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Despite reality, Vance says Trump was impeached over Russia scandal

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Despite reality, Vance says Trump was impeached over Russia scandal

Eight years after Donald Trump pushed “drain the swamp” rhetoric, the phrase has apparently made a comeback, despite the fact that this became one of the Republican’s most notorious broken promises.

His running mate, Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, took some time at an event last week to explain what he thinks the phrase means in 2024.

“I mean, look, just go back a few years ago, you had the entire government, you had an impeachment, a fake impeachment that was completely oriented around the idea that Donald Trump was in bed with a foreign government,” the senator said. “We all remember that the Russia Russia Russia scam? That scam was a complete lie.

“Even the independent justice department investigator basically said this is all completely made up. But here’s the problem. They admit that it was made up. They admit that it distracted this country. It led to a fake impeachment. How many people have been fired from that? Zero.”

So, a few things.

First, Trump was impeached twice, but he was never impeached for the Russia scandal. I know Vance is new to politics, but his running mate’s presidency really wasn’t that long ago, it’s kind of weird that the senator doesn’t know why Trump was impeached. (It was especially amusing to see Vance incorporate the phrase “we all remember that” in his comments, because he clearly doesn’t remember the story at all.)

Second, the scandal was neither a “scam” nor a “lie,” no matter how many times Republicans claim otherwise. In reality, investigations from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team and the GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee documented the extent to which Trump and his team welcomed, received, and benefited from Russian campaign assistance. (They also obstructed the investigation into this assistance — by some measures, 10 times.)

Third, Vance told the public that “the independent justice department investigator basically said this is all completely made up.” This is apparently in reference to former special counsel John Durham, whose report Republicans only pretended to readand who did not in any way conclude that the underlying scandal was baseless. (I’m reminded of a New York Times report from last year, which noted the GOP’s partisan reactions to Durham’s findings had become “Exhibit A in how the American right seems to be living in its own universe.”)

But even if we put all of these relevant details aside, does Vance really want to spark renewed interest in Trump’s Russia ties right now? Because it was just days before the Ohioan made these comments when the public learned about Bob Woodward’s new book, which alleges that the former president has spoken to Vladimir Putin “as many as seven times“ since leaving office.

Woodward’s book also alleges that the former Republican president, while in office, secretly sent Covid testing equipment to Putin at the height of the pandemic, even as people in his own country struggled to gain access to such resources.

If Vance wants to explore all of the allegations surrounding Trump’s Putin ties in more detail, I’m game, but this seems like a conversation the GOP ticket should want to avoid.

Steve Benen

Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an BLN political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”

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Hageman launches bid for Wyoming Senate seat

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Wyoming GOP Rep. Harriet Hageman on Tuesday announced her campaign for Senate, hoping to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis in next year’s election.

The Wyoming Republican is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, and with his backing she helped oust Republican then-Rep. Liz Cheney, a vocal critic of Trump’s, in the 2022 primary.

“This fight is about making sure the next century sees the advancements of the last, while protecting our culture and our way of life,” Hageman said in her launch video. “We must dedicate ourselves to ensuring that the next 100 years is the next great American century.”

Lummis announced she would not seek reelection last week, saying she felt like a “sprinter in a marathon” despite being a “devout legislator.” Hageman, who had been debating a gubernatorial bid, was expected to enter the Senate race.

Hageman touted her ties to the president in her announcement video, highlighting her record of support for Trump’s policies during her time in the House and vowing to keep Wyoming a “leader in energy and food production.”

“I worked with President Trump to pass 46 billion in additional funding for border security, while ensuring that Wyomingites do not pay the cost of new immigration. We work together to secure the border and fund efforts to remove and deport those in the country illegally,” she said.

Trump won the deep-red state by nearly 46 points in last year’s election, and Hageman herself was reelected by nearly 48 points, according to exit polling.

Still, Hageman bore the brunt of voters’ displeasure earlier this year during a town hall. As she spoke of the Department of Government Efficiency, federal cuts and Social Security, the crowd booed her.

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Ben Sasse says he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer

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Former Sen. Ben Sasse announced on Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic pancreatic cancer.

The Nebraska Republican shared the news on X, writing in a lengthy social media post that he had received the diagnosis last week.

“Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence,” Sasse said. “But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do.”

The two term senator retired in 2023 and then went on to serve as president of the University of Florida. He eventually left the school to spend more time with his wife, Melissa, after she was diagnosed with epilepsy.

Sasse continued to teach classes at University of Florida’s Hamilton Center after he stepped down as president. He previously served as a professor at the University of Texas, as an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services and as president of Midland University.

Sasse on Tuesday shared that he and his wife have only grown closer since and opened up about his children’s recent successes and milestones.

“There’s not a good time to tell your peeps you’re now marching to the beat of a faster drummer — but the season of advent isn’t the worst,” Sasse said. “As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come.”

Sasse said he’ll have more to share in the future, adding that he is “not going down without a fight” and will be undergoing treatment.

“Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived. We’re zealously embracing a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I’ve pledged to do my part to run through the irreverent tape,” Sasse said.

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Cannon keeps Jack Smith’s classified records report under wraps for now

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Cannon keeps Jack Smith’s classified records report under wraps for now

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday lifted restrictions on the release of former special counsel Jack Smith’s findings from his investigation into President Trump’s handling of classified records — but she gave the president a 60-day window to challenge her order. Cannon did not immediately lift her order barring the Justice Department from sharing…
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