The Daily Fuckup: April 23, 2019 Edition

Edition · April 23, 2019

The Daily Fuckup: April 23, 2019 Edition

Trump’s financial-records war kept expanding, Treasury blew through another self-imposed deadline, and the White House’s favorite defense—just trust us—looked thinner than ever.

April 23, 2019 was one of those days when the Trump world’s legal strategy and political strategy became the same bad idea. The administration and Trump’s personal lawyers kept trying to wall off financial records from Congress, even as the deadline drama made the whole thing look like exactly what Democrats said it was: a cover-up dressed up as constitutional theory. The result was more heat, more subpoenas, and less credibility.

Closing take

The day’s recurring theme was simple: every effort to hide the paper trail just made the paper trail look more important. Trumpworld spent April 23 acting like secrecy was a defense. It wasn’t. It was the story.

Ranked by how bad the fuckup was

5 stars means maximum fallout. 1 star means a smaller self-own.

Story

Trump Turns His Financial Records Fight Into a Full-Scale Legal War

Records fight Confidence 5/5

★★★★☆Fuckup rating 4/5 Serious fuckup

Trump’s lawsuit to block the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena for Mazars records was the centerpiece of a widening fight over his finances, and it put the president in the awkward position of asking a court to stop Congress from looking into his own business history. The case sharpened questions about whether he was trying to protect legitimate privacy interests or simply keep potentially damaging information out of public view.

Open story + comments

Story

Mnuchin Blew Past the Tax-Return Deadline and Bought Trump More Time

Deadline dodge Confidence 5/5

★★★☆☆Fuckup rating 3/5 Major mess

Treasury missed the House Democrats’ April 23 deadline to hand over Trump’s tax returns, then said the administration would keep slow-walking the request. That delay deepened the impression that Treasury was not evaluating a normal congressional demand but helping Trump run out the clock.

Open story + comments