Everything Happens for a Treason (The Mueller Investigation Part 20)

Link to previous thread for reference.

Sounds like the Mueller team is focusing on the oligarchs. The oligarchs funneled big bucks into Congressional pacs. Right, Paul Ryan? .

ProPublica has a database of Trump political appointees.

Thanks to whoever put this together in the last thread. Keeping it here so we have a quick reference when this one near maxes out.

------------------------------------- Previous thread titles:

First Charges Filed in Mueller Investigation (10/27/17)

First Charges Filed in Mueller Investigation, Part Two (10/28/17)

The Four Treasons: Mueller Investigation, Part 3 (10/31/17)

A Man For All Treasons: Mueller Investigation, Part 4 (11/5/17)

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Treason! The Mueller Investigation Part 5 (12/4/17)

Treason Is The Reason For The Season! The Mueller Investigation Part 6 (12/16/17)

Treason to Believe (The Mueller Investigation Part 7) (12/26/17)

I Love You For Sentimental Treasons (The Mueller Investigation Part 8) (1/3/18)

Give Me One Treason To Stay Here... (The Mueller Investigation Part 9) (1/15/18)

Treasons of Love (The Mueller Investigation Part 10) (1/24/18)

For Treasons Which Are Well Known To Them (The Mueller Investigation Part 11) (1/30/18)

Come on and Treason Down, Treason Down the Road (The Mueller Investigation Part 12) (2/6/18)

13 Treasons Why (The Mueller Investigation Part 13) (2/18/18)

By Treason of Insanity (The Mueller Investigation Part 14) (2/23/18)

The Edge of Treason (The Mueller Investigation Part 15) (2/28/18)

A Treason to Live; A Treason to Die (The Mueller Investigation Part 16)…(3/10/18)

Treasons of the Heart (The Mueller Investigation Part 17) (3/17/18)

A Stormy Treason (The Mueller Investigation Part 18) (3/21/18)

Lovin', Touchin', Treason (The Mueller Investigation Part 19) (3/26/18)

Everything Happens for a Treason (The Mueller Investigation Part 20) (4/4/18)

Thank You! Indeed!

Brilliant, OP.

OP - I could have sworn you used that title. Then I remembered, (I think). I suggested it on an earlier thread and I believe you responded you liked it and would use it at a later date.

But we are all anonymous so I guess it doesn't matter. :)

Umhuh ^

^^^Whooo Boy!

Also, ALL of the threads are outstanding, but for some reason I love Thread 17 the most. Literally, they should and could be published for students of history. I’ve KNOWN for a year and a half that we were hacked. It was a multi-pronged strategy. And I’m positive that they did NOT bump up Trump’s votes (or if they did, it was minimal). No, they flipped votes to Stein or Bernie to better hide their tracks. And I’m just some nobody in the Midwest. I can only fantasize about what Mueller and his team know, it is undoubtedly EPIC.

R9 is the new Sinclair Broadcasting script.

R12 It does not take much convincing that Stein and Bernie were Russian stooges. They talk and act like ones.

Seriously, is even Fox News still talking about uranium 1?

Maybe Fox News anchors don’t know the difference between uranium and urine?

Honestly, I hope the Mueller Investigation is tracking the oligarch's hundred million dollar yachts as they swan around the world and gather together in various ports. These yachts are practically better equipped electronically than Mission Control at Nassau! There are many satellite tracking sites on the web. Just punch in the yacht names and follow their routes around the globe. International waters, no laws essentially. Oh, and one yacht in particular belonging to an American billionaire - guess who?!!

r17, Donald tRump?

No shit r14, but even if you remove that possibility/LIKELYHOOD that both Stein and Bernie have Russian ties, when Russia hacked our votes, they didn’t flip a huge number of votes to Trump. They flipped Clinton votes to Stein/Sanders. Americans need to be clear on this distinction.

r18.....David Geffen ?

[quote]Mueller himself is under investigation for his role in uranium 1, an investigation (among others) that will send Obama, the Clintons and everyone connected to them to jail. The MSM is lying to you about Trump/Russia collusion.

What's funny about this is that if you browse around in alt-right sites and forums online, you'll find a small but very vocal group of people who are absolutely convinced that Trump is playing 12th-dimensional chess and that he's going to imprison Mueller, Comey, McCabe, Clinton, Obama, and probably half a dozen others, literally any day now, and that half of them are already under indictment.

These are the people who insisted that Clinton was wearing an ankle tracking monitor and that she's already been indicted and that it's just matter of time until she goes to jail. These are the people who insisted that the reason that Obama went to Chicago for jury duty was that he was being fitted with his own ankle tracker. Seriously.

And yes, this same group of people absolutely believes that Uranium One is going to bring down both Obama and Clinton, despite the fact that no uranium left the United States and that there was absolutely nothing untoward going on there. They really do inhabit a different reality, a reality that no light can penetrate. Sad.

R15 Seriously yes. I caught 5 minutes of Hannity last night and Uranium One was the top story. Along with Sean Hannity's assurance, "A story you will only see here!"

To borrow and rephrase a line from the classic film This Is Spinal Tap, "There's a fine line between strategic and pathetic".

No, I don't refer to tRump as an American billionaire until he can prove it...

I imagine that Trump has made multiple, serious violations of US tax laws—unreported income, tax avoidance schemes, etc. That alone should do him in, like the gangster he is.

Got in all under control.

^^ If anything, I'd bet Trump is 1 Billion in debt. He's using his Presidency in an attempt to pay it back.

R22 How many times does the Uranium One conspiracy have to be debunked before Fox and Trumpies give it up? They got nothing 2 years ago and they got nothing now. On the other hand, more of the Russian collusion by the Trump campaign is confirmed everyday as their lies are contradicted by evidence. Then they dig themselves deeper with more lies. It's so pathetic and obvious anyone can see they are crooks with something to hide.

I think we’re all prone to believe what we want to believe, but the Deplorables have raised it to an art form.

R27, they never will. Hell, look at how many of them still rant about Benghazi. Or about the hundred other accusations thrown at Bill and Hillary over the past quarter century.

R27 Infinity? It doesn't matter. I just got a text from a "friend" back east. He's a Trump Supporter. He's a great guy in many ways, has been a wonderful friend for many years, but he's also delusional He sent me a newly released video about ... wait for it.... Seth Rich! More evidence of his being a leak of the DNC! I couldn't fucking believe it! But rather then allow myself to get upset and go off on him, I just responded a dismissive text telling him I'd get to it after watching videos of The Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch, and my dinner with Santa Claus.

R28, 30 years ago or so, I used to feel like at least everyone was looking at the same set of facts. We might draw different conclusions from those facts or we might have different policy prescriptions but we were reasonably well grounded in the same reality.

I don't think that's true anymore. When I go look at Breitbart or FreeRepublic or HotAir or the Gateway Pundit, I don't see any reality that I recognize. These days, "facts" are subjective and everyone is free to have their own "alternative facts." We saw this in the Bush administration, as well, as noted in an article by Ron Suskind, who wrote:

[quote]The aide said that guys like me were 'in what we call the reality-based community,' which he defined as people who 'believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.' [...] 'That's not the way the world really works anymore,' he continued. 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors...and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do'.

I don't see a way out of this, unfortunately, and it's created a "reality" (if you will) where there is no common ground, where it's all or nothing.

R31 When we recently learned of the many years long Russian campaign to secretly plant false news stories thru our social media, it was both frightening and a relief. That so many of those stories we'd been hearing were not only untrue,but not being perpetrated by our own citizens,

Yet it still doesn't explain people like Sean Hannity, Alex Jones, the editors of Breitbart, and all those who call themselves American Patriots.

r32...and what does that tell you that the GOP parrot the same talking points ?

This can be controlled almost immediately by re-instating the Fairness Doctrine....and enforcing it. But for some reason it never comes up when we have a chance to pass something....I wonder why ? Its the same with all the other trigger issues as well. We need to start demanding that its re-instated....it will gradually improve the awareness of the right.

[quote]But for some reason it never comes up when we have a chance to pass something....I wonder why ?

Um, because of Hillary’s emails?

I was out earlier and a TV was playing Fox news. I didn't catch what they were talking about exactly but someone was on talking about Putin. It didn't have anything to do with hacking... they were talking about something else and I swear from the bit that I caught... they were doing their best to normalize him.

It makes me feel fucked.

I view the work of Fox news the same way I view the work of Trump's legal team in the WH. Keep them calm, tell them everything is going just fine, and Trump is guilty of nothing...while Mueller files reams of evidence against each and every Republican (and Russina) that ever looked Trump's way. When the avalanche hits, they won't know whether to shit or go blind, but knowing Trump and the Deplorables, I suspect they'll do both.

I looked up the Fairness Doctrine, and from my understanding of it, it's not quite what you think it is. Or it needs to be updated. I think all it does is call for networks to give equal time to the other side. So if a Democrat is given a 10 minute forum, than a Republican must be given the same. I don't think it covers network anchors out-and-out lying to it's viewers to purposely mislead and misinform.

Trump was right when he mentioned way back in March/2016 that perhaps we should revisit the 1st Amendment. Just not for the reason he wants. The 1st Amendment allow for Sean Hannity to continually spew his garbage. I don't think it's something our American forefathers considered. Some brilliant lawyer needs to come up with a plan.

R37, what the Fairness Doctrine would have covered is not allowing Sinclair Media, as a corporate body, to have all of their anchors read that partisan political statement on air across the country without giving equal time for a rebuttal. It would also make Fox News illegal because they are corporately directed to spew right-wing talking points.

Nunez is a co-conspirator directly linked to the President by his midnight field trips to the WH in the obstruction of justice. I am wondering how low the Mueller indictment will go. If Mueller indicts Trump can he go.. higher? Because Mueller has indicted 13 Russian cyber spies, is it possible for Mueller to indict...PUTIN?

