Mueller Investigation pt5

[acbytesla]

Emptywheel article going through the Stone gag order court appearance in detail

Oh, snap. That is a great write-up. Judge Jackson has really proved her mettle in these cases. Tying the gag order to the Bail Reform Act due to Stone's threats is brilliant. And getting him on the record that he does not actually make a living by commenting on his own case completely undercuts the press freedom defense against the gag order. Stone is destined to violate this order and end up in jail.

That was a great article. Give Judge Jackson credit. She boxed Stone into a corner and he didn't disappoint. These guys can't keep themselves from committing perjury.

 

[dudalb]

The problem Stone had he has based his whole career on outrageous, in your face behavior, and now he goes to jail if he does it. IMHO force of habit will be too strong, he will violate the gag order, and to the clink he goes.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

At the end of an update on no Mueller report today:

Meanwhile, reports are also saying Mueller will issue his report before the sun expands to engulf the planet.

 

[dudalb]

Someone beat me to the story that Putin was playing pretty much the same games in Italy he was playing in the US. I always maintained Putin real purpose is to undermine democracy in the west by causing chaos and division, and getting someone in power who will do him favors is just a nice bonus.

 

[dudalb]

At the end of an update on no Mueller report today:

But will he do it before the earth grows cold?
You have to take these reports that the release is imminent with a ton of salt.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

But will he do it before the earth grows cold?
You have to take these reports that the release is imminent with a ton of salt.

I liked the note posted earlier how Trump makes up the end of the investigation and then believes it until he has to make up another fantasy end date.

 

[BobTheCoward]

I looked at Schiff's silly little op ed in the WaPo today...

it looks like the Mueller report is really going to be a big nothingburger, huh?

Several people have been indicted and some convicted. That is a big deal. A lot of bad things have come out. It isn't a good thing that the campaign manager shared private data with someone with Russian government ties.

 

[CapelDodger]

Someone beat me to the story that Putin was playing pretty much the same games in Italy he was playing in the US. I always maintained Putin real purpose is to undermine democracy in the west by causing chaos and division, and getting someone in power who will do him favors is just a nice bonus.

Ditto Spain and the Catalan independence movement. Chaos and division are his product.

 

[The Big Dog]

Several people have been indicted and some convicted. That is a big deal. A lot of bad things have come out. It isn't a good thing that the campaign manager shared private data with someone with Russian government ties.

****. They were going to prove collusion and they have zero evidence of that a bunch of process violations and manafort talking to the ukranians.

The only ones colluding with russia were hillary and the fbi

 

[BobTheCoward]

****. They were going to prove collusion and they have zero evidence of that a bunch of process violations and manafort talking to the ukranians.

The only ones colluding with russia were hillary and the fbi

They were not going to do anything other than their jobs and they did it.

Process crimes are bad.

 

[BobTheCoward]

****. They were going to prove collusion and they have zero evidence of that a bunch of process violations and manafort talking to the ukranians.

The only ones colluding with russia were hillary and the fbi

A continued investigation was justified.

A campaign was hacked by Russians with ties to the government, while family members to the candidate was taking meetings with other russian linked members offering dirt, while the campaign manager was sharing campaign info with someone with Russian ties, while the family was negotiating over russian real estate, and a long time friend and dirt monger was attempting communicating with the organization that received the stolen emails, and lying about it....etc etc etc.

I'm perfectly fine if there is no evidence of illegal activity or that none of these ended up with higher level communication. That all certainly is enough to keep looking into it.

 

[The Big Dog]

A continued investigation was justified.

A campaign was hacked by Russians with ties to the government, while family members to the candidate was taking meetings with other russian linked members offering dirt, while the campaign manager was sharing campaign info with someone with Russian ties, while the family was negotiating over russian real estate, and a long time friend and dirt monger was attempting communicating with the organization that received the stolen emails, and lying about it....etc etc etc.

I'm perfectly fine if there is no evidence of illegal activity or that none of these ended up with higher level communication. That all certainly is enough to keep looking into it.

Please, actual crimes were ignored and the Obama doj passed out immunity deals with anyone and everyone. Now actual scumbag Andy McCabe is on a book tour spewing lies

 

[BobTheCoward]

Please, actual crimes were ignored and the Obama doj passed out immunity deals with anyone and everyone. Now actual scumbag Andy McCabe is on a book tour spewing lies

None of that changes if a continued investigation was justified given all the new details I pointed out.

Just because hoover was a crook doesn't mean they shouldn't have investigated anything for 30 years.

 

[The Big Dog]

None of that changes if a continued investigation was justified given all the new details I pointed out.

Just because hoover was a crook doesn't mean they shouldn't have investigated anything for 30 years.

I have no opinion about that argument no one made

 

[BobTheCoward]

I have no opinion about that argument no one made

I was stating that I had no opinion on your comment because it doesn't alter the continued justification for investigating, which is what I was interested in.

 

[phiwum]

I looked at Schiff's silly little op ed in the WaPo today...

it looks like the Mueller report is really going to be a big nothingburger, huh?

Why not wait and find out, rather than reading tea leaves?

 

[The Big Dog]

Why not wait and find out, rather than reading tea leaves?

So, you are saying that I should not have read Schiff’s nonsense?

We agree!

 

[varwoche]

So, you are saying that I should not have read Schiff’s nonsense?

We agree!

Obviously not what phiwum meant. Clearly he was addressing your wishful presupposition.

What would the report need to contain in order for you not to dismiss it as a nothingburger? Is that even in the realm of possibility?

Even without the report, and even in alt reality where Trump is oblivious to the goings-on of his team, and even if Trump wasn't Putin's lap dog... it's a topsy-turvy world when the entire team is neck deep in Russian slime and this is a "nothingburger". Your nothingburger has all the characteristics of a greasy triple pounder.

 

[The Big Dog]

Obviously not what phiwum meant. Clearly he was addressing your wishful presupposition.

What would the report need to contain in order for you not to dismiss it as a nothingburger? Is that even in the realm of possibility?

Even without the report, and even in alt reality where Trump is oblivious to the goings-on of his team, and even if Trump wasn't Putin's lap dog... it's a topsy-turvy world when the entire team is neck deep in Russian slime and this is a "nothingburger". Your nothingburger has all the characteristics of a greasy triple pounder.

So, you think he just totally ignored the fact I referred to Schiff’s idiotic editorial? K.

 

[phiwum]

So, you are saying that I should not have read Schiff’s nonsense?

We agree!

Schiff's letter stands on its own. He makes no predictions about the Mueller report, either explicitly or implicitly.

Indeed, here is the most relevant excerpt I can find.

While I am alarmed at what we have already seen and found of the president’s conduct and that of his campaign, I continue to reserve judgment about what consequences should flow from our eventual findings. I ask you to do the same.

I don't see how you get from that to "Mueller got nothing" (not a quote). Schiff says he is willing to wait and see. So am I. It may be devastating to the President. It may say that there's no evidence the President knew about Russian interference or even may be exculpatory evidence. We'll see.

You sure are gonna look foolish (and not for the first time) if the report is damning. But, of course, you'll deny any damning bits as Deep State trickery and add a heavy bit of diversion to the sins of Clinton and Obama, I'm willing to wager. That's one thing I feel confident in forecasting.