Mueller Investigation pt5

[Delphic Oracle]

It doesn't matter if it was quid pro quo or an offer to "donate" the opposition research in question.

They didn't file the things you have to file in either case (I'm fairly certain it would bust the limit for donations anyways). Then they lied about it, intimidated witnesses, etc.

I've been coaching people lately who will be handling campaign financial data soon. I tell them over and over, "if you make a mistake, report your mistake. Call it a mistake. Get a lawyer. Keep calling it a mistake over and over. DO NOT HIDE IT!"

 

[Beelzebuddy]

I am seeing things Trump has done which simply would not have been tolerated even 10 years ago.

Sure it would have. 10 years ago the GOP made it crystal clear that their mission was to block everything Obama did, even if it came at the expense of the country. Before that was Dubya, with Cheney and Blackwater and Abu Graib. How far back you have to go before you get a GOP who wouldn't have tolerated them is an interesting (if depressing) question, but a mere decade ago I think they would have been tolerated if they had occurred.

 

[smartcooky]

Nothing pathetic about it.

You admit it is a strawman then!

This...

You typed the words "crooked electoral college."

...is a complete, logical disconnect from this...

The electoral college is a creature of the United states constitution Article Two Clauses 1, 2 and 3.

By calling it crooked, you are calling the entire Constitutional system of electing the president "crooked" which is patently asinine.

And now that I have called you on the BS strawman, we see the moving of the goalposts..

First you claimed I said the US Constitution is crooked

folks, the United States constitution is "crooked."

Heard it here first.

Hoo boy.....

and now you have changed it to

"calling the entire Constitutional system of electing the president "crooked""

Situation normal, you have debated dishonestly, as usual

Calling one component of something crooked does not mean I'm calling all of that something crooked.

If I say that Nixon was crooked, that does not mean I am saying the whole of 1970's Republican party crooked.

If I say Bill Clinton was a womanizer, that does not mean I am saying the whole of the late 1990s Democratic Party were womanizers.


And for the record, I consider any electoral system that claims to directly elect its leader, which then permits their leader to be elected to power when the person they ran against polled more votes than they did, to be crooked.

 

[newyorkguy]

Trump tweets

“There is no Collusion. All of these investigations are in search of a crime. Democrats have no evidence to impeach President Trump. Ridiculous!” @DevinNunes @FoxNews

This is really fake news. It was very unusual for a candidate with no political or elected experience to have foreign interests, especially from a society as ethically-challenged as Russia's is, to be reaching out to them. As we've seen, even people in Trump's own administration consider Russia an "adversary." Of course, ongoing contacts between Russians and the Trump campaign were going to raise red flags. This is the top of the pyramid we're talking about. That was the problem. The intelligence people can't wait, they have to get it right the first time.

But imagine we lived in a world where someone like Devin Nunes would instead say something like:

"I have complete confidence in president Trump. I look forward to seeing this investigation completed. Once it is completed, I am certain they will find no illegal or improper behavior on the part of president Trump or even candidate Trump, for that matter. Then we can get back to the business of doing everything we can to make America great."

There was a time when that's probably what a typical Republican congressman would have said. They don't do it now because it doesn't play to their base. Even Republicans have said, nowadays in Republican primaries the winner is usually which ever candidate is the craziest!

Sad!

 

[Andy_Ross]

Trump Tweets

“We the people will now be subjected to the biggest display of modern day McCarthyism....which is the widest fishing net expedition....every aspect of the presidents life....all in order to get power back so they can institute Socialism.” @seanhannity

Presidential Harassment!

 

[Andy_Ross]

Donald J. Trump Retweeted

Judicial Watch
‏Verified account
@JudicialWatch
Right now, our borders are being used as gateways for drug cartels & violent criminals – each day adding to the millions of illegal aliens already in the country. That's why JW fights illegal immigration in the courts. Sign the petition + help us win.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

I still really hope the Democrats have put all their hope into the Mueller probe and have some sort of at least vague plan that isn't just "what we hope will happen" in place if the Mueller probe turns out to not be the bombshell they think and hope it will be.

I'd wager the Republicans are more ready for a post "Mueller probe literally mathematically proves that Trump is a reptilian alien overlord" then the Democrats are for a "Mueller probe that doesn't completely leave Trump and every single member of his inner circle with zero way out."

I don't know. There have been a few reports from alleged insiders claiming that the Trump administration has no plan whatsoever and that everything is just Trump reacting to whatever happens to be in front of him.

OTOH, there are plenty of Congressional investigations already, which is what the next step after the Mueller probe is likely to be anyway.

 

[a_unique_person]

Trump Tweets

“We the people will now be subjected to the biggest display of modern day McCarthyism....which is the widest fishing net expedition....every aspect of the presidents life....all in order to get power back so they can institute Socialism.” @seanhannity

Presidential Harassment!

I can see the show trials now. "Are you not now, or have you not ever been, a member of the Communist party?"