Til the Treason Comes Round Again

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow by Frankie Valli and the Four Treasons

Throwing Treason Out the Window

For later:

It’s the Treason To Be Jolly

Fa La La La La, La La La La

Can you just stop filling the thread with possible thread names 550 posts before they are necessary? Why don't we limit it to post 575 to 600? Or, why don't you go create a whole new thread just for thread title suggestions and we can clear the morons out of this thread.

And now I want to know who pays R9's paycheck. Because it has the overwhelming stench of talking points passed on from above.

It's a shame that the ultra-misogynist OP has to be the creator of these series of threads. Hopefully, at some point, someone else will take over.

Russia not only used propaganda to get the lowlife (Trump) votes, they actually messed with the vote count and it was easy because Republicans have no morals and would not report it.

I am the original creator of this series threads, R46, I am not this OP, and I am a (non-misogynist) female. I remember you complaining about this particular OP earlier. I pointed out that allowing him and others to post subsequent threads after Thread 4 or so was for the greater good, because it was all to Trump’s detriment, whether you think this particular OP is sexist or not.

I suggest, once again, that you drop it as it is a distraction and bordering close to purposeful distraction.

Further, it’s sexist of you to give this OP credit for starting the series of threads when I told you several times that it was me, and that I was female. Let. It. Go. The most important thing here is to accurately expose Trump’s treason with Putin.

No Mueller is most certainly not under investigation, for anything...not really. There was never anything to that really stupid, made up story about Uranium and Russia. My god, you big damn dummies make up some absurdly ridiculous fantasy and expect people to believe it. I get so sick of the cheap lies.

First of all, R48, I ignored every single thread in this series because of the original OP. I just happened to glance here tonight and expressed my (turns out, ignorant) regret.

[quote] pointed out that allowing him and others to post subsequent threads after Thread 4 or so was for the greater good, because it was all to Trump’s detriment, whether you think this particular OP is sexist or not.

I was not aware you took over. Thanks.

I did think it was kind of funny that they were stopping these assholes at the airports and were able to search their stuff and even deport them if they wanted to.

What happened to R9 ‘s comment? What was it?

Trump fired Comey and then told Holt and two Russians that he fired him because of the investigation, so how in the world are Washington, shithead lawyers, saying that is NOT obstruction? I listened to the bastards on MSNBC and I wanted to smack their smug, no nothing faces.

[quote]Further, it’s sexist of you to give this OP credit for starting the series of threads when I told you several times that it was me, and that I was female. Let. It. Go.

Just for the record, I only spoke out once in one of the early threads. I don't think I am the person you are referring to.

R48, I get that you didn't create this thread, so I will ignore it, like any other thread started by this OP. I'm in no way a distraction, as I'm simply not participating.

Carry on.

And goodbye.

I believe at some point either the media or human rights activist groups have to educate the general public the difference between information and disinformation.

Hell, even go full on New Age and encourage people to trust their gut and listen to how news make them feel and if they really want to feel that way by being exposed to certain disinformation. And go right to the bottom of this with all the fear and hate mongering.

Actually there should be some sort of docu about the history of Fake News and how it's used to manipulate public opinion.

R56 Too many people love disinformation that tells them they are right and they are special. Just look at how organized religions have managed to cling on and even thrived with technology. What is Fox News preaching every day if not the racist gospel.

R48 Hello, OP. Avid reader of these threads, occasional contributor. Somehow I must have missed a few postings and didn't realize there was more than one OP.

Just want to say "thank you" and I appreciate all you and your fellow OP(s) have done.

Someone mentioned earlier that you might want to consider publishing parts of these threads. I hope you're at least cataloging them. They really do work as a fascinating time line and might be worth re-reviewing if/when this nightmare is ever over.

[quote]Keep them calm, tell them everything is going just fine, and Trump is guilty of nothing.

Can't now recall which recent WH sackee let it be known that - bad as we all believe it to be from the outside - the chaos within is magnitudes worse.

The cartoon revolving door of appointees and sackings, let alone Mueller's dedicated work, mean 'everything is going just fine' is not close to credible.

Still, invested parties will assuredly cling to plausible deniability for as long as they can. Then of course when irrefutable evidence emerges, a new phase of denial will come out: 'We didn't know that at the time. We thought that everything was going just fine.'

R58, just to clarify, I am the (female) OP of the very first several threads in this series, NOT the OP of this thread.

I think it is amazing that we are doing this despite the Russian troll onslaughts, and it is definitely a crowd-sourced, cooperative GROUP effort. And it is important and I too thank every single subsequent OP and well-intended poster. We’re in it together.

We should just have a separate fucking thread or something for proposing titles for future threads.

Over half of the replies I read this morning weren't on-topic content, but spamming thread titles instead. It really makes the last 50-100 posts in these threads a slog to get through.

[quote]Seriously, is even Fox News still talking about uranium 1?

Hannity has "Breaking News" on it most every night. His fans are convinced he will win a Pulitzer for his coverage once Hillary and Obama are arrested for it. However, it's a tossup whether Hillary will first face charges for this scandal or the Russian scandal -- because, you see, while there is no evidence that Donald Trump ever colluded with Russia, there is mountains of evidence that Hillary did.

[quote]However, it's a tossup whether Hillary will first face charges for this scandal or the Russian scandal

She’ll probably die from her Parkinson’s first.

My mother, who died last December, was followng the 2016 campaign and its aftermath, and she told me that back in the old days, there were these same type of whackos on radio. She talked about a priest named Father Coughlin who was a famously rabid lunatic hater. there were a few others too. Then we had the John Birch Society and they were active for several decades after WW2. And of course you had the KKK, and then we had those home grown militias. So none of this is new. I remember an older cousin who was involved in the anti war movement in the 60's 70's, and he had conspiracy theories up the ass.

So what makes this stuff different is the delivery systems. The Technology. The internet,, phone cameras, all the stuff that gives us "news" instantly. It also makes it possibly for like minded nutjobs to find one another. Before the internet you had your local assholes, but now they can hook up with other local assholes all over the world. So we have to figure out how to deal with that.

One thing that really pisses me off is the weight and credibility the media gives to the fringe elements. It seems like the media legitimizes them. Of course I know that it's all about money. There is a lot about Trump that was known before the election. But it was more profitable to feature him unexamined. Now they're after him, but it's like a soap opera reality show. The media is doing a good job right now, but we have to keep after them to make sure they continue to do it.

There ought to be some penalty for deliberately lying and distorting facts. I know. When I was reading my American history,, I know Hearst newspapers started the Spanish American War, and we had "yellow journalism" and of course there were the tabloids even back then. But this is Yellow Journalism on steroids.

I'm trying to keep the faith, but sometimes I'm scared that Mueller is going to come out with an avalanche of shit that declares Trump and the GOP completely guilty of numerous crimes and nothing is going to happen and it's only going to empower these crooks to act crookedly.

That's my fear as well r66.

It is a legitimate concern, R66 and R67. Because at this point, the Rethuglicans in Congress -- with very few exceptions -- have acted more like collaborators in Trump's crimes than independent watchdog. It is why Mueller's investigation is only one part of the equation. Without the Dems taking back Congress, Mueller's report could accuse the Orange Cheetolini of the most heinous of crimes and it would be met by Ryan and McConnell with a collective shrug.

I believe people really start to wake up regarding all the means they've been manipulated without knowing. Of course the Deplorables will probably never wake up or admit that they've been had, but I doubt what happened in 2016 will happen again any time soon. Enough people are on to Putin, Trump, Cambridge Analytica, the Mercers, Facebook, Fox News, Sinclair media, etc.

Can't Mueller subpoena Trump's tax returns? That would seem to be a way to find out what is under the moldy rock.

r70, it has been reported that one of the FIRST things Mueller got were Trump's tax returns. And probably Jared's, Ivanka's, Jr's and Eric's.

r62, how many Rubles is that worth in a post C-Anal world?

R46 is a tired cunt. Find something better to do with your time.

R70, Mueller has subpoena power and did not need to have Trump's permission to retrieve them directly from the IRS. He does not have to announce it to Trump.

failure to enforce the law is itself a crime. If Mueller's investigation uncovers substantial evidence of crimes then people will be charged with crimes. And if the charges are ignored it doesn't mean they go away. It means federal marshals knock on your door and you are arrested. I am wondering if anyone at DOJ has been in consultation with Chief Justice Roberts? Probably not, but I bet someone at the DOJ, at Mueller and Rosenstein's direction, has thoroughly researched how to proceed in various scenarios. These people a re arrogant. They have been living in their own bubble for so long they can't face the reality of what's happening to them. Trump has no respect for the Law or for government. He believes rules don't apply to him. This is different and he is in for a very rude awakening.

Here's the mentality of the GOP. It's even worse. You have Ryan and McConnell ignoring shit and actively sabotaging investigations into significant evidence a hostile foreign government interfered in our Presidential elections, our Congressional elections, and has also hacked into our electric grid, our nuclear power plants, our water supplies, and God only know what else, probably our entire banking systems. And they want to investigate the FISA warrant for Carter Page!

In Wisconsin, when a state supreme court ruled against Scott Walker , he decided to throw out the judge. (He failed.) He also wants to eliminate positions of elected officials who disagree with him. So this complete disregard for rules, laws and norms is not only embodied in the Trump administration, it is also consistent with the attitudes and the actions of the entire Extreme Right, GOP power structure. It is how they operate at the state and local level, and how they operate in Congress.

Don't like the rules" Ignore them. If the law doesn't favor you, ignore it. Courts have ruled against voter suppression and gerrymandering? Ignore the court orders like Scott Walker. The GOP attitude is "Fuck you!" They too are going to have a rude awakening. There is a lot of push back. and we need to be part of that. Not just marches. I'm talking about getting involved with groups and finding ways to file lawsuits. We have to be aggressive. We can't let these bullies continue to believe they are above the law.

I love how R46 always pops into these threads to scream the same thing. It's sort of psychotic and looking at the OPs messages, I haven't seen one misogynistic thing.

R46 however keeps clearing his cookies because he's a racist, homophobic, Putin lover.

