Cont: Breaking: Mueller Grand Jury charges filed, arrests as soon as Monday pt 2

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

One usually expects that one posting a link will give some sort of indication in the post why clicking the link is worthwhile, how it contributes to the discussion, or is otherwise newsworthy, particularly when one knows that the piece is pure opinion.

I describe what is contained within the links I post. It's up to you to decide whether or not you feel it's worth clicking on the links.

Please stop attempting to derail this thread.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

I don't see why it has to be either/or. I'm sure Trump has been laundering money for the Russians for decades. That doesn't mean that the pee tape can't be real, or that it can't be part of a scheme to blackmail him.

 

[Aridas]

I don't have a Twitter account and I follow this thread. I for one appreciate tweets that are pertinent to the discussion being posted as then I can go and read them if I choose to.

I'm sure that I am not the only one.

I will second this.

Social media is turning into a giant echo chamber where facebook news feeds and Tweets are tailored to an individuals preferences because of the ad based business model they use.

I think it's good for your critical thinking skills to be exposed more frequently to views that you disagree with,

Indeed, much as there's always the tendency of not giving both comfortable and uncomfortable ideas a fair hearing that needs to be kept in mind. That "conservatives" these days seem to have a much worse showing than everyone else doesn't even remotely mean that everyone else is immune to that tendency.

To speak to this specific case, though, when The Big Dog consistently fails to give any substantive reason regarding why the guy's actually wrong, much less when it comes to being so wrong that he can be safely ignored all the time, The Big Dog becomes the guy who can be safely ignored on the subject.

(that and the fact that the Trump presidency is a giant train wreck that makes for compelling viewing)

Ugh. It would be nice to turn away, but... there are just so many things that will need to be fixed after all this outright sabotage can be stopped, assuming that it can be, in the future.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

”They?”

Trump said the hackers could have been anyone, now we know. Everything is a huge Montenegrian plot for world domination!!

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

Judge denies Manafort's request to suppress evidence

 

[The Big Dog]

I describe what is contained within the links I post.

you did not actually respond to my post, but it is cool, we know.

 

[phiwum]

I don't have a Twitter account and I follow this thread. I for one appreciate tweets that are pertinent to the discussion being posted as then I can go and read them if I choose to.

I'm sure that I am not the only one.

You are not the only one.

 

[CapelDodger]

Makes you wonder if once he has used and abused trump enough, he will just leak the collusion to create even more chaos.

I would just for the lols. Bet you would too.


The last thing Putin wants is to conceal forever how bloody clever he's been.

 

[CapelDodger]

Judge denies Manafort's request to suppress evidence

Quelle domage.

 

[The Greater Fool]

You are not the only one.

You are not the only two.

 

[dasmiller]

I would just for the lols. Bet you would too.


The last thing Putin wants is to conceal forever how bloody clever he's been.

But Putin wants Russia to look like the good guys. I don't think he'll ever admit to interfering in another country's elections. If presented with overwhelming evidence, he'll blame some "rogue" official and publicly condemn the action.

 

[Hellbound]

I don't see why it has to be either/or. I'm sure Trump has been laundering money for the Russians for decades. That doesn't mean that the pee tape can't be real, or that it can't be part of a scheme to blackmail him.

Of course your right; my point was just that I don't think the pee tape is really a big part of it for Trump. In other words, the pee tape alone I think he'd just ignore and go on. I don't think that, even if it does exist, it's a major factor in why he'd suck up to Russia.

I think the financial angle is why he won't stand up to Putin. To go a bit further, I think that could be either intentional (Putin is blackmailing him specifically) or indirect (Trump knows Putin could damage his Russian money flow if he was angry, even though not being specifically blackmailed, so Trump tries not to anger him).

 

[acbytesla]

Of course your right; my point was just that I don't think the pee tape is really a big part of it for Trump. In other words, the pee tape alone I think he'd just ignore and go on. I don't think that, even if it does exist, it's a major factor in why he'd suck up to Russia.

I think the financial angle is why he won't stand up to Putin. To go a bit further, I think that could be either intentional (Putin is blackmailing him specifically) or indirect (Trump knows Putin could damage his Russian money flow if he was angry, even though not being specifically blackmailed, so Trump tries not to anger him).

