The Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia Act, which the House will likely vote on this week [note: has voted on and passed], looks like a no-brainer for supporters of Ukraine who have been calling for President Trump to get tougher on Russia....
But the bill is not what it seems. The legislation would impose no significant new sanctions on Russia, and it would allow Trump to waive any of its measures simply by claiming that doing so is in the national interest. In other words, a law that appears to handcuff Trump would offer him a key to free himself. What's more, its most important provisions are about not sanctions per se, but tariffs. The bill could provide Trump with the same kind of sweeping authority to impose tariffs that the Supreme Court took away from him in February, allowing him to intensify his trade war with many of America's allies and partners.
Posted this because I saw an absolutely shameful number of articles about the Lindsay Graham Sanctions Bill that focused on the fact that two Democratic members of the House crossed the aisle to vote for it, while not reporting anything at all about the actual content of the bill. Total journalistic negligence to frame this as "both sides" obstructionism without mentioning that the entire bill is a sham. I hope Democratic messengers are taking note of this and making a plan to get out ahead of the propaganda messaging before this bill gets to the Senate.
PS Another headline bill that's not as advertised (voted down in the Senate, thankfully):
Crypto legislation would greenlight Trump corruption.
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