A little thought here, what forced Nixon out of office wasn't impeachment, it was the public pressure on him and congress after his crimes were published. In other words, all of the congress critters who are complicit would have to feel the power of public pressure.

R62 a Pulitzer for Hannity? That would be quite an accomplishment for one without a college education.

But certainly there is a STATE award Putty Poop can later bestow upon him. Maybe something called the "Yellow Ribbon of the Bear" at a pinning ceremony in Moscow would be nice.

Just wanted to add that we can take heart from the machinations of Manafort. He and his attorneys are looking like clowns with all these attempts to discredit the Special Prosecutor and decide he has "overreached his mandate". They got thrown out of court again the other date. The hubris, the arrogance, the bullying is getting them no where. That's why McConnell is so desperate to get judges appointed. But even the Republican appointed judges are having none of it.

Once a person is a judge he is not going to become a rubber stamp. He is not going to be a pawn. He will assert himself. Not all of them will, but many of them will and McConnell 's strategy will blow up in his face at some very inconvenient times. Even Gorsuch will realize he doesn't need McConnell or Congress or the big money guys anymore. He is a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court and he may discover where he left his balls.

Unfortunately, r77, what with the surreal gerrymandering in the red states, the GOP House Reps are getting pressure from the opposite direction; their misshapen districts are packed with foaming-at-the-mouth Deplorables for whom Trump is a hero.

[quote]Once a person is a judge he is not going to become a rubber stamp.

Unless one is on the Supreme Court.

R77 if public pressure was important to the GOP, they would have reacted by now. They know they cannot win any election even in their gerrymandered districts without some independents supporting them. Once again they've overreached. You can always count on that. They go way too far. Paul Ryan is losing support in his own district. And even if he manages to pull it out, he will not return as Speaker of the House. And his stooge Congressman McCarthy the dumbass House Majority Leader is spending so much time hanging out with Trump, I have to wonder at what point he leaves Congress to be part of this administration. I told you. He's not real bright.

Nothings going to happen if the majority of the American people sit on their hands and watch this as if it's a spectator sport. You need to be getting involved and staying involved. If we had not been so fucking lazy in 2010, we wouldn't be here now. We gave them Congress.

Paul Ryan is just waiting for the right time to leave Kevin McCarthy holding the pot, isn’t he?

I agree that marches and boycotts are not enough (though to DO work, so keep participating and giving money).

What we need now is what I call “creative lawyering.” For example, torte/ class actions with multiple charges of constitutional violations. This is how Brown vs. Board happened. The lawyers who helped desegregate our schools were told “ain’t gonna work.” But they were amazing lawyers, and built their cases brick by brick. We need a multi-faceted legal strategy to blow these fuckers up. I’m sure the right legal teams could show MANY constitutional violations. The GOP must be sued. Can PAC’s be sued? Sue the GOP, PAC’s, Cambridge, personally sue the Koch’s and Mercer’s, sue every single think tank they find, etc.

I agree, R85, and we need to do it with a LOT of media attention. The Protests Do work, true. And we need to keep them up as well. The one thing that hasn't got nearly enough publicity is the Town Halls during this recess.. The March For Our Lives groups and the Indivisible groups are confronting members of Congress and local town halls during Easter recess, and if their member of Congress refuses to stage a town hall they are having one anyway. I remember a year ago when this was news. Now I don;t see much coverage. So find out if it's happening and what your local TV outlets are doing about it. Also see if it's being covered on Facebook. There are so many ways t plug in. I personally love being disruptive.

R85 You are on to something. I have posted similar ideas on other threads on related topics, basically calling for creative lawyering to fix the things in our constitution that have been deviated way beyond what our forefathers could have considered. For example, it's been an ongoing debate whether a sitting President can be indicted/charged of crimes. The way the constitution is currently worded, it's open for interpretation yet leans towards NOT. But obviously, nothing was considered or written concerning crimes the President not only committed just prior to reaching office, but crimes that specifically involved giving him the job that now allows him to dismiss his own crimes and get away with it. A job that allows him to pardon those very people who were accomplices to illegally rewarding him the position. That is exactly the situation we currently have! And attention-seeking turncoats like Alan Dershowitz, (someone I was a fan of pre-O.J. Simpson), are stepping forward on Propaganda News Outlets to inform us they can get away with it because, technically, it is not illegal.

Neither was cyber-bullying. But it took more than one person to commit suicide as a result of the damage, before laws could be made and punishment doled out.

Can a large group of us, as Americans, start a class action suit and sue the Republicans for fraud as they inflicted a phony candidate on us and deliberately fed us false information that skewed our election process? Of course, we most likely could never win a suit, but it could open even more things about our election up for discovery and investigation. Just thinking aloud here as I comppose this.

R87, we can sue for anything — a judge would accept or throw out the case. We have to show proper grounds for a class action AND damages. This doesn’t seem hard to do!!!

R88 Exactly. But, obviously, I'm no expert at legalize. We need a constitutional lawyer with the brashness and intelligence of someone like MIchael Avenatti. And I'm using Avenatti as an example not because of his physical prowess, but because it's primarily his physical prowess that is getting him the exposure and publicity that this kind of a lawyer would need to gain public support and be able to move forward.

I think this is important. From Seth Abramson's twitter feed.

FWIW, I saw a story come across my twitter feed last night that Cambridge analytica is gearing up for the midterms.

So they have all of that FB info from 2016 and they fully intend to misuse it in the same manner and suckerburg will do fuck all to stop it.

R91 Check this out.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

R93 The link didn't come up for me....

John Brennan:

"I served 6 Presidents, 3 Rs & 3Ds. I directly supported Clinton, Bush 43, and Obama. While I didn't agree with all their policy choices, I admired and respected all of them, as they put country above their personal interests. Not so with you, as your self adoration is disgraceful"

[quote] Paul Ryan ... even if he manages to pull it out

Pics please.

There are legitimate groups out here with legitimate lawsuits in various states and nationally. Support them. ACLU is primary among them. But so are others. Anything election related seems like it should first be explored at the state level. And for fuck's sake support the Congressional races in your states. If your state races are solidly Blue then go to the adjacent state. There is plenty to do out here. Check with Indivisible Groups in your area. Find out what Move On is up to. Remember: ABR=Always Be Resisting!

And as for President Shithole, The Governor of Oregon just said she would refuse to allow the state's National Guard to be called up and assigned to "protect" the Mexican Border. Now she will take Trump to court. He will try to nationalize the Guard and that is step one towards martial law, FYI. So when he starts claiming "National Security" It's not enough. We need to take legal action COMPELLING him to show evidence/cause for why he is claiming the shield of national security to assign the guard to the borders. Especially since they will be unarmed and essentially be observers and will not be paid by the Federal gov't. BTW: Oregon is a blue state. In fact the tax law and a number of other actions he has taken place a disproportionate burden on Blue States. It's like gerrymandering the entire country into Blue States vs Red States even though blue states actually foot the bill for the red states inability to take care of themselves.

I see Mueller and the way he works as sort of a Trump in reverse:

Trump has no conscience of guilt but, as he continues his path of corruption, he listens to everything that anyone and everybody is saying about him, and it's causing him to get emotional and constantly self-destruct.

Yet, Mueller is almost Asperger-like in the way he's conducting his investigation: he's able to completely block out all the criticism of him that we've been obsessed with on a daily basis, and this Aspberger-like quality has enabled him to stay focused, meticulous, and driven. He really doesn't give a shit about his critics or supporters, about Trump or Rosenstein or any on the far right who are trying to kill this investigation. He is solely obsessed with doing his job and moving past any and every distraction that tries to get in his way and would stop most others.

That comforts me.

^^ by the way, my intention in mentioning Rod Rosenstein is as an example of someone who is on Mueller's side, in opposition to Trump. (or so we hope).

Lots of groups are suing the Trump gv't. There are environmental lawsuits, Education lawsuits, civil rights lawsuits, immigration lawsuits etc. And at the local level there are all kinds of civil liberties violations, voting rights, free speech issues, etc. etc. etc. This is a great time to be a civil lawyer.

Jared The Squealer. Off with his head.

Damn, R101, that is big news if true. This is hard time in a federal prison.

Oh Mike Huckabee, you're such a wit!

(kind of related).

Today, President Donald Trump revived his claim that "millions and millions" of people voted multiple times in the 2016 election.

"In many places the same person in California votes many times," said Trump, at the official White House event in West Virginia on tax cuts. "They always like to say, 'Oh that's a conspiracy theory.' It's not a conspiracy theory. Millions and millions of people and it's very hard because the state guards their records."

Trump established a commission in May after claiming without evidence that massive voter fraud had cost him the popular vote, and he appointed Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to lead the panel.

The commission was shut down in January without finding any evidence of such massive voter fraud.

Meanwhile more shit just came out on Pruitt. He is in deep doo doo.

I am completely ignorant on the Pence front. (besides his opinions are horrid of course but is he a bona fide criminal)

Bit off topic but Trump just told a reporter on AF1 that he knew nothing about the NDA between Cohen and Stormy Daniels and has no idea where the $130,000 came from - you'd need to ask Cohen he said. Michael Avenatti seems quite happy shall we say with this turn of events:

We very much look forward to testing the truthfulness of Mr. Trump's feigned lack of knowledge concerning the $130k payment as stated on Air Force One. As history teaches us, it is one thing to deceive the press and quite another to do so under oath.

R105, I hope so. And I hope De Vos is next and a dearly want the FBI's Counter Intel people to deliver Erik Prince to prison. I want him sliced and diced in a million pieces. Then JAred, then Manafort, Flynn and finally both Donalds should get their indictments on the same day.

Funny about Miss Betsy De Vos. She strikes me as being dim, incompetent, and clueless. (maybe it's the glasses?). Unlike all of Trump's other cabinet appointees who are all out for their own self-interest, I think DeVos is sincere in her intentions, they're just horribly misguided. Why would she have submitted to that excruciating 60 Minutes interview? I really don't think she had to.

