The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

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Captain Caveman
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Captain Caveman »

So the White House says Comey was fired to improve diplomacy with Russia. That means that the official line from the administration is now that Comey was fired because of the Russia investigation, not because of a recommendation from DOJ, not because Comey was mean to Hillary, not because of FBI morale, but because we need to clear the air with Russia and make them happy so we can begin diplomacy that will heal the world's problems or something. But the bottom line is that they are just flat out confirming here that Comey was canned because of Russia.

Are these people stupid?
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Chaz
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

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Captain Caveman wrote:
Are these people stupid?
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Max Peck
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Max Peck »

Trump ain't wrong. Things do indeed appear to have "taken off" since he fired Comey.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Smoove_B »

It can't be a coincidence that the NYT and Washington Post stories broke as Trump is leaving the country.

Also, check the date on this memo, courtesy of the Daily Kos regarding Mike Pence's story from yesterday that he really, really, really had no idea. Read receipt for memo is here. I mean, it's not a certified letter, but it'll do.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Holman »

link
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Skinypupy »

Smoove_B wrote:It can't be a coincidence that the NYT and Washington Post stories broke as Trump is leaving the country.

Also, check the date on this memo, courtesy of the Daily Kos regarding Mike Pence's story from yesterday that he really, really, really had no idea. Read receipt for memo is here. I mean, it's not a certified letter, but it'll do.
I'm guessing the first denial will be that the "read receipt" is a generic template response that is automatically generated whenever an e-mail is received, and that it doesn't actually indicate anything was read by the transition team.
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Jag
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Jag »

Defiant wrote:
hepcat wrote:Half the time I think he's just quoting old gangster movies.
To be fair, that worked great in Home Alone

Speaking of which
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Enough »

RE Louise Mensch and Claude Taylor et al, there has been some pushback against them in the press. See this Guardian article and this Vox one for e.g.
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malchior
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by malchior »

Push back on Mensch is appropriate. HoweverTaylor has broken things that have gone on to be confirmed over and over again. It is mostly because he'll run with entirely anonymous stuff. And he says that so he is upfront about the risk there.

Comparatively Mensch is mostly just a kook who occasionally is in the know. She does clearly have good sources but she goes down rabbit holes too often.
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gilraen
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by gilraen »

James Comey is now set to testify next month in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, in an open hearing. :pop:
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by msteelers »

gilraen wrote:James Comey is now set to testify next month in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, in an open hearing. :pop:
Next month? At first that sounds too far away, but then I remembered that the CBO score for WealthCare is due out early next week. That'll be enough scandal to carry us into June.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Max Peck »

Max Peck wrote:Because none of this is yet sufficiently complicated...

Justice Dept. to review possible ethics conflicts involving Mueller’s former law firm
Newly appointed special counsel Robert S. Mueller III will undergo a Justice Department ethics review that will examine possible conflicts of interest regarding his former law firm, which represents several figures who could be caught up in the probe into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election.

Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said Thursday that the agency will conduct a background investigation and detailed review of conflict-of-interest issues, a process outlined in the regulation governing special counsels under which he was appointed.

For the past three years, Mueller has been a partner in the Washington office of WilmerHale, whose attorneys represent former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Trump’s daughter Ivanka and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law.

Federal regulations prohibit officials from participating in matters involving their former employers for two years after joining the government unless they receive a waiver to do so.
Still, Green noted, granting such a waiver could later prove politically risky.

“At the end of the day, if he says, ‘I didn’t find anything here,’ are members of the public going to say, ‘We don’t trust that because we think you favored these individuals because they are your former firm’s clients?’ ”
I'm sure that the anti-Trumpers will be just fine with that outcome.
Ooh, hey, this would be convenient...

White House looking at ethics rule to weaken special investigation: sources
The Trump administration is exploring whether it can use an obscure ethics rule to undermine the special counsel investigation into ties between President Donald Trump's campaign team and Russia, two people familiar with White House thinking said on Friday.

Trump has said that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's hiring of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to lead the investigation "hurts our country terribly."

Within hours of Mueller's appointment on Wednesday, the White House began reviewing the Code of Federal Regulations, which restricts newly hired government lawyers from investigating their prior law firm’s clients for one year after their hiring, the sources said.

An executive order signed by Trump in January extended that period to two years.

