Governor Of Puerto Rico Resigns (Finally)

Gov. Ricardo Rosselló

UPDATE 2: After delaying for hours (days really) and facing impeachment proceedings, Gov. Rosselló resigned late Wednesday night. He will officially leave office August 2.

The Governor of Puerto Rico has resigned. The people of Puerto Rico have been heard. pic.twitter.com/B9leUQOmdM

— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) July 25, 2019

#BREAKING: A victory for the people of Puerto Rico! @ricardorossello announces his resignation as governor of Puerto Rico on the night of July 24, 2019. #ULTIMAHORA #RICKYRENUNCIÓ 🇵🇷✊ pic.twitter.com/SMfxWPJfio

— LGBT Puerto Rico (@lgbtpr) July 25, 2019

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UPDATE 1: According to CBS News reporter David Begnaud, Gov. Rosselló had privately agreed to resign his office but reneged. So, now Puerto Rico's House of Representatives plans to begin impeachment proceedings.

BREAKING: Puerto Rico’s Governor had apparently agreed to resign today, but broke his word that he gave to legislators, so now the Speaker of the House of Representatives will make good on his word to impeach the Governor.https://t.co/n4lCUZdm4G

— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) July 25, 2019

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CNN reports:

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló is expected to resign Wednesday after more than a week of protests that rocked the island's capital city, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

Thousands have jammed the streets of San Juan calling for the governor's resignation after Puerto Rico's Center for Investigative Journalism published a series of group messages between the governor and his inner circle that included homophobic and misogynistic language and jokes about Hurricane Maria victims.

The person expected to take Rosselló's place is Puerto Rico Secretary of Justice Wanda Vazquez.

The news comes a day after Rosselló's chief of staff submitted his resignation, effective July 31.

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló is expected to resign today after more than a week of protests that rocked the island's capital city, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN. https://t.co/Qg89SkqioF pic.twitter.com/fkjLhAZtpp

— CNN (@CNN) July 24, 2019

Just days ago, Rosselló announced he would remain in office, but would not seek reelection in 2020. He also agreed to resign from his position as president of the new Progressive Party.

Judge Resigns After Telling Attorney To Blow Viggo Mortensen

Actor Viggo Mortensen (image via Josh Jensen/Flickr - CC license)

A judge in upstate New York has resigned after allegedly telling a lawyer he should get a hotel room with a certain movie star and “suck each other’s d**ks.”

The story begins back in January when Judge John W. Hallett was speaking to a lawyer who was involved in the promotion of a film festival honoring actor Viggo Mortensen.

According to a complaint filed against Hallet, who has served as a town court justice in Jefferson County since 2003, he allegedly told the attorney that the film festival was “about the gayest thing I have ever heard.”

He then - allegedly - added, "You and Viggo Mortensen should get a hotel room and suck each other's d**ks."

But wait - there’s more!

Five months later, while speaking to the same lawyer, he apparently made a gesture simulating oral sex and then patted the attorney on the cheek and said, “There, there little boy.”

It would seem that the judge has a strong fixation on blow jobs, no?

According to TMZ, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct opened an investigation into Hallet’s odd and homophobic behavior.

While the commission hasn’t handed down an opinion on the complaint, Hallett - whose current term was scheduled to end in 2019 - has offered his resignation.

"Homophobic remarks and anti-LGBTQ sentiments have no place in the lexicon of the courts or the vocabulary of a judge," Robert H Tembeckjian, the commission's administrator, said in a statement to The Times Union in Albany.

"Such statements undermine public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, which demands that a judge be and appear fair-minded and unprejudiced toward all who have business in the courts," he added.

In light of Hallet’s resignation, and his promise to never serve in any judicial capacity again, the commission dropped its investigation.

His resignation will take effect at the end of this year.

Hope Hicks Leaving White House After Trump "Berated" Her For Admitting To "White Lies"

Hope Hicks (image via Twitter)

Yesterday, White House communications director Hope Hicks announced she would be leaving her position in the Trump administration in part because "she never liked Washington and chose not to pretend to."

But today, The New York Post is reporting that Hicks was berated by Donald Trump for admitting to the House Intelligence Committee that she often told “white lies” for him.