She's kind of like the mentally-challenged sibling that the rest feel it's their responsibility to humor and take care of. Her appointment was merely Trump paying back a favor he felt he owed Erik Prince. or for a favor to be paid back later.

Please, feel free tor rip apart my theory.

You need to research Betsy DeVos if you think shes some shrinking violet.......she is a vile woman with radical beliefs. If she had her way, there would be no public education and everything would be through privatized charter schools.....her pet project that she has funded with hundreds of millions of dollars......she almost single handedly destroyed Michigan schools......and is a rabid evangelical.

And yes...her appointment was in part because of Eric.....and the fact that Spectrum Health (owned by the DeVos family) helped wash data through Alpha Bank and Trump Towers and their respective servers.

Well, R110, then it’s a good thing so many voters in Michigan voted for Trump. I guess having their schools destroyed makes them really happy.

R89 I think what we need is a lawyer with the following blend of areas of expertise: constitutional law, human rights and social justice issues, and class actions. Someone who feels empathy for others with every cell in their body, someone who believes that justice is worth fighting for. Here is a MAN. I man I truly admire who fits some of the ticket.

We need someone like Bryan Stevenson, team him up with a constitutional expert.

R112/r113 you can say that again…

R103, Ole Huck thinks he's amusing.

The poor dogs that suffered.

@NBCNews NEW: Federal investigators obtained a search warrant tied to Paul Manafort on March 9, according to a Special Counsel's Office filing in the Manafort case.

MORE: The filing states that Manafort has been served with seven search warrants for his property, banks, a hard drive, e-mail accounts, five phone lines, and a storage locker.

Sorry to double post, DL was being persnickety and I couldn’t see my first post.

Also, I recently met people who know Betsy., I don’t want to say how they know her, that’s too risky, but they’ve known her for several decades. They adore her and defend her and believe she’s “devoted her entire life to education.” I do believe they sincerely believe that. Based on the way they described her, I do agree with other posters that she isn’t a key player in the Trump circles. She’s a stooge and/or a Patsy. She does actually believe in what she’s doing (terrifying I know, especially because she’s so god damn stupid). But I am convinced her brother is a true sociopath, if she really understood the position he’s put her in, she wouldn’t feel so sisterly. Her already bad reputation is permanently soiled now due to her ties to Trump plus her actions as DOE. But just wait until her brother is charged as a traitor against her beloved USofA. She will be even more of a social pariah — though that doesn’t even seem remotely possible.

Betsy DeVos is good friends with Kathie Lee Gifford and almost singlehandedly financed KLG's Broadway show. For that alone, she belongs in prison.

[quote]MORE: The filing states that Manafort has been served with seven search warrants for his property, banks, a hard drive, e-mail accounts, five phone lines, and a storage locker.

You mean they’ve got even more shit on Manafort?!? Ha! Can’t wait to hear what’s on the storage locker.

R120 You would think he would have destroyed every incriminating evidence he could by now...

He thinks he's above reproach R121 but he's just another imbecile.

Theyve been watching his every move for a while now....they know everything hes up to.

R119 wins today's prize! A free seat next to scumbag Scott Pruitt when he takes his next trip to Morocco.

Someone just speculated on MSNBC that the Stormy Daniels sexual encounter might have violated a prenup between Melania and Donald.

I can see Trump having a pre-nup with Melania to protect his assets from her in the case of a divorce, as well as making requirements of her or setting restrictions on her during the marriage. Can't see Trump signing anything that would inconvenience him in any way, though. Why would he ever agree to a pre-nup that penalized hi for cheating? Unlike the value Trump represented to Melania, Melania brought nothing to the marriage he couldn't get elsewhere.

Theres probably a clause in her pre-nup that states if Donald commits verified adultery he settlement doubles or triples......thats why all the NDAs.....If she cant prove it, allegations mean nothing. Stormi Daniels could provide the much needed evidence Melania needs for a huge payday.

[quote]Mission Control at Nassau

Oh, deah.

[quote]These are the people who insisted that Clinton was wearing an ankle tracking monitor

Ah yes, the Pantsuit Evidence Photos with the red arrows pointing down where we would see the monitor, if only she weren't wearing dastardly clothing that is HIDING THE EVIDENCE!!#@$! Pepe emoji

I'm from Michigan the state whete Trump stole a little less than 11,000 votes by redistributing them to other candidates not Hillary. Betsy De Vos has been a piece of shit rich bitch ultra extreme Conservative cut from the clothe of the Religious Right. Their dream, along with Pence and others, is to "restore" Christianity to America. No more separation between Church and state. Like ISIS only followers of Jesus. There is not one redeeming quality to her. If she stutters or seems reticent on TV or nervous giving speeches, it's because she is completely unaccustomed to being questioned, held accountable or explaining herself.

"Trump's a 'subject' and not a 'target' of the Mueller probe? The White House shouldn't celebrate yet..."

Have we talked about the WaPo report concerning Mueller telling Dolt .45 he isn't a target? (He's a subject at this point.)

Three big pieces of news today: The additional subpoenas and search warrants for Manafort. More subpoenas issued for people associated with Trump businesses particularly foreign business interest associated with and involving Michael Cohen, and Jared giving the Saudi Arabian king CIA intelligence report telling him who his enemies were so he could arrest torture and kill them to take power.

People on twitter are saying they can't get over what deep shit Manafort is in, but some are also saying he is riding it out just waiting for that pardon.

[quote] Jared giving the Saudi Arabian king CIA intelligence report telling him who his enemies were so he could arrest torture and kill them to take power.

I'd be shitting my pants if I was Jared.

The reporting about Jared is actually over a week old...and so far crickets.

When did Mohammad brag about having Jared in his pocket?

I don’t think Manafort can completely avoid prison via pardon. Aren’t some of his indictments at state level? He’s just acting very entitled and/or at least trying to remain quiet and uncooperative for as long as possible because of what he knows. Doesn’t want to get shanked or poisoned.

[quote]Aren’t some of his indictments at state level?

Yes, I have heard that.

Manafort has multiple criminal actions being worked on the NY State level. Trump may federally pardon, but he will do time in prison for state crimes. AB SO LOUTELY.

It is kind of odd that a bigger deal isn't being made about Jared. And again, why the fuck is he still in the white house????

Doesn't Erik Prince live in Dubai?

Mueller Has Evidence Contradicting Erik Prince’s Testimony About Russian Meeting

Yeah, not sure why this Jared news isn’t bigger. Maybe it’ll gain traction over time, like the Stormy affair.

As for Manafort, I honestly think he’d prefer jail over giving testimony. Look at the shit (and there’s no other word for it) that he was into. He was working with SCARY fucking people. If he talked, he’d be a dead man.

R140 I have the same questions: why the eff does Jared get a pass and continue to work at the WH?

[quote]the fact that Spectrum Health (owned by the DeVos family)

Just to clarify, because I've seen this repeated a lot: Spectrum Health is not "owned" by the DeVos'. It is a non-profit health system. Several DeVos' have served on multiple Spectrum boards and the DeVos' have given tens of millions to the entity -- in fact, one of the hospitals in the system, Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, is named for Betsy's mother-in-law. Would Spectrum administration consent to its servers being used for some nebulous purpose at one of the DeVos' requests? I would say probably yes.

Anyone see retiring Trey Gowdy’s interview with Vice? I suspect he knows the jig is up with Trump. He was not kind about him at all.

R146 Haven't seen it yet but was wondering the same. What does Gowdy know? Also what is up with his haircut with the sides completely shaved?

I'm obsessed with Gowdy's hair. You never know what it’s gonna be from day to day. He’s like one of those dolls with different, snap-on plastic hairdos.

I SO wish Gowdy would blow Nunes and Ryan up. He can do it. He should do it. But of course he will likely become a Lobbyist and a pundit on Conservative Media and make a lot of money. there is no other explanation for all this media exposure. It sure is a log good bye. I thought at one time he was angling for a federal judge ship but he is making "indelicate" comments about Trump administraton so it gives me pause. But mark my words he is up to something. Maybe a run for Governor?

Gowdy's Vice Interview

^ I didn't really hear him say anything that indicated him as being unkind to Drumpf.

He tries to throw Hillary under the bus again though.

They also said Bill Clinton wasn't a target, when he definitely was.

Trey may be on a trans mission. He can't go to the next level as a right-winger, very partisan Republican in Congress. He'll need time and space to make the systematic transitions as Caitlyn did, and build momentum with the pop culture and tabloid press and with the glamour industry. Treya is the feminine for Trey, so the re-naming would not be radical. Could he be the first trans program anchor on Fox News? Hannity, Pirro, Jarrett, Dobbs, and Carlson may become very jealous of Treya. She'll be a star fast! She knows what she is doing separating from DJT's sinister activities.

It's been a long time since someone brought up Trey's transitioning.

He's still an absolute fuck for trying to claim HRC is worse than Drumpf. He's such an asshole. He's obviously pissed off that HRC is smarter than him and bested him. He probably jerks off to the thought of HRC beating him with a whip.

r145....that pretty much sounds like theyre owned to me

These ‘non profit’ hospitals are up to something big. Pay attention.

hey. Look for Link to the National Chamber of Commerce too. Extreme Right runs that show too. And Susan G. Komen Foundation had a scandal a few years back with the GOP. And let's not forget the American Red Cross. There are Alt Right types all over the fucking place.

[quote]Jared giving the Saudi Arabian king CIA intelligence report telling him who his enemies were so he could arrest torture and kill them to take power.

The only news source that I see about this is from the Daily Mail and it's about the king bragging about it.

Maybe it's not widespread because news outlets have not been able to independently verify this yet?

r158....i just googled it....145,000 results dating from March 21, 2018. You need a new source.

r158....CNN, Business Insider, NBC, Washington Post, etc.......all have covered it......do keep up.

Hmm, Donnie giving Israeli secrets to the Russians, JKu giving information to the Saudis, all sounds like a coordinated effort with foreign powers on a personal level.

The Rosenbergs were killed for MUCH LESS.

We know that things happen for a treason...