 

[Ambrosia]

Crooked.
Electoral.
College.

folks, the United States constitution is "crooked."

Your electoral college has one job.

ONE JOB.

Make sure that an imbecile who is demonstrably unfit for office is not elected President.

On the evidence to date, clearly the electoral college should be taken out the back and quietly shot, then killed with fire.

"Crooked" is the wrong adjective. "Outdated" would be a better one. "Subverted by partisan politics" would be a better description still.

In other news, the US constitution was designed to be changed over time (see amendments) to keep holding parts of it up like some religious book and viewing it's contents as sacrosanct is misguided at best.

Parts of it badly need updating, I'd suggest starting with an overhaul of the electoral college myself.

 

[WilliamSeger]

I still really hope the Democrats have put all their hope into the Mueller probe and have some sort of at least vague plan that isn't just "what we hope will happen" in place if the Mueller probe turns out to not be the bombshell they think and hope it will be.

I'd wager the Republicans are more ready for a post "Mueller probe literally mathematically proves that Trump is a reptilian alien overlord" then the Democrats are for a "Mueller probe that doesn't completely leave Trump and every single member of his inner circle with zero way out."

We already know there was conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russians -- we're just waiting for the indictments -- and there's still a lot of "stuff" under all that black ink in the redacted Mueller documents, most of which deals with ongoing criminal investigations. If Republicans get their way, we won't know much about any findings that don't result in indictments, and we'll only know the unredacted parts of those. But that's where House oversight comes in: They can know everything Mueller found and decide if anything reaches "high crimes and misdemeanors" level. Some people are saying the Judiciary Committee's document requests today are the unofficial beginning of an impeachment inquiry. Can you seriously imagine that they won't be able to come up with credible, substantiated articles of impeachment?

Yes, that's entirely a political decision, but that's our only defense against crooked presidents. Trump bragged about not being a politician. Maybe he should have looked before he leaped.

 

[BobTheCoward]

We already know there was conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russians

This is false...well, extremely misleading. Not all Russians engaged in illegal activity and know people in the government are doing the same illegal activity.

 

[Belz...]

No, but it is advanced.

Well, I'm not sure we could call it 'normal' given how unpopular Trump is. I think we'll have to see with the next President to see if this sort of thing has been normalised, and my guess is that it has not.

Still, that's a far cry from political assassinations.

 

[Belz...]

Crooked.
Electoral.
College.

folks, the United States constitution is "crooked."

Heard it here first.

Hoo boy.....

That's a rule of so without a so.

Nothing pathetic about it. You typed the words "crooked electoral college."

The electoral college is a creature of the United states constitution Article Two Clauses 1, 2 and 3.

By calling it crooked, you are calling the entire Constitutional system of electing the president "crooked"

Actually, no, he isn't. That doesn't follow at all.

For instance, the President is crooked. Does that mean the Constitution is crooked? Of course not.

I mean, I get that you're trying to rile people up, but you could do a better job of it by, you know, making fake arguments that are at least somewhat convincing.

 

[Belz...]

Damn, that is quite an obsession you have with the big dog.

Which is exactly what the big dog wants. Perhaps the obsession is his.

 

[Crossbow]

Nothing pathetic about it. You typed the words "crooked electoral college."

The electoral college is a creature of the United states constitution Article Two Clauses 1, 2 and 3.

By calling it crooked, you are calling the entire Constitutional system of electing the president "crooked" which is patently asinine.

Oh well....

Holy cow!

What an incredible straw man post.

 

[BobTheCoward]

Nothing pathetic about it. You typed the words "crooked electoral college."

The electoral college is a creature of the United states constitution Article Two Clauses 1, 2 and 3.

By calling it crooked, you are calling the entire Constitutional system of electing the president "crooked" which is patently asinine.

Oh well....

It is absolutely crooked

 

[JoeMorgue]

Well, I'm not sure we could call it 'normal' given how unpopular Trump is. I think we'll have to see with the next President to see if this sort of thing has been normalised, and my guess is that it has not.

Still, that's a far cry from political assassinations.

I think jumping to John Wilkes Boothing in a country where nobody bothers to show up for the vote is a bit extreme.

For all the talk of Trump won X% of this vote but Hillary won Y% of this vote both of them lost to longtime incumbent for every elected position in American History Mr. DidNotVote Esquire.

If I want pepperoni pizza, Ted wants sausage pizza, but the other 4 people in the room say don't care, I should probably work harder on getting those 4 people to speak up before I shoot Ted in the head.

 

[Belz...]

Holy cow!

What an incredible straw man post.

But are you surprised?

 

[Belz...]

If I want pepperoni pizza, Ted wants sausage pizza, but the other 4 people in the room say don't care, I should probably work harder on getting those 4 people to speak up before I shoot Ted in the head.

Obviously, since the person you want to shoot is the one who wants hawaiian pizza.

 

[JoeMorgue]

At this point if a BD strawman isn't big enough to sacrifice Edward Woodward in, it feels like a letdown.