The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Isgrimnur »

NBC News
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday signed a bill that would allow certain members of Congress to access to President Donald Trump's New York state tax returns.

The bill, which Cuomo had been expected to OK, requires New York officials to release tax returns of public officials that have been requested by "congressional tax-related committees" that have cited "specified and legitimate legislative purpose" in seeking them.
...
The laws in place prior to Cuomo's signing of the bill generally prohibit such a release, and those congressional panels — the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation — could file a request with the state only after efforts to gain access to federal tax filings through the Treasury Department fail.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Max Peck »

We hired the author of 'Black Hawk Down' and an illustrator from 'Archer' to adapt the Mueller report so you'll actually read it
It feels as if nobody read the Mueller report. That's a shame, because it's an important document, depicting possible crimes by a sitting US president.

But not reading it makes sense. As a narrative, the document is a disaster. And at 448 pages, it's too long to grind through. For long stretches, it reads less like a story and more like a terms-of-service agreement. The instinct to click "next" is strong.

And yet, buried within the Mueller report, there is a narrative that reads in parts like a thriller, like a comedy, like a tragedy — and, most important — like an indictment. The facts are compelling, all the more so because they come not from President Donald Trump's critics or "fake news" reports, but from Trump's own handpicked colleagues and associates. The story just needed to be rearranged in a better form.

So we hired Mark Bowden, a journalist and author known for his brilliant works of narrative nonfiction like "Black Hawk Down," "Killing Pablo," and "Hue 1968."

Our assignment for him was simple. Use the interviews and facts laid out in the Mueller report (plus those from reliable, fact-checked sources and published firsthand accounts) to do what he does best: Tell a story recounting Mueller's report that's so gripping it will hold your attention (and maybe your congressional representative's).

We also hired Chad Hurd, an illustrator from the art department of "Archer." We asked him to draw out scenes from the report to bring them to life.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Jeff V »

Max Peck wrote: Fri Jul 12, 2019 12:38 pm We also hired Chad Hurd, an illustrator from the art department of "Archer." We asked him to draw out scenes from the report to bring them to life.
Hepcat, looks like you might get your graphic representation after all even if it's not the original pee tape.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by El Guapo »

Holy shit - I love Bowden and Archer. I 100% have to read this.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by hepcat »

If they want to make this a trifecta of perfection, they need to hire Gilbert Gottfried to do the audio book.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

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WaPo
A federal judge on Tuesday barred Roger Stone from communicating through Instagram, Twitter or Facebook until after his trial after months of social media postings that the judge said violated a gag order she had imposed to prevent prejudicing potential jurors.

The new order says Stone cannot post anything to the social media sites, expanding on the previous gag order that banned his discussing his case or its participants in the media or public settings.
...
Jackson did not say how she would enforce the tighter order, but said she could hold a hearing to find Stone in contempt of court later, possibly after his trial. She said holding such a hearing now would waste both sides’ resources and the court’s, and might spread the prejudicial pretrial publicity she is trying to prevent.
...
Kravis said the prosecutors were not asking that Stone be jailed or face any particular sanction, explaining that prosecutors were most interested in “protecting the jury pool and protecting the fair trial right” going forward, not “punishing the defendant’s past conduct.”

Jackson said the clarity of her Feb. 21 order was “undisputed” but it was not a week before Stone texted about Cohen, a potential witness in the case. She said that came as his lawyers dissembled and Stone withheld information on the stand in her court about the publication of a book by Stone about the investigation.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

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CNN
ederal prosecutors in New York have ended their investigation into the Trump Organization's role in hush money payments made to women who alleged affairs with President Donald Trump and have been ordered by a judge to release additional information connected to their related probe of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, according to court documents filed Wednesday.

CNN reported Friday that the Manhattan US Attorney's office had approached the end of its investigation of the Trump Organization and wasn't poised to charge any executives involved in the company's effort to reimburse Cohen for money he paid to silence one of the women. That payment constituted an illegal campaign contribution, according to prosecutors. Trump has denied the affair allegations.

"The campaign finance violations discussed in the Materials are a matter of national importance," US District Court Judge William Pauley wrote in his decision. "Now that the Government's investigation into those violations has concluded, it is time that every American has an opportunity to scrutinize the Materials."

Pauley ordered a copy of the government's July status report and copies of search warrant materials from the Cohen case to be filed publicly with very limited redactions by Thursday at 11 a.m. ET.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Pyperkub »

It's still very, very fishy that the Feds didn't actually interview *anyone* in the Trump admin before closing this investigation...
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by malchior »

Good segment about the prep the Democrats should do for the Mueller hearing.