I believe the MSB. Kushner and the bobsy twins are looking worse by the minute.

Ivanka's company, which makes all their product in China, will/would not be affected by the new tariffs. Shocker, right?

It would be funny if China put export tariffs on Ivanka's crap.

Some of Trumps stuff is made there as well.

OK.. So if Ivanka's products will not be affected by the tariffs, will her competition be affected? And What about all the red state farmers and others who will be affected.

Scott Pruitt is much smarter than trump and has the ability to play him like a fiddle.

He is also the Koch’s/Mercer’s golden boy now that Pence is tainted and Ryan is heading for the hills.

R165 The MAGA merchandise is all made in China... As the story goes, the Chinese factories knew who would win the election by whose stuff they were cranking out for the celebration...

You know, I saw some farmer talking about how bad these tariffs are going to be for him and his fellow farmers and, while recognizing that we will all soon be paying the price, I couldn't help but say out loud, "And who did you vote for, asshole?" We all know the answer. It's too bad we are all going to pay the price for these ignoramuses.

Scott Pruitt will be 50 next month but looks at least 5 to 10 years older.

And he's corrupt...so there!

Pruitt is undermining trump because he has the real power, which is the blessing of R. Mercer aka the Godfather

Pruitt made hiring decisions against the WH’s approval. Let’s hope he makes the pres feel threatened and the sec gets sent back home.

Scott Pruitt is an arrogant prick. He pissed off the career people, who can turn against you in a heartbeat -- especially when you give them so much ammunition to take you down.

He will not survive.

He should have never been confirmed to begin with....just like the rest of Trumps ENTIRE cabinet..........Thanks Mitch !

Well he got rid of other people who threatened his image with his base, but for some reason he is actually fighting and coming up with conspiracy theories for the "attacks" on Pruitt. All it will t ake is a couple of polls to show him that Pruitt is costing HIM and he will be gone. I think in his own Mind Trump is almost resigned to losing some seats in the Midterms. To all reports right now, I am hearing that the Dems will definitely pick up 13 more House seats. They need 8 more than that to win the House. McConnell is hoping to hang on to the Senate by a hair. But that will not help him because there are some GOP Senators who are fed up with the fucking circus. We need to find the seats we need to win the house. If we are solid for 13, we just need to find 8 more.

The Repukes will not retain control of either the House or Senate -- barring the Russians hacking into our voting systems. McConnell said the other day that the Rethugs were facing strong headwinds. Ha. That will turn out to be an understatement. The Dems will win and will make Trump's life a living hell. Which, depending on Mueller's report, may include impeaching and removing the fucker.

Caveat: take nothing for granted and work like we are 10-point underdogs. And get out the damn vote. When lots of people vote, Democrats can -- and do -- win.

[quote]Scott Pruitt is an arrogant prick. He pissed off the career people, who can turn against you in a heartbeat -- especially when you give them so much ammunition to take you down.

I think this is a misconception; career people have been marginalized at every federal agency. I read that the people Pruitt upset were actually Trump POLITICAL appointees. There are 55 of political appointees just in the EPA.

Hardly anyone seems aware that Trump has installed more than 1000 political appointees throughout all our federal agencies, and many of their jobs are becoming permanent even though they were originally supposedly "temporary." ProPublica is keeping a database of these "beachhead" appts (see link).

This beachhead strategy was developed by Mitt Romney's campaign, but of course in reality it was a GOP/Koch strategy that was handed off to the Trump campaign. I feel this has ACTUALLY BECOME the "deep state" and once again Democrats are being blindsided because we can't fathom the lengths these assholes will go to in order to "win."

Good grief.

Hurry up November.

This will be the longest 8 months in history.

Actually, I’m not buying this flipped votes for 3rd party line.

If votes were flipped, they went to trump. What else would explain the 15-20 point slide this go round. Because maybe some of his 2016 votes were fake.

what can we do to stop this, r176?

Look at the idiots hes flooded the federal courts with......unqualified judges with lifetime appointments

I would receive so much joy if the Chinese tariffed Ivanka's shit. That would be the best.

Now that Jared's solo trip to Saudi Arabia, which made no sense at the time, I am awaiting Ivanka's weird trip to hook up with Wendi Deng on the yacht to come back to haunt.

R181 China should also revoke those trademarks they granted to Trump.

I cannot fucking believe Pruitt is only 49.

He looks 59 or 60 if he's a day.

Re: Scott Pruitt: Why and how he got his job. For anyone who missed it Thursday night, Rachel Explains it all for You: It seems like a long segment but I was quite riveted. If you feel the need, cut to the last two minutes:

[quote]What does Gowdy know? Also what is up with his haircut with the sides completely shaved?

Best not to ask. Just sit back and marvel.

I suspect Trey prefers people talking about his changing hair styles over talking about his shady politics.

Thanks R184. I usually don't miss her show, but I had opera tickets this evening. Fascinating, and things just get clearer and grosser don't they?

[quote] Hardly anyone seems aware that Trump has installed more than 1000 political appointees throughout all our federal agencies, and many of their jobs are becoming permanent even though they were originally supposedly "temporary." ProPublica is keeping a database of these "beachhead" appts (see link).

You've got to be kidding me. Hardly anyone knew about this? That is completely inaccurate. Yes, we knew. Lots of us -- especially those of us who were political appointees of previous administrations (Democratic, here) -- were very well aware that this is how the government is run. Hell, it used to be that nearly the entire government was staffed by political appointees until civil service reform in the late 19th century. Please, don't make it seem as if this is something unusual. It is not. There are approximately 4,000 slots available for political appointments. The Government Printing Office puts out a list of them, known as "The Plum Book."

Plus, nothing in that early 2017 link to ProPublica says anything about these individuals becoming permanent employees. Conversion from a political appointee to career staff is not easily or quickly accomplished. And, the career folks largely (but not exclusively) have the say in those hires. Plus, it is highly unlikely that Rethug appointees want to stick around the government. The Dems do, but Repukes drop in, collect a salary and a title, and usually bolt for the door and a job in the private sector when they've grown weary of the tedium of government service.

[quote] I think this is a misconception; career people have been marginalized at every federal agency. I read that the people Pruitt upset were actually Trump POLITICAL appointees. There are 55 of political appointees just in the EPA.

See the link below the New York Times. These are the people to whom I was referring. Four of the five of them were career staff. In addition, the career staff members who worked under them were very well aware of what was going on. They can undo you in a heartbeat and they generally have the records to prove prove a political appointee's malfeasance.

r174, we need a total of 24 seats to take the house back.

What kind of misinfo are you giving out?

You're right we had a deficit of 24 seats. But we've won some special elections so that reduces the number we need to 21 seats. The Cook Report and several others are claiming they have shifted 13 seats to the Dem column from the GOP column as of a few days ago. So if we get those 13 seats we will still need 8 more. Sorry if I was not clear.

R185 Is Gowdy an extraterrestrial? 👽

Yes, r191, Gowdy appears to be from Uranus.

Regarding Pruitt, he's been quietly positioning himself for higher office, with three offices in mind: the Senate, if James Inhofe retires, Oklahoma governor (although if he's going to do that, he needs to get going quickly), and even the Presidency in 2024. I could see him taking Inhofe's seat but I suspect his recent ethical and judgment lapses have severely damaged his chances for the Presidency. He's an arrogant fucker and his own hubris may bring him down.

A CNBC reporter has tweeted new info about Mueller pursuit of Manafort. Apparently, Mueller confiscated boxes and boxes of paperwork from a storage locker belonging to a friend of Manafort’s. Manafort is now suing to stop Mueller from using that evidence...

And who is a friend of Manafort? A guy who has worked for the Gambino family in the past...

[quote]The Repukes will not retain control of either the House or Senate -- barring the Russians hacking into our voting systems.

Depending on the turnout, of course, there is, I think, a better than even chance that Democrats will retake the House. The Senate, on the other hand, would require not just a blue wave but just about a blue tsunami. This year's Senate election calendar is pretty brutal to Democrats.

There are 26 Democratic seats in play in 2018, counting the Minnesota seat, but just 8 Republican seats. Five of the Democratic seats are in red states that Trump won by 18 percentage points or more: West Virginia, North Dakota, Montana, Missouri, and Indiana. It's bad enough that this may be the worst Senate map faced by any party ever. According to Nate Silver, the Democrats could gain as many as 35-40 seats in the House and still lose seats in the Senate.

That said, things are a lot better than they were even just a few months ago. Most of the reports, for example, now have Montana in the "Leans Democrat" or even "Likely Democrat" column; it wasn't too long ago that this was seen as a likely Republican pickup. Right now, none of the major poll-watchers (Sabato, Cook, Gonzales) show either party with a likely flip. Instead, what they all show is 6 to 7 seats in the toss-up category.

For Democrats, its Donnelly in Indiana, McCaskill in Missouri, Heitkamp in North Dakota, Manchin in West Virginia

For Republicans, it's Flake's replacement in Arizona, Heller in Nevada, and Corker's replacement in Tennessee.

Democrats need to hold their four seats and flip two of the Republican seats to retake control of the Senate. They'd also have to hold all of the "Leans Democratic" seats, which include Tester in Montana, Smith in Minnesota, Brown in Ohio, Baldwin in Wisconsin and Nelson in Florida. There are no "Leans Republicans" seats, currently, unless O'Rourke starts getting some traction against Cruz in Texas.

R195 "The Repukes will not retain control of either the House or Senate -- barring the Russians hacking into our voting systems.

Depending on the turnout, of course, there is, I think, a better than even chance that Democrats will retake the House. The Senate, on the other hand, would require not just a blue wave but just about a blue tsunami. This year's Senate election calendar is pretty brutal to Democrats."

I noticed 60 Minutes is devoting a segment to this tomorrow night. As much and as closely as I follow news events these days, I often find at least one tidbit of new information when I tune into a 60 Minutes report. So just giving y'all a heads-up if you want to DVR it as I am planning to.

R187 Unfortunately, And there's so much more we don't know about.

