The Trump Investigation(s) Thread
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- El Guapo
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
I totally get the allure of the Taylor / Mensch "justice is swiftly coming" tweets. But the fatal flaw is that it's impossible to imagine a world where sources are leaking something that huge and explosive, and do so to Mensch and not to, say, David Farenthold.
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- Fitzy
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
That's what you're claiming is the fatal flaw? Not that her theories are bat shit crazy and in no way resemble the way our legal system works?El Guapo wrote:I totally get the allure of the Taylor / Mensch "justice is swiftly coming" tweets. But the fatal flaw is that it's impossible to imagine a world where sources are leaking something that huge and explosive, and do so to Mensch and not to, say, David Farenthold.
- Smoove_B
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
I've come to believe someone in the intelligence community is feeding Mensch crazy information just to see what the Trump administration does when she publishes it. Stuff that has just enough of a thread of truth in it that it makes people nervous and forces them to do things.
Maybe next year, maybe no go
- El Guapo
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
Most of the stuff she says (at least from what I have seen) *could* be true, especially if you interpret things charitable. For one, it's *possible* that Mueller's team has uncovered evidence that Bannon has been a Russian agent since 2010. If that's true then it's also *possible* that Mueller is considering a charge for Espionage; if that were the case, it's possible that there is discussion about pursuing the death penalty.Fitzy wrote:That's what you're claiming is the fatal flaw? Not that her theories are bat shit crazy and in no way resemble the way our legal system works?El Guapo wrote:I totally get the allure of the Taylor / Mensch "justice is swiftly coming" tweets. But the fatal flaw is that it's impossible to imagine a world where sources are leaking something that huge and explosive, and do so to Mensch and not to, say, David Farenthold.
That all seems vanishingly unlikely , but none of that is (as far as I know) literally impossible. So that's what I mean when I say that the death blow to any tiny chance of this being true is who this is supposedly being leaked to.
In other words, while both are incredibly unlikely, I find it more likely to be true that Bannon is a Russian agent than that someone would leak something like that to Louise Mensch.
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- El Guapo
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
That's also possible - that she really does have "sources", but that those sources are leaking to her because they know that she's crazy / gullible enough to report crazy things.Smoove_B wrote:I've come to believe someone in the intelligence community is feeding Mensch crazy information just to see what the Trump administration does when she publishes it. Stuff that has just enough of a thread of truth in it that it makes people nervous and forces them to do things.
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- LordMortis
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- Holman
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
Oh, we're beyond all that. We've seriously already reached "They would have been fools NOT to collude."
By next week it'll be "Putin is an American hero who saved us from Hillary."
Much prefer my Nazis Nuremberged.
- Ralph-Wiggum
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
Trump now says his 2nd talk with Putin was about, among other things, (you guessed it!) adoption. Can these guys not even come up with unique excuses for why they met with Russians?
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- Holman
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
In a new interview with the failing New York Times, Trump demonstrates his usual tact and intelligence.
1) Attacks Jeff Sessions for recusing himself and wishes he'd never hired him (thus undermining his own Justice Dept and demonstrating the the appointment was entirely about protecting Trump from investigation).
2) Goes back to attacking Comey as well as his replacement (accusing Comey of using the Steele Dossier to threaten him).
3) Warns Mueller to stay away from investigating his family's personal finances. (Yes, he did that.)
That last is a thing of beauty. "Sure, officer, search my garage for the stolen car. But you'd better not check my crawlspace for the missing hitchhiker!"
Hopefully there will be a full transcript tomorrow.
1) Attacks Jeff Sessions for recusing himself and wishes he'd never hired him (thus undermining his own Justice Dept and demonstrating the the appointment was entirely about protecting Trump from investigation).
2) Goes back to attacking Comey as well as his replacement (accusing Comey of using the Steele Dossier to threaten him).
3) Warns Mueller to stay away from investigating his family's personal finances. (Yes, he did that.)
That last is a thing of beauty. "Sure, officer, search my garage for the stolen car. But you'd better not check my crawlspace for the missing hitchhiker!"