It is almost certainly not what they will do but it'd be nice if they did follow this type of advice. Any predictions about how it'll go? Mine is that they will squander the opportunity and won't score anything but a few jabs on Trump.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by em2nought »

malchior wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:47 pm Any predictions about how it'll go?
It will be hours and hours of time wasted on something that won't be productive.
Technically, he shouldn't be here.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Jaymann »

em2nought wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 6:22 pm
malchior wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:47 pm Any predictions about how it'll go?
It will be hours and hours of time wasted on something that won't be productive.
You must be thinking of Hillary Clinton.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by em2nought »

Jaymann wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 7:22 pm
em2nought wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 6:22 pm
malchior wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:47 pm Any predictions about how it'll go?
It will be hours and hours of time wasted on something that won't be productive.
You must be thinking of Hillary Clinton.
I'm thinking of most things that go on in that city. :wink:
Technically, he shouldn't be here.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Isgrimnur »

CBS News
President Trump has filed a lawsuit against the House Ways and Means Committee and New York state officials in an attempt to keep them from getting their hands on his state tax returns.
...
The president filed the suit in his personal capacity.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by LordMortis »

Wait. I thought he's been trying to show his returns since 2015 but he's always under audit.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by malchior »

If you arent watching the hearings the R hearing strategy is to lie, gaslight, and call Mueller a hack to his face. Also that the FBI had(s) a vendetta against Trump. This was Collins' opening gambit and it was pure Trump asskissing.

Not surprising but still shameful and evil. The party deserves to burn down for this shit.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

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I predict no needle will move on any meter whatsoever.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Skinypupy »

hepcat wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 9:27 am I predict no needle will move on any meter whatsoever.
Yep, and I’m not bothering to watch as a result.

Republicans will lie, scream, and obfuscate, and any real questions will be answered by “the report states...”

Nothing will change.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by msteelers »



Seems like a big deal. As does Mueller explicitly stating that Trump was not exonerated by the report and could be indicted upon leaving office.

The problem is going to be that Fox will in no way make that their headline, so a large portion of the public will never see it.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by malchior »

I've been watching. Each side is extracting their sound bites. Mueller isnt being cooperative, was ordered not to talk outside the report, and is sticking to that to the detriment of public understanding. If this continues this will go down as a 'tie' because the media cant get away from the horse race.

As an aside any hope of an impeachment inquiry is going up in smoke. Nadler and company look to have yet again squandered an opportunity here. At this point I doubt they will score a hit on Trump that will be anything but background noise come the election.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

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malchior wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 9:56 am I've been watching. Each side is extracting their sound bites. Mueller isnt being cooperative, was ordered not to talk outside the report, and is sticking to that to the detriment of public understanding. If this continues this will go down as a 'tie' because the media cant get away from the horse race.
It was always going to be a “tie” because that’s what it is. There was never going to be any upside to Mueller testifying. Big waste of time. He’s not going to add anything to his report. Dems will get him to confirm sound bytes in it. Republicans will troll and try to discredit him. MOTSS. :|
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Zarathud »

Mueller provided the information, but he is not charging or prosecuting Trump. That is the job of the House to charge and the Senate to convict. The Democrats need to ask whether the report precludes or assumes an impeachment decision.

The Democrats have a real problem seizing the narrative and making headlines. The news will focus on the horse race and “both sides” commentary rather than the merits of impeachment. Why is this not being sold as a “cover up” and “guilty lies”?
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by YellowKing »

Everything I hate about our goverment has come down to spineless cowardice.

The GOP are spineless cowards who refused to stand up to Trump early on. They decided that a pathological liar, narcissist, and probable rapist was more deserving of their respect than their own country.

The Democrats are spineless cowards who refuse to stand up to Trump out of political fear that anything they do or say will hurt their re-election chances.

The country is quite literally being held hostage by a minority of the population. A minority that represents the absolute worst in American values - racism, xenophobia, and intolerance.

And people just shrug their shoulders and turn on America's Got Talent. It's maddening.

(P.S. I really like America's Got Talent, but I'm also going to vote goddammit.)
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by msteelers »

Kurth wrote:
malchior wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 9:56 am I've been watching. Each side is extracting their sound bites. Mueller isnt being cooperative, was ordered not to talk outside the report, and is sticking to that to the detriment of public understanding. If this continues this will go down as a 'tie' because the media cant get away from the horse race.
It was always going to be a “tie” because that’s what it is. There was never going to be any upside to Mueller testifying. Big waste of time. He’s not going to add anything to his report. Dems will get him to confirm sound bytes in it. Republicans will troll and try to discredit him. MOTSS. :|
If Dems can get him to confirm the report and have sound bytes and video that’s a HUGE win. The saying that people don’t read the book but they will watch the movie is absolutely true.

The problem is that this should have happened months ago. Slow playing this has been a disaster.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Roman »

well put YK.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Skinypupy »

Well, that's certainly one hell of a soundbite.