I've mentioned this before. I'm surprised Rachel and other outlets haven't covered the story of Jared giving classified information to the Saudi Prince. I understand the overwhelming amount of important corruption stories, but this one in particular seems of equal importance and stands out to me.

For Those Who Haven’t Read This...

Terrifying.

Trump Tower is on fire. Again. Someone actually died this time.

Call me when the whole thing burns them... same with his presidency.

Avenatti says "major announcement" to come soon as to who it was that threatened Stormy.

You know the Press cares, the Dems care, but most people don't give a fuck about Stormy Daniels. She's a porn star. She entered into a consensual relationship with Trump, and she got $130,000. The general public doesn't give a fuck. No one ever expected Trump to be virtuous. Now if this was Obama, well shit. But it's Trump and the bar has always been real low. So unless her lawyer has video of Trump or of Michael Cohen threatening her in some real thuggish way, I don't think you'll see any ripples. LAw Enforcement seems to be asleep at the switch. How could so much corruption in his business practices, etc. go unexamined.

Three thing that make Hannity et al more dangerous than the yellow journalism of the past are atomic weapons; intercontinental missiles that can reach our country; and the global economy. We aren't apart from the rest of the world in the way we were until the 1950s or even later. Oh, a fourth thing, we lead the world as a beacon of liberty. That’s gone to shit.

Everyone who voted for Hillary colluded with the Russians, and is under investigation. I saw it on Hannity.

Has Hannity blamed Hillary for setting the fire in Trump Tower yet?

I am happy that politics, and White privilege, etc., did not come up at Easter. I have deplorable loved ones. They’ve been conned.

[quote] Roosevelt's Secretary of State, Sumner Welles, once said "Somoza's a bastard!" And (F. D.) Roosevelt replied, "Yes, but he's our bastard."

I think that’s how Deplorables feel about Trump.

[quote] Trump Tower is on fire.

Perhaps it was Tweedledum and Tweedledumber trying to get rid of some files.

Christ you lot are more deluded than I thought.

The Podesta group was named in Manaforts indictment. Was Trump?

The Uranium 1 and Benghazi cases have been reopened. Hillary and Obama are going down. Meanwhile Mueller has been reduced to arresting Dutch lawyers and Ukranian Facebook trolls.

This is the same Mueller that lied about weapons of mass destruction back in 2003. Whatever crime Trump may have committed pales into insignificance next to that.

Sheesh, the trolls aren't even trying anymore!

R209= President of the Flat Earth Society.

It's like r209 just threw everything at the wall at once instead of doling it out over his whole shift, so he can just take the rest of the night off.

You can't debunk anything I said because you know I'm right.

I heard today that 1 in 5 has participated in a protest march since Trump took office.

Ok R209, with your compelling evidence you have proven beyond any doubt that Hilary will go to the gas chamber. Each and every one of us here at DL is totally convinced. We have all seen the truth!

Go away so you can continue your circle jerk about Trump/Russia collusion?

That's why you watch Maddow every night. You're basically the mirror image of old Republicans who'd watch Hannity every night because he'd validate your world view by finding anything he could to slag off Obama.

[quote] The Podesta group was named in Manaforts indictment. Was Trump?

Sigh. You've taken two random facts and woven them together to form a conclusion. Trump's absence from that indictment does not prove he is innocent.

[quote] The Uranium 1 and Benghazi cases have been reopened. Hillary and Obama are going down.

Reopened by Rethuglicans in an effort to distract from what will be coming out about Trump. Both topics have been examined and debunked. Several times over.

[quote] Meanwhile Mueller has been reduced to arresting Dutch lawyers and Ukranian Facebook trolls.

First, you conveniently omitted Manafort, Gates, and Flynn. Second, you haven't got a clue as to how a prosecutor moves through a complex conspiracy case. Or, you are willfully ignorant. Or, both.

[quote] This is the same Mueller [who] lied about weapons of mass destruction back in 2003. Whatever crime Trump may have committed pales into insignificance next to that.

I see. Let's go with willfully ignorant.

Everything happens for a treason.

Hat tip, R161.

Debunked many times over? I think not.

Everything you just said is bullshit. Manafort has deep ties with the Podestas (do some research into what the Podestas and Hillary were up to during the Crimean crisis). Uranium 1 and Benghazi were reopened because the Dems tried to bury them (a cover up that will see many of them going to jail). Mueller is on camera repeating the "weapons of mass destruction" mantra.

20 threads and you lot are still clinging to a Trump impeachment despite the fact that there is ZERO evidence of collusion (why is buzzfeed suing the DNC?). It was leaked last week that Trump was not the target of an investigation which you managed to twist into "not yet". It's staring you in the face.

Paul Manafort was Donald Trump’s campaign manager. His deputy was Rick Gates. Michael Flynn was also in the inner circle of the campaign and he became National Security Advisor.

All three men are in deep, deep trouble with the law. And all three men worked on Trump’s campaign.

No matter how much you scream there’s nothing there, you’re not going to fool anyone but the desperately ignorant. Mueller has assembled the best prosecutor in the country to get to the bottom of this. So far, he’s indicating there’s definitely some there there.

Trump is a subject of the investigation....hes not a target because it was determined long ago that he was a perpetrator......

[quote]You can't debunk anything I said because you know I'm right.

You're not worth the time, R209, but it's just too easy.

[quote]The Podesta group was named in Manaforts indictment. Was Trump?

I'll rephrase this for you. A company where a prominent Clinton alum last worked in 1993 was mentioned in the indictment of Trump's campaign manager for conspiracy against the United States.

[quote]The Uranium 1 and Benghazi cases have been reopened. Hillary and Obama are going down. Meanwhile Mueller has been reduced to arresting Dutch lawyers and Ukranian Facebook trolls.

This is delirium. I suppose there are grand jury proceedings for these Hillary and Obama cases too.

Partisans blowing steam in committee and hacks spitting venom on air does not a case make.

Yet it's Mueller, who has the president's NSA as a cooperating witness, who is "reduced."

[quote]This is the same Mueller that lied about weapons of mass destruction back in 2003. Whatever crime Trump may have committed pales into insignificance next to that.

I had to look this up. It stretches the truth to incredulity to say that Mueller reciting George Tenet's explication of Colin Powell's statements makes your claim accurate.

Can’t we have one thread without trolls. Just one. If you don’t like this thread then don’t come here.

R223 sometimes the trolls aren't a bad thing. When they start popping in and overreaching with the most insane babble... you know it's good because they're worried.

I already blocked R29 for something else so they're very consistent.

[quote][R209]= President of the Flat Earth Society

... is happy to announce they have members all around the globe.

[quote]Whatever crimes Trump may have committed pales into insignificance next to that [Benghazi, Uranium.]

This final assertion from obliterated R209 deserves brief attention.

Translation: Trump hasn't committed any crimes, as he's often claimed, but even if he did, and I can't imagine what they would be, they couldn't possibly be as bad as crimes I'm desperate to believe and claim were true, in the face of all evidence to the contrary.

Such thought processes have taken Rumsfeld's 'known unknowns' and 'unknown unknowns' as gospel, through the looking glass into deplorable logic. The final revelation of Mueller's investigation can only be injurious to all such mindsets.

R202, I agree that Trump/Stormy Daniels story isn't critical on its own, embarrassing sure, but Trump has always had a sleazy reputation. But if her lawyer is able to break the non-disclosure penalty, it's possible that the rest of the women's stories will come out.

I thought the significance of the Stormy Daniels affair wasn’t that it was embarrassing, but that Trump paying her off with campaign funds and then lying about it was a crime.

R229, Yes, Trump's embarrassment is just the schadenfreude gravy on top

R229, you're right. Unfortunately the media is not giving that nearly enough attention.

Up thread I said I blocked R29, but I meant that I blocked R209.

[quote]I think not.

The one accurate thing the troll said on this thread.

It must be a script.

[quote] I thought the significance of the Stormy Daniels affair wasn’t that it was embarrassing, but that Trump paying her off with campaign funds and then lying about it was a crime.

You are correct that the significance of Stormy Daniels is not the affair with a porn star. As R230 said, it is just the icing on the cake. -- and further proof of the hypocrisy of the "family values" reich-wing, especially the "evangelicals."

The significance is the potential election law violations. Cohen now says that he paid Daniels the money (and took out a loan and set up a sham corporation to do so) purely out of benevolence and love for the Trump family so that these purportedly scurrilous falsehoods not be made public. Purely coincidentally, this was 11 days before the 2016 election when such a revelation might have shifted votes. (But, he's also said that he didn't get paid back.) Cohen and Trump have said that Trump knew nothing about it. But all of this strains credulity. No one is buying that Cohen set up this elaborate ruse out of the goodness of his cold, shriveled heart. Plus, lawyers are not supposed to undertake such actions on behalf of clients without their knowledge. Though no one has ever accused Cohen of being a particularly smart lawyer.

Cohen very likely violated federal election laws and will probably lose his license to practice law. In addition, if Trump knew about it, this is a potential election law violation for him as well.

Way to go Stormy.

The sticky thing about Cohen is that he can claim attorney client privilege about a lot of stuff. Then there's the "business interests" running back and forth to Russia, even after the election trying to present proposals about diplomatic shit way out of his job classification. Mueller is looking at all of that but it worries me that Cohen is Trump's "personal attorney" and as such may have some shield on things that are criminal.

There has got to be more to the Stormy story than what she mentioned on the 60 Minutes interview.

Maybe an STD or even pregnancy.

It's interesting that Anderson asked her if he wore protection. Like, why is that even a question? Isn't it assumed that everybody wears protection when having sex with a complete stranger??

[quote]The sticky thing about Cohen is that he can claim attorney client privilege about a lot of stuff.

But that's the reason it was so important that the dumb fuck Trump opened his flapping cheetohole and answered that reporter's question about Cohen and about not knowing about the money. He opened the door. Can't claim privilege if your dumbass client already talked publicly about it in front of television cameras.