Hopefully there will be a full transcript tomorrow.
Much prefer my Nazis Nuremberged.
- PLW
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Trump now says his 2nd talk with Putin was about, among other things, (you guessed it!) adoption. Can these guys not even come up with unique excuses for why they met with Russians?
Nailed it!
- Zarathud
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
Putin is adopting America.
Or America is adopting Putin.
I'm not sure which is worse.
Or America is adopting Putin.
I'm not sure which is worse.
"A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on." -Terry Pratchett, The Truth
"The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to those who think they've found it." -Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment
"The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to those who think they've found it." -Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment
- Blackhawk
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
How much ya wanna bet that an adoption deal that makes the President look good and creates 'justification' for the two controversial meetings conveniently comes through in the near future?
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
Adoptions is practically a code word for the Magnitsky Act. I can believe that is what they talked about because Russia seems to be intent on dropping those particular sanctions as well as getting their compounds back which were seized because of election hacking. I think it is part legitimacy and part because the Magnitsky Act sanctions truly hurts Putin via pinching his inner circle. If there was "collusion" or a deal it would be fair to speculate it was around these issues as a quid pro quo. Though that seems rather unlikely. It'd be a touch more than light treason at that point.
- Holman
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
I love that they pretend the adoption halt is the major issue requiring US-Russia engagement, and that that's what they're hammering out.
It's like meeting secretly with North Korea and claiming it was to deal with Yalu barge traffic.
It's like meeting secretly with North Korea and claiming it was to deal with Yalu barge traffic.
Much prefer my Nazis Nuremberged.
- pr0ner
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
This probably fits in this thread, given all the cheerleading Fox News does for Trump, but holy shit, more Louise Mensch insanity.
https://twitter.com/LouiseMensch/status ... 6457891841
Fox News under FBI FARA investigation? Prosecution is probable for Sean Hannity, who is on "signals intelligence" due to his actions? All the lulz.
https://twitter.com/LouiseMensch/status ... 6457891841
Fox News under FBI FARA investigation? Prosecution is probable for Sean Hannity, who is on "signals intelligence" due to his actions? All the lulz.
Hodor.
- tjg_marantz
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
I take no pleasure in seeing someone go through a public break from reality. Being sincere. She's obviously got some mental problems and I hope she gets help.
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- Scraper
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
It's more likely that she's just selling herself out to be the liberal version of Infowars. It works for Alex Jones why can't it work for her.tjg_marantz wrote:I take no pleasure in seeing someone go through a public break from reality. Being sincere. She's obviously got some mental problems and I hope she gets help.
FTE
- hepcat
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
Yeah, she's making a buck by generating headlines, just like a Rush, Hannity or Breitbart. Truth is a far distant factor for her.
Now depoliticized.
- Skinypupy
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
Mueller expanding probe to include Trump businesses.
Trump to fire Mueller in 3...2...1...The U.S. special counsel investigating possible ties between the Donald Trump campaign and Russia in last year’s election is examining a broad range of transactions involving Trump’s businesses as well as those of his associates, according to a person familiar with the probe.
The president told the New York Times on Wednesday that any digging into matters beyond Russia would be out of bounds. Trump’s businesses have involved Russians for years, making the boundaries fuzzy so Special Counsel Robert Mueller appears to be taking a wide-angle approach to his two-month-old probe.
FBI investigators and others are looking at Russian purchases of apartments in Trump buildings, Trump’s involvement in a controversial SoHo development with Russian associates, the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow and Trump’s sale of a Florida mansion to a Russian oligarch in 2008, the person said.
When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come.
- PLW
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
I'm going to guess that the NY Times knew this was happening. Thus, the question. They kind of set him up.
- Skinypupy
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
The primary difference being that even those of us who are liberal (and therefore on "her side") think she's entirely batshit crazy. We aren't taking her looney conspiracies as gospel, and going out to shoot up pizza parlors because of the garbage she's peddling.hepcat wrote:Yeah, she's making a buck by generating headlines, just like a Rush, Hannity or Breitbart. Truth is a far distant factor for her.
