Forty-Seven days until the 46th president is sworn in and the 45th is banished from the White House! And poor old #45 seems to be losing what’s left of his mind further each day.
There’s been a lot of chatter in recent days about Trump’s pardon plans. He already pardoned Michael Flynn, and the rumors are that he’ll pardon his cronies and family members including Giuliani, Jared Kushner, Kushner’s dad, Don Jr, Eric and Ivanka… and himself. And this week we learned of a Pay for Pardon scheme that also implicates Jared, his lawyer Abbe Lowell (who should know better), and one big-league donor who’s already been caught up in Trump’s swamp, Elliott Broidy.
To help pull it together and make sense of it all, we’ll check with Marcy Wheeler of Emptywheel.net.
And the House of Representatives today made history by voting 228-164 for the MORE Act – Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act! I paid tribute at the end of the show…
I read a portion of Bernie Sanders’ statement issued today about the proposed COVID relief package under consideration, and said I’d post the whole thing. I agree with him, as usual.
Sanders Statement on Manchin-Romney COVID19 Proposal
BURLINGTON, December 4 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement on the Manchin-Romney COVID19 legislative proposal:
“Given the enormous economic desperation facing working families in this country today, I will not be able to support the recently announced Manchin-Romney COVID proposal unless it is significantly improved.
“Unfortunately, despite long-time Democratic opposition, this proposal provides 100% legal immunity to corporations whose irresponsibility has led to the deaths of hundreds of workers. It would continue to provide a get-out-of-jail free card to companies that put the lives of their workers and customers at risk. In fact, the Manchin-Romney proposal will, through this liability provision, encourage corporations to avoid implementing the common sense safety standards needed to protect workers and consumers – and make a bad situation worse.
“Further, during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, when over half of our workers are living paycheck to paycheck, when one out of four workers are either unemployed or make less than $20,000 a year, when 92 million Americans are uninsured or under-insured, when tens of millions of people face eviction and when hunger in America is exploding, it is unacceptable that the Manchin-Romney proposal does not even do what the CARES Act did and provide, at the very least, a $1,200 direct payment to working class Americans and $500 for their kids. Tens of millions of Americans living in desperation today would receive absolutely no financial help from this proposal. That is not acceptable.
“Last March, with unanimous support in Congress, President Trump signed the $2 trillion CARES Act into law that provided a $600 a week supplement in unemployment benefits and a $1,200 direct payment to every working class adult, $500 per child and significant help for small businesses, states and cities. In October, as part of the negotiating process, the Trump Administration and a bi-partisan coalition in the House supported over $1.8 trillion in COVID-relief that also included another $1,200 direct payment.
“Today, however, at a time when the COVID crisis is the worst that it has ever been in the U.S. with record-breaking levels of hospitalization and death, the Manchin-Romney proposal not only provides no direct payments to working families, it does nothing to address the healthcare crisis and has totally inadequate financial assistance for the most vulnerable. That is wrong morally and it is wrong economically if we hope to rebuild the economy.
“The American people need help and they need help now. In my view, we have got to make sure that every working class American receives at least $1,200 in direct payments and that we do not provide a liability shield to corporations who break the law.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to significantly improve this bill. But, in its current form, I cannot support it.”
And the YouTube version of this episode…