I think you sell Trump short. He is almost pathological when it comes to certain things.

As for the financial angle, I doubt he's afraid of having the Russian money supply cut off as much as he is afraid of going to prison. I 99.9 percent believe Putin has evidence of actual crimes and Putin is blackmailing Trump with that evidence. Otherwise, why did this summit happen amidst the Russia probe? And especially why did Trump meet with Putin alone? What could someone so ignorant like Trump accomplish?

No, Putin definitely has something major on Trump. Either that, or Trump is beyond stupid. In fact, he gives stupid a bad name.

 

[dasmiller]

As for the financial angle, I doubt he's afraid of having the Russian money supply cut off as much as he is afraid of going to prison.

I think Trump truly believes he's innocent of any charges. After all, in his mind, he's the greatest president ever, so the US should actually be grateful to Russia for helping to put him in office, and how could he go to jail for working with Russia to help America?

Also, I don't think it's just a matter of having the money supply cut off. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Trump's in danger of defaulting (and possibly has defaulted) on hundreds of millions of dollars of Russian loans, and Russia could legally take possession of a large portion of Trump's empire, including Mar-a-Largo, his golf courses, the Trump Hotel, etc. That would devastate him, and I think he considers it a more realistic problem.

ETA(2): But events often surprise me. These are just impressions and suspicions on my part, not strongly-held beliefs.

 

[acbytesla]

I think Trump truly believes he's innocent of any charges. After all, in his mind, he's the greatest president ever, so the US should actually be grateful to Russia for helping to put him in office, and how could he go to jail for working with Russia to help America?

Also, I don't think it's just a matter of having the money supply cut off. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Trump's in danger of defaulting (and possibly has defaulted) on hundreds of millions of dollars of Russian loans, and Russia could legally take possession of a large portion of Trump's empire, including Mar-a-Largo, his golf courses, the Trump Hotel, etc. That would devastate him, and I think he considers it a more realistic problem.

ETA(2): But events often surprise me. These are just impressions and suspicions on my part, not strongly-held beliefs.

No, I think Trump knows very well that he is guilty of committing crimes. I do think he believes he is above it and that he's special. But I also believe he knows what laws he has broken. I'm damn sure he knows he has been laundering money but he doesn't think there is anything wrong with it.

 

[quadraginta]

Of course your right; my point was just that I don't think the pee tape is really a big part of it for Trump. In other words, the pee tape alone I think he'd just ignore and go on. I don't think that, even if it does exist, it's a major factor in why he'd suck up to Russia.

<snip>

I don't even think he'd bother with that much.

Since the alleged point of the alleged episode was to do something that would be seen as demeaning to Obama his core supporters wouldn't think badly of him for it.

Quite the opposite, they'd (if you'll excuse the expression) lap it up.

 

[C_Felix]

I know this question is a long shot, but are there any rumblings as to when and if any Americans/US citizens are going to be charged?

 

[The Great Zaganza]

I know this question is a long shot, but are there any rumblings as to when and if any Americans/US citizens are going to be charged?

Manafort's trial is next week.

 

[quadraginta]

I know this question is a long shot, but are there any rumblings as to when and if any Americans/US citizens are going to be charged?

You mean "... any more ..."?

So far, Mueller has filed charges against five American, one Dutch and 26 Russian nationals, along with three Russian businesses. Of all those indicted, five people have pleaded guilty — including one who has already served prison time — and Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, is awaiting trial.

 

[dasmiller]

No, I think Trump knows very well that he is guilty of committing crimes. I do think he believes he is above it and that he's special. But I also believe he knows what laws he has broken. I'm damn sure he knows he has been laundering money but he doesn't think there is anything wrong with it.

I don't disagree with that. I think Trump believes that he may have done things that were technically illegal, but nothing really wrong.

Of course, I would disagree with Trump on that.

And I don't know if he's in real danger of jail time. I don't know enough about the ins & outs of the legal system, but can he be convicted without a jury trial, and can we seat a jury that won't have at least one member that thinks the whole thing is a librul deep-state conspiracy?