Critical thinking skills, and all that.
When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
She is gaining an audience though. Will it be Infowars size eventually? Who knows but she does seem to have found herself a niche.
- Paingod
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
So many new, fresh rugs to check under for dirt. With resounding loyalty, I'm sure his staff will stand tall before investigators and take hits for the home team, right?Skinypupy wrote:Mueller expanding probe to include Trump businesses.
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2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
- Smoove_B
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
Again, you're assuming the general public is the target audience for whatever she's writing. I get the distinct impression she believes what she's typing and that her information is coming from what she considers reliable resources. I really think someone in the intelligence community is feeding her nuggets of truth, knowing she'll whip that information up into a lather. Then, the IC waits to see what happens when she publishes her stories. Not for anything, but it's become rather predicable - Fox News (by way of Fox and Friends) reports something, and then fearless leader Tweets his thoughts. Since he seemingly can't stop saying really, really stupid things via social media (and now NYT interviews) feeding Mensch information might be paying off.
Maybe next year, maybe no go
- pr0ner
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
My exact comment to a friend when I told him about this story was, "Shall we begin the countdown before Trump fires Mueller?".Skinypupy wrote:Mueller expanding probe to include Trump businesses.
Trump to fire Mueller in 3...2...1...The U.S. special counsel investigating possible ties between the Donald Trump campaign and Russia in last year’s election is examining a broad range of transactions involving Trump’s businesses as well as those of his associates, according to a person familiar with the probe.
The president told the New York Times on Wednesday that any digging into matters beyond Russia would be out of bounds. Trump’s businesses have involved Russians for years, making the boundaries fuzzy so Special Counsel Robert Mueller appears to be taking a wide-angle approach to his two-month-old probe.
FBI investigators and others are looking at Russian purchases of apartments in Trump buildings, Trump’s involvement in a controversial SoHo development with Russian associates, the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow and Trump’s sale of a Florida mansion to a Russian oligarch in 2008, the person said.
My thought is, if Trump really has nothing to hide, why is he obstructing people from doing their jobs? But then again, he has loads to hide, so....
Hodor.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
That'd be beyond ugly. The Senate GOP has been hiding behind Mueller to defend their hands off nature so far. Without him they'd lose their favorite shield. It is sad that I think at this point I could easily bet that they'd just make up some other excuse and take up ACA repeal again to distract.
- Skinypupy
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
At this point, however, I expect they're counting on most people not really caring. We here are active and informed, but the general populace - especially those who are Trump supporters (passive or active) - seem to simply be tired of hearing about Russia. It just ends up being "noise", which is exactly what they want.malchior wrote:That'd be beyond ugly. The Senate GOP has been hiding behind Mueller to defend their hands off nature so far. Without him they'd lose their favorite shield. It is sad that I think at this point I could easily bet that they'd just make up some other excuse and take up ACA repeal again to distract.
Sadly, I have a sneaking suspicion that what we would view as a gross abuse of power would be met with a collective 'meh', especially once the GOP got through spinning it as they always do ("He serves at the pleasure of the President. This is entirely normal. Etc")
When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come.
- Pyperkub
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
Tries to fire Mueller. I suspect that any move to obstruct would actually trigger a massive firestorm which would likely end the Trump administration.pr0ner wrote:My exact comment to a friend when I told him about this story was, "Shall we begin the countdown before Trump fires Mueller?".Skinypupy wrote:Mueller expanding probe to include Trump businesses.
Trump to fire Mueller in 3...2...1...The U.S. special counsel investigating possible ties between the Donald Trump campaign and Russia in last year’s election is examining a broad range of transactions involving Trump’s businesses as well as those of his associates, according to a person familiar with the probe.
The president told the New York Times on Wednesday that any digging into matters beyond Russia would be out of bounds. Trump’s businesses have involved Russians for years, making the boundaries fuzzy so Special Counsel Robert Mueller appears to be taking a wide-angle approach to his two-month-old probe.