This apparently did not please The Donald.

The president got angry at Hicks after learning she made the revelation Tuesday to the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia’s meddling into the 2016 election, a Trump ally told CNN.

A livid Trump demanded to know “how she could be that stupid” to admit she lies for the president, the report said.

Hicks, who has been by Trump’s side since the start of his presidential campaign, then suddenly announced Wednesday she would resign.

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley pushed back at CNN on Wednesday night, saying the report that Trump berated Hicks was “false.”

Hicks has become one of Trump's closest and most trusted advisers having worked with Trump before his presidential campaign.

Before this two year presidential journey with Trump, Hicks had no experience at all in politics.

White House Soon To Be "Hope-Less" As Comm Director To Resign

Another one bites the dust.

From The New York Times:

Hope Hicks, the White House communications director and one of President Trump’s longest-serving advisers, said Wednesday that she plans to leave the White House in the coming weeks.

Ms. Hicks, 29, a former model who joined Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign without any experience in politics, became known as one of the few aides who understood his personality and style and could challenge the president to change his views.

Ms. Hicks had been considering leaving for several months. She told colleagues that she had accomplished what she felt she could with a job that made her one of the most powerful people in Washington, and that there would never be a perfect moment to leave, according to White House aides.

Her resignation came a day after she testified for eight hours before the House Intelligence Committee, telling the panel that in her job, she had occasionally been required to tell white lies but had never lied about anything connected to the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

The news of Hicks' resignation comes just a day after she spent more than 8 hours testifying in front of the House Intelligence Committee.

According to reports, while she declined to answer many questions she did admit that she has felt her job required her to tell "white lies" about events at the White House.

Hicks has also been implicated in the drafting of a misleading statement Trump dictated aboard Air Force One regarding his son’s meeting with a Russian lawyer during the presidential election.

According to people present at the time, Hicks reportedly told the president that Trump Jr.’s email exchange in setting up the meeting would "never get out.”

Recently, she was also romantically involved with now-departed White House staff secretary Rob Porter who resigned amid multiple allegations of domestic abuse from his two ex-wives.

Here's the explanation from Haberman. I think Tapper was ... skeptical. pic.twitter.com/YhWlWclDjg

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 28, 2018

WH Aide To Donald Trump Resigns Amid Accusations Of Abuse

Rob Porter (R)

A top White House aide, Rob Porter, has resigned after his two ex-wives came forward with stories of domestic abuse.

Remember, Donald Trump told us over and over how he has "the best people."

From The New York Times:

As the White House staff secretary, Rob Porter is not a public figure, but he is responsible for paper flow to the president, a job of crucial importance in the Trump administration. He frequently travels with President Trump on Air Force One, and he helped write Mr. Trump’s first State of the Union address last month.

But despite initial support from John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, and other West Wing staff aides, Mr. Porter announced his resignation on Wednesday, a day after his two former wives accused him in interviews of physical abuse when they were married to him.

His troubles were not a complete secret at the White House: Two people close to the White House said that the allegations against him made by his former wives, Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby, had contributed to a delay in granting him a permanent security clearance.

In a statement, Mr. Porter said that “these allegations are simply false,” even as details of the alleged abuse and photographs of one of his former wives with a black eye that she said he had given her were widely circulated.

Ms. Willoughby shared a blog post back in April of last year that, without naming Porter, described the abuse during their marriage.

Porter reportedly asked Willoughby to remove the post several times.

Here's just the beginning:

The first time he called me a "fucking bitch" was on our honeymoon. (I found out years later he had kicked his first wife on theirs.) A month later he physically prevented me from leaving the house. Less than two months after that, I filed a protective order with the police because he punched in the glass on our front door while I was locked inside. We bought a house to make up for it. Just after our one year anniversary, he pulled me, naked and dripping, from the shower to yell at me.

Everyone loved him. People commented all the time how lucky I was. Strangers complimented him to me every time we went out. But in my home, the abuse was insidious. The threats were personal. The terror was real. And yet I stayed.

Even though White House Chief of Staff John Kelly knew of the allegations since last fall, he defended Porter this week saying, “He is a friend, a confidant and a trusted professional.”