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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Octavious »

I don't get the point of this. He's just repeating what everyone already knew. There's not going to be anything gained from this at all. Trump successfully dodged the investigation just like he will successfully dodge anyone seeing his taxes. Stall, distract and lie. The american way. :lol:
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

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I expect that tonight's Klan...er...MAGA rally in West Virginia is going to be particularly unhinged.

I'm more than a little concerned for the safety of any media members in attendance.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by hepcat »

Octavious wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 10:59 am I don't get the point of this. He's just repeating what everyone already knew. There's not going to be anything gained from this at all. Trump successfully dodged the investigation just like he will successfully dodge anyone seeing his taxes. Stall, distract and lie. The american way. :lol:
Dem leadership isn't exactly known for it's foresight and strategy these days. They're living in the now, even though Pelosi and a few others are desperately trying to get them to look to the future instead of just rehashing the same things over and over again, which only results in the public becoming even more inured to them.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by msteelers »

Octavious wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 10:59 am I don't get the point of this. He's just repeating what everyone already knew. There's not going to be anything gained from this at all. Trump successfully dodged the investigation just like he will successfully dodge anyone seeing his taxes. Stall, distract and lie. The american way. :lol:
Sound bytes are powerful. I read the news every morning on the radio. There's a big difference between me saying something is true, and me playing a sound byte, even if I say the exact words in the sound byte.

Does it suck that our level of discourse has to be anything contained to a 10-15 second clip? Yeah. But that's the world we live in. Most people just read the headlines. Some click the link and read the first two paragraphs. Very few read to the end, and almost nobody follows up with the sources that informed the article.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Zaxxon »

I particularly liked the line of questioning that attempted to show that since the Mueller report cited WaPo and NYT more than Fox News, it was... very bad, no good, un-Murican and useless?
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by hepcat »

The GOP members questioning Mueller will try every underhanded trick in the book to discount anything he says. They've essentially become a Snidely Whiplash fan club at this point.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by YellowKing »

Democrats are counting on media-stoked OUTRAGE, and the only way to get that is to have words coming out of mouths.

A perfect example of how powerful this is was the whole Confederate flag controversy awhile back. Nobody really gave two shits about Confederate flags on either side until the media stoked the fires of controversy. Then all of a sudden everybody had a Confederate flag opinion, and statues were being toppled.

The right soundbite could go viral. At this point, I don't see what they have to lose. They're already doing jack shit about Trump so if this fails to get the public support they want then it will just be status quo.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Paingod »

YellowKing wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 11:31 amThe right soundbite could go viral.
I think the message has reached as far as it can at this point and all we can do is wait and see if people get off their asses and vote. A viral audio clip isn't going to motivate the masses now, unless it's something like Trump literally beating a small child with their own puppy on camera.

I haven't seen anything in the last 3 years that tells me the apathetic are being turned in droves or that the frothing supporters are rethinking things. I have seen a precious few sane Republicans stand back and say "This isn't right" but they seem a drastic minority. The rest seem to have fully boarded the cognitive dissonance train and left the station.

Doesn't mean I'm not hoping with you, though. If a viral clip gets half a dozen red votes to stay home or go blue, I'll take it.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by malchior »

Here is the summation of the Republican questioning effort by Armstrong. Hillary Clinton! Hillary Clinton! Hillary Clinton! Hillary Clinton! Hillary Clinton! Some people should have recused because Hillary Clinton!
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Paingod »

malchior wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 11:49 am Here is the summation of the Republican questioning effort by Armstrong. Hillary Clinton! Hillary Clinton! Hillary Clinton! Hillary Clinton! Hillary Clinton! Some people should have recused because Hillary Clinton!
I'm pretty sure that when the GOP's bathroom stalls run out of TP, screams of "HILLLLLLAAAAARRYYYYYYYY!!" echo down the halls.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by hepcat »

As expected, Fox News is going with the narrative that Mueller is "ducking and weaving" and that he's so addled that he's asking them to repeat questions. :roll:

State run media gonna state run, I guess.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Paingod »

hepcat wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 12:03 pmState run media gonna state run, I guess.
Is it really state run media when they're controlling what the President thinks and says?
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by malchior »

hepcat wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 12:03 pm As expected, Fox News is going with the narrative that Mueller is "ducking and weaving" and that he's so addled that he's asking them to repeat questions. :roll:

State run media gonna state run, I guess.
There were a couple of times he got lost but mostly IMO because he was validating their questions against the report.

I am glad to see the Dems coordinated and walked people through the composition of the charges. We will see if it matters...I suspect not.
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Re: The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Post by Remus West »

hepcat wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 12:03 pm As expected, tRump is going with the narrative that Mueller is "ducking and weaving" and that he's so addled that he's asking them to repeat questions. :roll:

Media run state gonna media run, I guess.
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