Mueller's former law firm, WilmerHale, represents Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who met with a Russian bank executive in December, and the president's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, who is a subject of a federal investigation.

Legal experts said the ethics rule can be waived by the Justice Department, which appointed Mueller. He did not represent Kushner or Manafort directly at his former law firm.

If the department did not grant a waiver, Mueller would be barred from investigating Kushner or Manafort, and this could greatly diminish the scope of the probe, experts said.

The Justice Department is already reviewing Mueller's background as well as any potential conflicts of interest, said department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores.

Even if the Justice Department granted a waiver, the White House would consider using the ethics rule to create doubt about Mueller's ability to do his job fairly, the sources said. Administration legal advisers have been asked to determine if there is a basis for this.

Under this strategy, the sources said the administration would raise the issue in press conferences and public statements.

Moreover, the White House has not ruled out the possibility of using the rule to challenge Mueller’s findings in court, should the investigation lead to prosecution.
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YellowKing
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by YellowKing »

More power to them. The more they try to hush this whole thing up, the guiltier they look.
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Azza
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Azza »

Smoove_B wrote:It can't be a coincidence that the NYT and Washington Post stories broke as Trump is leaving the country.
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YellowKing
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by YellowKing »

There once was a man named Comey
Donald thought was his number one homie
Trump's advances Jim spurned,
And was fired in turn,
But he said "I've got memos, so blow me."
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Pyperkub
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Pyperkub »

YellowKing wrote:There once was a man named Comey
Donald thought was his number one homie
Trump's advances Jim spurned,
And was fired in turn,
But he said "I've got memos, so blow me."
Lol! Nice!
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tgb
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by tgb »

YellowKing wrote:There once was a man named Comey
Donald thought was his number one homie
Trump's advances Jim spurned,
And was fired in turn,
But he said "I've got memos, so blow me."
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El Guapo
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by El Guapo »

It doesn't matter all that much who Trump picks for FBI Director. He fired Comey because he wouldn't swear loyalty or shut down the Russia investigation. So by definition anyone Trump picks is someone who will have satisfied both conditions for Trump.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by pr0ner »

L-O-FUCKING-L
Sources further say that the Supreme Court notified Mr. Trump that the formal process of a case of impeachment against him was begun, before he departed the country on Air Force One. The notification was given, as part of the formal process of the matter, in order that Mr. Trump knew he was not able to use his powers of pardon against other suspects in Trump-Russia cases. Sources have confirmed that the Marshal of the Supreme Court spoke to Mr. Trump.
I mean, OMGWTFBBQSAUCE is this? The SUPREME COURT told Trump that the formal process of impeachment against him was begun?

Taylor and Mensch are quickly becoming the left's Alex Jones.
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RunningMn9
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by RunningMn9 »

That seems preposterous.
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Christians, Moslems, Hindus, Jews
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Get down on their knees and pray
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Make up bags of change
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by malchior »

So much for Claude Taylor looking more reasonable. He clearly is in the know on some things but talk about stretching credulity.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Max Peck »

El Guapo wrote:It doesn't matter all that much who Trump picks for FBI Director. He fired Comey because he wouldn't swear loyalty or shut down the Russia investigation. So by definition anyone Trump picks is someone who will have satisfied both conditions for Trump.
Welp, the word on the street is that McFeely has withdrawn his name from consideration. At this point, I'm wondering if it will be possible to get a legitimately qualified person to take the job.
Former FBI official Richard McFeely has withdrawn his name from consideration to become FBI director, sources close to the decision-making process have confirmed to ABC7 News.

McFeely was among four on the shortlist of candidates who met with President Donald Trump earlier this week.

According to our sources, McFeely informed the White House of his decision Saturday, citing family considerations.

The remaining three potential candidates include Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.; former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, a Republican; and Andrew McCabe, currently the bureau's acting director.
Of those three, only one should actually be under consideration.

Also, it appears that "family considerations" is the code phrase for "I don't want that Trump stank on me!" It's the same reason given by James Donovan (yet another Goldman Sachs executive) for withdrawing as Trump's pick for Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Rip »

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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by pr0ner »

RunningMn9 wrote:That seems preposterous.
Mensch is now trying hard to spin that the story is true because a) apparently SCOTUS DID talk to Trump about impeachment (again, why?) and b) the Marshal DID talk to Trump, but it really happened because she didn't specify what the Marshal talked to Trump about (even though it was in a paragraph about SCOTUS telling Trump the impeachment process had begun).

