Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  How are you?  It's looking pretty gloomy outside at the moment.  BDH and Little Buddha say the weather forecast calls for some heavy rain today.  That should be an adventure.  Oh well, if I get soaked at some point, I get soaked at some point.  As long as we don't lose power, everything should be fine.   There's a lot to talk about today, so let's check today's headlines.  The guys put a fresh pot of coffee on the table, so help yourself to a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Wednesday Clutter.

Yesterday may end up being one of those days they teach in history classes for years to come.  First, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was found guilty on eight counts, which are, "five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failure to report a foreign bank account."  The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the remaining 10 counts, but the government has the ability to retry those charges if it chooses.  Manafort also has a separate money laundering trial coming in September, so he's not done with the judicial process yet.  It's unclear how much prison time Manafort is looking at, especially if Trump pardons him, but this verdict is an overwhelming win for Robert Mueller's investigation which reconfirmed its legitimacy in the face of Trump's relentless attacks.

As if that wasn't big enough news, less than an hour later, former Trump "fixer" Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to charges of breaking campaign finance laws, tax evasion, and bank fraud.  Cohen also stated that his hush payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal were done at the direction of Trump.  To be clear, the current occupant of the White House has been accused of participating in a federal crime.  No wonder the Great Pumpkin has been lashing out about this case.  Cohen is looking a 46 - 63 months in jail, but cooperating with Mueller could reduce his sentence. 

Add two more to the guilty list, with others to follow.  (pic via cbsnews.com)

Trump cronies in the GOP spent the rest of the day trying to tell anyone who would listen that these stories were no big deal because they didn't prove collusion with Russia, as if that was the only crime the Great Pumpkin could have committed.  (We should note that Michael Cohen's lawyer also seems ready to talk about collusion.) However, the reality is that both of these stories are further proof that this is an illegitimate and criminal administration, and the investigation still isn't finished.  Republicans are free to hold hands and jump off the cliff with Trump.

Wait, we almost forgot, Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and his wife were indicted on multiple counts of improper use of campaign funds yesterday.  Anyone surprised that Hunter was one of Trump's first supporters in Congress?  That swamp just gets broader and deeper by the day.

Facebook announced that they removed 652 pages that were linked to foreign countries for spreading disinformation.  Some of these accounts are 5-7 years old, so this is not a new phenomenon, and there are no signs it's slowing down, so as always, approach everything you read on social media with a critical eye.  That includes the Clutter Facebook page as well, but we're confident that it's clear that our agenda is just to talk news and drink coffee with you for a few minutes each day!

Actress Asia Argento denies a claim that she sexually assaulted a minor in 2013, and the actress says it was former boyfriend Anthony Bourdain's idea to pay off her accuser.  Why do we feel like this story is going to get uglier before it's all over?

Recreational pot use in Massachusetts continues to inch forward, now that regulators are scheduled to vote on two independent testing labs on Thursday.

The Boston Red Sox lost 6-3 to the Cleveland Indians last night.  Nathan Eovaldi gave up four runs and 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings, and the Red Sox offense was quiet again, apart from a three-run rally in the 7th inning.  This is only the second time this season that Boston has lost three straight games, so we're not hitting the panic button or anything at this point.  The team was due for a dip, and it's better to get it out of the way now than say, September or October.  Brian Johnson will take the mound for Boston tonight as the Sox try to get back on track.

New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman is having a MRI on his left knee today.  If this is something that keeps him off the field for the rest of the season, that's fine.

Hey Kristen Bell fans, a Veronica Mars reboot is reportedly coming to Hulu with Bell returning as the lead character.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Looks the rain is here.  Let's close things out with a tune in honor of the Trump crew.  Here's the Highwaymen with, "Folsom Prison Blues," for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was a treat to hang out with you, as always.  Good luck staying dry today, be good, and we'll see you back here again for more fun soon.  (Hold on, BDH and Little Buddha say you're invited to come back to watch the Red Sox game with us, assuming it doesn't get rained out.)  Until next time, that's today's Clearing out the Clutter, and we are outta here.