“I am proud to serve alongside him,” Kelly added.

One more detail of note: Porter is apparently now dating White House communications director Hope Hicks, who is one of the closest, most influential advisers to Trump.

Here are the photos of the black eye Porter allegedly dealt his first ex-wife:

WH Chief of Staff John Kelly shamelessly continued to defend Rob Porter AFTER these photos were published of one of the ex-wives Porter physically assaulted. For those who still had a remnant of respect for Kelly, this proves once & for all that he’s NOT a good or honorable man. pic.twitter.com/A9oK20yUyj

— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) February 8, 2018

Allegations of domestic abuse levied against top White House staffer Rob Porter by his ex-wives were known among senior Trump aides for months, and there was a scramble inside the West Wing to defend him when the claims became public, sources tell CNN https://t.co/O3vZAqIO3E pic.twitter.com/XqIzReb7YS

— CNN (@CNN) February 8, 2018

CNN: Rob Porter steps down after word got out he’s a wife beater.

MSNBC: John Kelly knew there was a wife beater working in the White House who couldn’t get security clearance.

Fox News: Valentine’s Day is around the corner ladies, what have u gotten for the man in your life?

— Dana Goldberg (@DGComedy) February 8, 2018

Anti-Abortion Congressman Tim Murphy Resigns After Urging Mistress To Abort During Pregnancy Scare

Virulently anti-abortion, anti-LGBT and hypocritical pro-family values Congressman Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania has resigned after text messages revealed he had an extramarital affair.

Further, when his mistress believed she was pregnant with his child, he apparently urged her to seek an abortion.

Text messages revealed earlier this week showed the woman with whom Murphy is having an extra-marital affair told Murphy, "you have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options," according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Responding to the message, Rep. Murphy said: "I get what you say about my March for life messages. I've never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don't write any more. I will."

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan issued a statement today which read, in part, "This afternoon I received a letter of resignation from Congressman Tim Murphy, effective October 21. It was Dr. Murphy's decision to move on to the next chapter of his life, and I support it."

Murphy will leave office on October 21.

The governor of Pennsylvania cannot appoint a replacement, and so a special election will have to be called.

While possible, it's highly unlikely a Democrat would win the seat since the district is considered solidly red.

Embattled GOP Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania will resign from his position https://t.co/ipBIzWN4t0 https://t.co/NIcXvcCYR7

— CNN (@CNN) October 5, 2017

Rep. Tim Murphy's resignation moves #PA18 from Solid Republican to Likely Republican @CookPolitical. R+11, but specials = more uncertainty.

— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) October 5, 2017

Tim Murphy = a pro-life icon Rep who bullied his mistress into an abortion bc an out-of-wedlock child can harm a pro-life icon rep.

— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) October 5, 2017

Here's @tperkins giving the @FRCAction "True Blue Award" To Rep. Tim Murphy for voting "100% in defense of family values."

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL pic.twitter.com/YI9r940HrG

— JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod) October 5, 2017

Health And Human Services Secretary Tom Price Resigns Over TravelGate

Tom Price

Saying he regrets that "recent events have created a distraction" for the Trump administration, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price offered his letter of resignation

The "events" that Price references are, of course, the nearly $1 million of taxpayer money in private chartered and military plane flights Price traveled by on government business.

Pretty swampity, swamp swamp if you ask me.

From CNN:

Politico first reported Price's use of charter jets for official business last week and found that the secretary has traveled on charter flights at least 24 times since May, citing people familiar with his travel plans and a review of HHS documents.

Charter plane operators estimated 24 flights would have cost $400,000, Politico reported. Commercial trips would have cost thousands of dollars less. The Health and Human Services inspector general is reviewing whether the means of travel was appropriate.

Later, it was revealed that Price also took US military aircraft on two trips abroad, bringing the total cost of his non-commercial travel to more than $1 million. The military flights were approved by the White House.

On Thursday, Price offered to write a personal check to cover his private charter travel saying, "The taxpayers won't pay a dime for my seat on those planes."

But the optics worsened when it was revealed he planned to write a check for only $51,887.31, a miniscule percentage of the total cost of the private flights.