Roger Stone: Congressmen Told Me Jeff Sessions is ‘Around the Bend,’ Might Be ‘Senile’. (see link)....

Throw doubt on Session's brain/memory in advance, so that his eventual testimony could be considered unreliable, or prevent charges of perjury against him when all of his "I don't remember"s don't plausibly add up. Calling Roger Stone a scumbag is insulting to scumbags, but he knows how to strategize.

He should have never been confirmed then....and if true, should have been removed from office long ago......their tactic wont work.

I would love for a porn star to be Trump's ultimate undoing, but it seems like Stormy and her lawyer are just milking their 15 minutes.

r240......think again.....but it wont be Trumps undoing....it will help, but it wont be the thing that does it......that will be the charges of TREASON.

R239 ... I agree and I hope you're right about the tactic not working. But my point being, it IS a tactic. So you agree on that?

R241 Maybe, maybe not. But I do think at the very least, it'll be Michael Cohen's undoing. A small reward but I'll take whatever I can get for now. :)

Stormi's lawyer is all kinds of eye candy

R235, don’t forget the crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege. Applies if client or attorney are communicating in order to commit a crime.

Cohen's undoing would not be a small thing. He’s one of the very few non-family people who actively protects Trump. Remove the fixer (inept as he obviously is) and a whole lot of shit is gonna get broke.

R225 " fixer (inept as he obviously is)"

Not to defend scumbag Cohen, but Trump often puts him in impossible no-win situations. And there is just so much corruption even the most unethical of lawyers can cover up!

I expect that Trump has never sought “legal advice” from Cohen. (Who would?) Trump just likes the idea of using a lawyer as his bagman, because he thinks he’s more protected that way.

"I expect that Trump has never sought “legal advice” from Cohen."

Are you kidding? Trump probably seeks legal advice from the White House custodian. He just never takes any of it.

[quote]The sticky thing about Cohen is that he can claim attorney client privilege about a lot of stuff.

But if he claims Attorney-Client privilege... wouldn't that in effect be admitting that Drumpf was aware of it? Because if he wasn't aware of it, there's no Attorney-Client privilege you're breaking, no?

Not necessarily. Cohen could simply say this is my client and I claim attorney/client privilege. He'd do it in a "blanket" sort of way. Now the Feds might question him about specific stuff but he just has to keep repeating that. And you now he's also going to take the 5th.

It wont work.....see Mueller getting Gates and/or Manaforts lawyer to testify before the grand jury....there is already precedence.

Trump probably misunderstands the application of privilege. Taking this as a presupposition, he likely communicated to Cohen outside of an attorney-client relationship on matters that were not considered to require legal advice.

I think a good case can be made that Trump primarily sought business and campaign advice from Cohen rather than legal advice. Therefore, most of the communications are not protected.

If in the course of seeking business or campaign advice Cohen suggested legal remedy, the proceeding events might be protected. However if a crime has occurred during and related to those events, there's reason to believe Cohen and/or Trump can be compelled to testify.

This is the trump card that Stormy Daniels holds. Many are focused a criminal campaign finance violation.

The introduction of another possible crime that renders privilege nonexistent - maybe harassment or criminal coercion - in Nevada in conjunction with the representation Cohen carried out would put the Trump team in a bigger world of hurt. We're now talking about federal crimes if Cohen has a relationship with a criminal actor in Nevada. Michael Avanetti would seek to establish a fact pattern that shows Cohen coordinates potentially illegal harassment in service of his Trump employment. It wouldn't be an unreasonable line of questioning in a deposition of either Trump or Cohen.

Sleazy ass Cohen needs to be disbarred.

No you guys have it all wrong. Hillary eats babies and John McCain invented ISIS.

Forget Stormy Daniels.

Remember....Cohen is featured throughout the Steele Dossier.....he literally was Trumps bagman......meeting throughout europe with Putins people.......he denies it, but I recall reporting last year that was able to confirm he was there via flight records.......Cohen is going to prison for crimes against the united states and espionage....trust.

Hahaha!!!!!! I can’t WAIT to see Cohen in an orange jumper!!!! He’ll look so pretty in orange!!!

We already know that Trump and Nunes are both guilty of obstruction but yes, I am afraid nothing will be done. If the congress is not turned over, we know their will be no impeachment and no trial. Could Nunes be re elected? I don't see how, he seems to be a crazy moron.

[quote]Cohen's undoing would not be a small thing. He’s one of the very few non-family people who actively protects Trump.

What's amazing is the lengths Cohen (or anyone for that matter) would go for trump when he would sell him out in less than a second. What on earth does Cohen get from trump that is so valuable? Does he have no other clients?

He knows where all the bodies are buried.....theres a difference. Trump also uses him for "other " things.........same with Kieth Schiller.

Trump is such a bitch, Cohen only has time for him and his problems...looks like Cohen is going to lose his license to practice. Maybe he could make a deal with Mueller?

I do believe Ryan and others are guilty of taking money from Russia...which was donated to the NRA. I want them all indicted, Nunes, Ryan and one named Johnson. I even believe McConnell is guilty.

I agree, Stein and Sanders were used by Russia, Sanders is still being used, the big dummy.

"I even believe McConnell is guilty."

Really? Ya think so??

I don't mean to give you a hard time. It's just such a "duh". I can't remember where, but some Conservative Fox person was interviewed and flat-out accused McConnell's wife (who was hired by Trump) of pressuring Fox to give never-Trump Republicans less and less airtime. I could have the story totally wrong, but the important part is McConnell's wife is definitely complicit in something).

McConnell’s wife is the “Tokyo Rose” of this whole sordid affair.

From Howard Fineman's twitter feed:

" Wow. Solid WH sources told me #Pruitt would be going, just a question of when. What’s up? Kelly (& @nytimes) said he had to go, but #Trump wants Kelly gone. Then #Pruitt made it clear to Trump in private that, if fired, the #KochBrothers & anti-fed allies would react furiously."

And check Seth Abramson

^^ I fucked up the link, but this is what he said:

"A reader makes a FASCINATING point: diGenova said he has a conflict and can't represent Trump, so presumably any conversations they're having aren't privileged. So—this reader was asking, and wisely, I think—why couldn't Bob Mueller COMPEL diGenova to reveal what Trump told him?"

Wow. So Scott Pruitt is now blackmailing Trump and co. into keeping his position? Something tells me that this isn’t going to need well.

*end

R267, no, that wouldn’t waive the privilege. Communications made when you are seeking to hire an attorney usually are privileged, even if you do not or cannot actually hire the attorney. The conflict would not affect this.

Jared Yates Sexton @JYSexton

I did a radio thing with a Republican operative awhile back who told me, after the segment, that he didn’t believe anything he’d said and that the party was dangerous. “I’ve got bills,” is what he said. This is why we’re in this mess.

Rick Wilson @TheRickWilson in response:

A lot of my fellow consultants are banking all the cash they can, playing the Trump bullshit (which they roundly despise) to the hilt.

[quote] looks like Cohen is going to lose his license to practice. Maybe he could make a deal with Mueller?

Perhaps, but that will not save him from disbarment. First, Mueller will likely indict him for some crime. If so, that would mean he would forfeit his license. Second, even if that doesn't happen (and that in and of itself would be shocking), I expect that the Bar of the State of New York, when they have finished investigating the allegations against Mr. Cohen, will not be allow him to retain his law license.

It is just that McConnell is such a lousy, corrupt politician. but everyone acts like he has not run afoul of the law. He is a horrid person and I would like to see him dead, he deserves the death penalty. No one ever mentions him and his sins.

The Kochs aren't crazy. IF Pruitt becomes a liability for his excesses and his corruption, they will cut him loose. The Kochs are ugly pieces of shit, but they treasure discretion. They prefer their pawns to be well behaved and low key, like Paul Ryan not clowns and buffoons like Scott Pruitt. So if Scott Pruitt threatened Trump with the Koch brothers, it may well blow up in his face. I think what we need to do out here is highlight and emphasize that Scotty is protected by the Kochs and Trump DARE not fire him. LOLOL! That's how you get rid of Pruitt.

Want to add that Trump has a lot of discretionary power as POTUS, and he can do a few things that hurt the Kochs. He's a vengeful son of a bitch and there is o love lost between them so Scotty is definitely playing wit fire. And he's not the only one who could get burned.

[quote]Trump probably misunderstands the application of privilege.

Ya think? It runs in the family.

[quote]Trump also uses him for "other " things.........same with Kieth Schiller.

Another member of the brain trust who made a hasty exit from the White House, a day after that rather large and misshapen press secretary swore it was fake news he was leaving.

Another great thread. Thanks guys. But I feel sorry for the likes of R209.

Oh I'm OK.

I find the cognitive dissonance being displayed on this thread fascinating. I'm curious to see how far this can go with you all still insisting you are right despite all evidence pointing to the contrary.

Your projection is impressive r209.

Mark your calendars, boys, January 3rd 2019 will go down in history.

Timing, it's all about the timing.

Well apparently the OIG report is being presented to congress today (Monday) so we'll have a better idea of who's right very soon (SPOILER: it's me)

R209 is projecting like a 2,000-screen multiplex.

The cable news networks still continue to show the Access Hollywood tape ad nauseam.... Has is ever been revealed who leaked that tape? Is it possible the Russians leaked it as well? Remember, Putin's #1 goal was (amd still is) to cause as much in-fighting and dissent as possible. He might have orchestrated the whole shebang.

Trump is Putin's guy. I doubt he would undermine him in the middle of a campaign, but I agree with you, he probably has no problem now and then posturing and stirring up mischief now that Trump is POTUS.

[quote] I think what we need to do out here is highlight and emphasize that Scotty is protected by the Kochs and Trump DARE not fire him. LOLOL! That's how you get rid of Pruitt.

Get it aired on Fox News and Trump will take notice.

[quote] Trump is Putin's guy. I doubt he would undermine him in the middle of a campaign, but I agree with you, he probably has no problem now and then posturing and stirring up mischief now that Trump is POTUS.