WTF.

I so need to stay away from Mensch and Taylor's twitter feeds.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by malchior »

I don't know if she deleted a tweet or if I can't find it any longer to link. In it she literally said the Marshal stuff was rumored *and* heavily also implied she was trolling Trumpaloos. The upshot is I'm beginning to really wonder if she is trolling liberals at this point.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by pr0ner »

She's doubled down about the Marshal talking to Trump in the last hour:
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Moliere »

Max Peck wrote:At this point, I'm wondering if it will be possible to get a legitimately qualified person to take the job.
Ben Carson. I hear he's quite the neurosurgeon, which makes him qualified for any government job.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Alefroth »

Rip wrote:
Fucking idiot doesn't even realize the Marshal of the Supreme Court is a woman.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Default »

Moliere wrote:
Max Peck wrote:At this point, I'm wondering if it will be possible to get a legitimately qualified person to take the job.
Ben Carson. I hear he's quite the neurosurgeon, which makes him qualified for any government job.
You are right! After all, it's not like it's brain surgery...
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by gilraen »

Flynn pleading the 5th, refusing to honor Senate subpoena
The Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenaed Flynn's personal documents on May 10 after the former national security adviser declined to cooperate with their original April 28 request in relation to the panel's investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 election and its possible ties to Trump associates.

Prior to the April request, Flynn said through a statement from his lawyer that he wouldn't submit himself to questioning from the committee "without assurances against unfair prosecution."
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by tgb »

Now the FBI says they are looking directly at a "person of interest" at a high level inside the WH.

Time for Barron to lawyer up.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Skinypupy »

gilraen wrote:Flynn pleading the 5th, refusing to honor Senate subpoena
The Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenaed Flynn's personal documents on May 10 after the former national security adviser declined to cooperate with their original April 28 request in relation to the panel's investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 election and its possible ties to Trump associates.

Prior to the April request, Flynn said through a statement from his lawyer that he wouldn't submit himself to questioning from the committee "without assurances against unfair prosecution."
As always, there's a completely hypocritical Trump tweet/comment that directly applies here:
Trump 6 months ago: “If you're not guilty of a crime, what do you need immunity for?”
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Ralph-Wiggum »

So the Senate can't compel Flynn to turn over those documents, but the special prosecutor can, right?
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Paingod »

I've wondered if it's cushier to serve a life sentence for contempt or a treason conviction. I mean, if handing over a stack of documents guarantees you a life of shitty treatment, I'd take anything else.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Zarathud »

Is it still a witch hunt if you're caught in the act of sacrificing a goat to the devil?
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by El Guapo »

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:So the Senate can't compel Flynn to turn over those documents, but the special prosecutor can, right?
The Fifth Amendment applies to the entire government, so it should restrict the Special Prosecutor as much as it does the Senate.

Of course, Flynn has to have a reasonable fear of criminal prosecution (which it seems like he does) and the documents that he's refusing to turn over have to have some reasonable connection to that matter. If the Senate committee doesn't believe that both of those are the case, they could still go ahead with a contempt proceeding (which might then become the subject of a lawsuit). If the documents are important enough the Senate committee and/or the special prosecutor could also still cut an immunity / plea deal with Flynn. And the special prosecutor could also decide to plow ahead with a prosecution of Flynn.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Ralph-Wiggum »

Ah - I didn't realize that by pleading the 5th you could also refuse to hand over relevant documents. The law degree I got from watching TV courtroom dramas (LA Law for life!) only focused on people pleading the 5th when actively testifying in court.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by El Guapo »

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Ah - I didn't realize that by pleading the 5th you could also refuse to hand over relevant documents. The law degree I got from watching TV courtroom dramas (LA Law for life!) only focused on people pleading the 5th when actively testifying in court.
Yeah, so for example the government can't send you a mandatory request that you turn over all documents indicating your guilt.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Defiant »

The Supreme Court has, since 1976, applied the so-called “act-of-production doctrine.” Under this doctrine, a person can invoke his Fifth Amendment rights against the production of documents only where the very act of producing the documents is incriminating in itself.
United States v. Hubbell
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread

Post by Ralph-Wiggum »

So if that's the law, why then is Congress able (though probably not willing) to cite Flynn for contempt of court? How is it contempt to do something within your legal rights?
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