According to reports, Donald Trump was angered not only by the optics of the transgression, but also for appearing to overshadow the rollout of Trump's tax reform proposal.

You can read Price's resignation letter below.

Attorney General Sessions Suggests He Could Resign Over Tensions With President Trump

ABC News reports that Attorney General Sessions has apparently suggested he may resign amid the rising tensions with President Trump:

The friction between the two men stems from the attorney general's abrupt decision in March to recuse himself from anything related to the Russia investigation -- a decision the president only learned about minutes before Sessions announced it publicly. Multiple sources say the recusal is one of the top disappointments of his presidency so far and one the president has remained fixated on.

Trump’s anger over the recusal has not diminished with time. Two sources close to the president say he has lashed out repeatedly at the attorney general in private meetings, blaming the recusal for the expansion of the Russia investigation, now overseen by Special Counsel and former FBI Director Robert Mueller.

But sources say the frustration runs both ways, prompting the resignation offer from Sessions.

Spicer refused to answer if POTUS had confidence in Sessions. Odd. Last time he refused to answer a question like that? Comey was fired. https://t.co/crg7PDn0vX

— Yashar Ali (@yashar) June 6, 2017

Video: John Boehner Resigns As Speaker Of The House And From Congress Entirely

Speaker of the House John Boehner speaks briefly at a press conference explaining his surprise decision to not only step down as Speaker but resign altogether from Congress at the end of this month.

John Boehner Will Resign From Congress By End Of October

In a move that surprised many, Speaker of the House John Boehner told a closed meeting of Republican colleagues that he will not only be stepping down from his position as Speaker, but he will give up his seat in Congress.

From the New York Times:

Mr. Boehner was trying to craft a solution to keep the government open through the rest of the year, but was under pressure from a growing base of conservatives who told him that they would not vote for a bill that did not defund Planned Parenthood. Several of those members were on a path to remove Mr. Boehner as speaker, though their ability to do so was far from certain.

Mr. Boehner’s surprise announcement came just a day after Pope Francis visited the Capitol, the fulfillment of a 20-year dream for Mr. Boehner of having a pontiff address Congress. He had a private audience with Francis before the pope’s address to a joint meeting of Congress.

Boehner has served in Congress since 1991.

He has had a rocky time as Speaker of the House trying to wrangle the traditional base of the Republican party with extreme right wing Tea Party members.

The Tea People have opposed any hint of moderation for the past four years.

Listen to the roar of the crowd when White House hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio announced news of Boehner's resignation at the Values Voter Summit this morning.

Rachel Maddow Profiles The Rise And Fall Of Rep. Aaron Schock

Rachel Maddow goes in-depth on the resignation of Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock.

One of the more interesting things about Schock's time in Congress seems to be that while he was one of the youngest members of Congress, it appears he didn't actually DO much of substance while on the Hill. He's been described, more than once, as a "show horse" rather than a "work horse."

I also recommend the reporting today from the Washington Post on Schock's early successes that had hints of the scandals that seemed to bring him down today.

40th Anniversary of Nixon resignation

I actually remember this. I was 11 years old.

It was, and still is, a big deal.

Florida GOP Congressman Trey Radel announces resignation from US House

Freshman GOP Congressman Trey Radel of Florida has announced he will resign effective today from the US House of Representatives.

The resignation would seem directly tied to his arrest for cocaine possession last October and subsequent time spent in drug rehab. He returned to his duties as congressman earlier this month on January 7th.

From his resignation letter sent to Speaker of the House John Boehner:

Unfortunately, some of my struggles had serious consequences. While I have dealt with those issues on a personal level, it is my belief that professionally I cannot fully and effectively serve as a United States Representatives to the place I love and call home, Southwest Florida.

I hereby submit this letter of resignation as the Representative of the 19th District of Florida, effective 6:30 pm, Eastern Standard Time, January 27, 2014. Please find the attached letter I have submitted to Governor Rick Scott.

The 37 year old Radel plead guilty to the drug charges and was sentenced to one year's probation.

Reports say many in the Republican party were anxious for Redel to resign, and a super PAC had raised over $1 million to challenge him in this fall's primaries.

(source)