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PBC News & Comment: Trump Recruits Posse of Warmongers

Most chaotic week yet: Trump recruits bloodthirsty hawks to scare Little Kim, tanks markets, signs budget after veto threat….--Replacing McMaster with John Bolton, Trump signals strong prospects of war with Iran, North Korea

--Gareth Porter outlines Bolton’s obsession with Iran

--Bolton’s superPAC, funded by the Mercers, used Cambridge Analytica and knew they were using Facebook data

--Cambridge Analytica sales pitch claimed central role in Trump 2016

--Trump warms up war drums with new charges of Iranian hacking, theft of intellectual property

--after tweeting veto threat, and rambling about the bad budget bill, Trump signs it

--Daily Beast claims that Guccifer 2.0 is Russian intelligence officer, but the leaked “evidence” cited is just speculation

--another weak story in WashPost—based on emails they haven’t actually seen—tries to elevate the status of Papadopoulos in Trump campaign

--Trump tanked markets worldwide with new tariff plans

--former Trump mistress and Playmate Karen McDougal details their affair to Anderson Cooper on CNN, and Cooper’s Stormy Daniels chat should air on 60 Minutes this weekend

--in new, in-depth interview, reporter Patrick Martin shares his findings about the big batch of former spies and soldiers running as Democrats for Congress

--Trump hasn’t signed SESTA yet, but its passage led Craigslist to take down all personals ads

--Florida teens lead major march in DC, and many other cities on Saturday, and Parkland students release a wish list

--FBI tries to defend its lies to angry judge in trial of Omar Mateen’s widow

--some recommended reads:

--Jonathon Offir offers important context in jailing of Ahed Tamimi

--at Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi delivers strong commentary on Iraq war and its legacy

--the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is even bigger than we thought