it’s not clear what the EO sanctions will entail, so likely they won’t be as hard-hitting—or effective—as a bipartisan law.