FBI investigators and others are looking at Russian purchases of apartments in Trump buildings, Trump’s involvement in a controversial SoHo development with Russian associates, the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow and Trump’s sale of a Florida mansion to a Russian oligarch in 2008, the person said.
My thought is, if Trump really has nothing to hide, why is he obstructing people from doing their jobs? But then again, he has loads to hide, so....
Which I could actually see him doing if the investigation imperils his personal empire, which appears to be a distinct possibility.
Black Lives definitely Matter Lorini!
Also: There are three ways to not tell the truth: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Also: There are three ways to not tell the truth: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
- Captain Caveman
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
Is it clear that Trump has the authority to fire Mueller? I thought the acting AG overseeing the Russia investigation, Rosenstein, would have to do it. But if he refused, and then Trump canned him, wouldn't the shitstorm be so great that he'd have a hard time appointing someone who agrees to do it?
It seems almost inevitable that Trump is going to try to sack Mueller (and hopefully Mueller knows this and is preparing for it), but I'm wondering how it happens if/when it happens.
It seems almost inevitable that Trump is going to try to sack Mueller (and hopefully Mueller knows this and is preparing for it), but I'm wondering how it happens if/when it happens.
- Holman
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
I think that's so. Trump can't fire Mueller, he can only order Rosenstein to do so. If Rosenstein refuses, he gets fired and replaced with someone who'll do it.
That's the Nixonian Saturday Night Massacre scenario (which landed on a compliant Robert Bork, who was promised a Supreme Court seat in exchange for his soul).
That's the Nixonian Saturday Night Massacre scenario (which landed on a compliant Robert Bork, who was promised a Supreme Court seat in exchange for his soul).
Much prefer my Nazis Nuremberged.
- Ralph-Wiggum
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
That was my understanding as well. Nixon didn't get in hot water for firing the special prosecutor (because he couldn't), but for trying to order the AG to fire the special prosecutor, leading the AG and Deputy AG to resign.
edit: Beaten by Holman!
edit: Beaten by Holman!
Last edited by Ralph-Wiggum on Thu Jul 20, 2017 2:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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- Isgrimnur
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
And it worked out so well for him.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
- Ralph-Wiggum
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
Um, does Trump's hand gesture mean what I think it means? I think he may be more involved with Putin that we realized....
edit: damn it, now why didn't that Tweet embed?
edit: Ah ha! Thanks Isg!
Last edited by Ralph-Wiggum on Thu Jul 20, 2017 3:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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- Isgrimnur
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
Anything after the end of the tweet number, including a /, breaks the tweet tag.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
What are my pardon powers? Just asking for a friend. Oh and start making a list of Mueller sins please. I have a signature line I need to deliver pronto.
Touched in the WaPo piece as well but Trump's lawyers are complaining about Mueller looking at financial transactions related to Russian dealings in the real estate empire as well.
Touched in the WaPo piece as well but Trump's lawyers are complaining about Mueller looking at financial transactions related to Russian dealings in the real estate empire as well.
- Moliere
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow
- Captain Caveman
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
BREAKING: the country.
Seriously, this is nut-so. It really seems we're spiralling towards uncharted territory here...
Seriously, this is nut-so. It really seems we're spiralling towards uncharted territory here...
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
We have been there since the inauguration. His conflicts were there day one. It is just stretching to the breaking point now. If he fires Mueller it will fall onto the GOP to police him. I personally really don't want that to happen.
- Defiant
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
Trump Jr., Manafort Asked to Testify July 26 by Senate Panel
And not just them...
And not just them...
The Judiciary Committee wants any record of interactions before and after last year’s meeting with Russians. It also goes far broader, seeking records relating to dozens of other people including Russian President Vladimir Putin, numerous other Russians, and even Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
- Ralph-Wiggum
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Re: The Trump Investigation Thread
What a shocker! Sessions discussed campaign matters with the Russians.
Russia’s ambassador to Washington told his superiors in Moscow that he discussed campaign-related matters, including policy issues important to Moscow, with Jeff Sessions during the 2016 presidential race, contrary to public assertions by the embattled attorney general, according to current and former U.S. officials.
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