Could have been one hell of a powerplay move where Putin did set up Trump and then "saved Trump's ass" through hacking the election to show how much influence and power Putin already has. Maybe Trump was so stupid to think that Koch Bros were the only real power in the US and Putin showed him that Putin is scheming in the US with great success already (by handing Donald Trump the win).

The Kochs never liked Trump and Trump hated them. But they must have made some kind of truce, because he certainly has worked for them as far as domestic policy is concerned. Taking his cues from Congress, as Mitch McConnell said, "He'll sign anything we give him." And as long as he does that Congress will stick with him. After all, people should have been amazed at how quickly he assembled a cabinet, not even questioning on whose recommendations some of these people won appointment. But between the Koch brothers and their operatives in Congress, and the Putinistas, it ought to be pretty damned clear. Ross is a Putin guy, Pruitt is a Koch guy, and it's pretty damned clear the rest are similarly connected. with a few bones thrown to the "Christian" Extreme Right.

R209 is totally off her rocker, ignoring the facts and clinging to fantasy.

OK. I have a question. Let's be the Republicans in Congress for a few minutes. And Let's be Trump. If you knew you were going to get your asses handed to you in the 2018 Mid Terms, what would you be doing now to try to either avoid it completely or insure it's not as bad as it could be? I mean there are options from the most extreme like creating some national crisis and invoking martial law suspending the elections, to simply manipulating the elections so that yes, the GOP loses some seats, but not enough to lose their majorities.

or scare the base about impeachment R289. Seriously that is all they got!

On the subject of Bernard... just came across this.

Apparently this person is going over Sanders' FEC Filings and is looking for help.

I would like to know what will be occurring on January 3rd, 2019. Your post was so mysterious and chic, r281.

R281? You're not too bright, are you?

Congress reconvenes for the first new session after the November 2018 elections.

Interesting, R291.

R285 "Trump is Putin's guy. I doubt he would undermine him in the middle of a campaign, but I agree with you, he probably has no problem now and then posturing and stirring up mischief now that Trump is POTUS.

Please try to stay with me as I’m trying to figure this out as I go along. Thru investigation of the 2016 POTUS election, we started to learn things as they were revealed, gradually, starting in early 2017. The more info revealed, the more we learned, and our insight into Putin’s motives continually evolved and became clearer. This took place over many months of time and is still evolving to this day. So, in order:

1)tPutin just wanted to fuck with our election. He had no real endgame or final goal; he just wanted to sow doubt into our election process and thus prove Democracies don’t work.

*It was also very important that he leave what we now call “receipts” so that we and the entire world would know that the great and powerful Putin was responsible. Of course, he would also completely deny it along the way. THIS PARAGRAPH STAYS TRUE THROUGHOUT.

2)tMonths later we learn, Putin didn’t want to just fuck with our election. He hated Hillary Clinton and wanted her to lose. Whoever the fallback guy, it wasn’t so consequential, (could be Bernie Sanders, could be Trump or whoever won the GOP).

3)tMonths later we learn, he DID want to make Trump President and started laying the seeds as early as 2013 and possibly many years before that…… and most likely, all was being done without Trump’s knowledge and willing participation, (i.e. “Collusion”). It doesn’t make #s 1 and 2 less relevant. It just establishes that he did have a very specific end game in mind if he was able to achieve it. He wanted all three very badly, but was willing to at least settle for the first, and then the first and second. (cont...)

"Trump is Putin's guy. I doubt he would undermine him in the middle of a campaign, but I agree with you, he probably has no problem now and then posturing and stirring up mischief now that Trump is POTUS."

Back to July 2016, Putin truly didn’t expect he’d hit the jackpot and Trump would win the Electoral, but by secretly helping Trump to build and hold on to his base, he would insure that when Hillary won, it would be practically impossible for her to govern as Trump would constantly be a thorn in her side as he stayed in the spotlight – which was all Trump was intending on doing anyway. Remember, he had his own Trump TV network ready to go as soon as he had lost the election.

We know Putin hacked the DNC and had the emails. The RNC claimed they were too smart and careful with their system and thus Putin wasn’t able to get thru. (which means they admit they were as duplicitous and backstabbing as the dems, just not sloppy enough to allow it leaked). I think Putin WAS successful in hacking both, but we he had on the GOP (and still has) was far more corrupt and harmful, especially compared to the embarrassing but mostly benign intel on the Dems. So better to release the DNC’s emails in July 2016 when it would be most harmful, and bank the RNC’s for a late date, or better yet, use it for blackmail, (which we’re seeing the results of now). Maybe he had already given the emails to Wikileaks, had thus relinquished control, and released the Access Hollywood to spurn Wiki into action. Putin was just having a blast watching all of it unfold.

So why is all this important now? I don’t know. But if any of you reading think I’m on to something that hasn’t really been discussed, maybe you can help to figure it out.

And to you naysayers, by all means punch in any holes that you find. We need to proceed as our own DL Think Tank!.

BWHAHAHAHAHA.....FBI just raided the offices of Michael Cohen on the recommendation of Robert Mueller, who uncovered some shady shit during his investigation......including payments to silence pornstars.....LOL.

^^^^he was referred to NY prosecutors by Mueller.....no pardon coming there !

Good!

But Hillary! Emails! Uranus!

Trump's twitter rants will be epic!

The FBI is obviously looking for Uranium 1 documents and also any info on Hilary's e-mails

You left out Bajour, r299.

Bill Kristol: This Is War!

They also raided his hotel room at The Regency where hes living.....lol....hes totally fucked.

R295/296, bless you for working through all that. the fact is without a road map it's pretty hard to really remember all the facts as they've been raining down on us. I'll give my two cents to amplify on what you've outlined.

We watched Hillary Clinton in the October debate with Trump talk about the Russians meddling in our election on his behalf. We knew Wiki Leaks was working with the Russians when they hacked in to Podesta's and the DNC accounts earlier in the 2016 campaign, and of course after the election, SOON after the election we discovered that the FBI was investigating the Trump campaign for collusion with Russia, actually since July 2016! We also were told that Obama and his people warned Trump and his people during the transition to avoid certain people who were Russian spies, like former Russian ambassador Krislyak and others.

Since then we have learned at varoius times that the Russians were pouring money into Trump's organizations since at least 2007-2008. This as admitted by Donnie Jr. in an public interview. We have since seen evidence that indicates that Trump was a money launderer for Russian Oligarchs over many years and had ties to a corrupt laundering operation in a bank in Cyprus of which Wilbur Ross was running the show. Ross kid is married to one of Putin's oligarch's sons and has strong ties t Russian oligarchs. He's a member or the Trump cabinet, approved by the GOP Senate.

We have now learned that the Steele Dossier was more fact than fiction and has largely been substantiated. We have also learned that FISA warrants for Carter Page were not based soley on the Steele Dossier but on Page's drunken admissions to some guy in a bar about RUssia helping Trump. We now know that the Russians were sending moles to the USA as early as 2015 to learn how we do things in various states so they could better hack into our voting rolls. Which they did in at least 21 states.

We know they had a factory in St. Petersburg filled with hackers who promoted fake news sites and fake social media accounts. We have since learned there was a direct relationship between those Russians and Cambridge Analytica and Facebook among others. and that tens of millions of Americans, make that 87 million, were exposed to that crap. We know that Russian "friends of Putin" who were also friends of Trump were encouraging him to run for POTUS as early as 2011, and we know he himself, Trump was eager to hob nob with Putin. We now know about secret meetings and special servers at Trump Tower connected to Russian interests, and meetings with Russians to "get some dirt" on Hillary.

We know Putin not only hated Hillary and hated US Policy and blamed Hillary specifically for demonstrations and turmoil during Russian elections, but that Putin wanted his biggest fan, Donald Trump to be POTUS and that he did in fact manage that outcome. I won't talk about Roger Stone, or Manafort or Gates, or the Russians buying their way into the NRA, and funneling millions into Congressional races and to Paul Ryan's super pacs. I won't talk about Russia supporting Bernie, or Jill Stein who were mere pawns on this chessboard, or the fact that the Russians exploited all our weaknesses agitating the Alt Right white nationalists, or Black Lives Matter.

But that's my contribution to the summary as we know it so far.

I know I'm just a worrier but if the Repugs know they are going to be blue tsunamied in November, why aren't they more active about it? Yeah, there are the retirements which point to them just giving up but that just seems like too little. It's like they know they don't have to worry as much as it looks like they should to the sane among us. If Paul Ryan retires or says he's not running again, that might be a bigger sign but, after all the previous electoral shenanigans in favor of the Repugs over the last few decades, I just don't trust the process.

Thank you, R305! I love you!

To clarify: Apparently Mueller's team uncovered some dirt and referred the information to the local FBI office in NYC. They're the ones who raided Cohen's offices. This is still a federal matter not a state matter. It's typical. First of all you know Cohen is dirty in a million different ways. They want him to give up info on Trump. They will use this lates investigation to squeeze him. So now he has his very own FBI investigation separate from the Mueller investigation in which he plays a role.

R308 Can we trust the FBI office in NYC? Wasn't that corrupted by Giuliani thugs during the election?

r292, it is the day the next Congress is seated.

And as to Cohen, when the FBI raids your offices for your work product, all attorney-client privilege evaporates.

It was a Mueller triple play.....tey raided his office, his home, and the hotel he was staying at....lol

According to Katy Turr they're still raiding his hotel room.

R314, thank you!!! I love that GIF.

what's this about Cohen's place getting raided?

Trumps having a meltdown on tv right now...blaming everyone from Hillary to the Justice Dept, Sessions because he didnt recuse, etc......Its all a witch hunt........

He is blathering on and on; he is out of control.

He is fucked because he knows he has lost the narrative.

Not even invoking atrocities.

Not even John Bolton.

Nobody will step in and tell him to STFU.

lol.....Hillarys acid washed emails, 33000 missing emails.....no collusion.....now hes throwing Rod Rosenstein under the bus.....hes now talking about firing Mueller.......lol....it will be an interesting next few days......

And now he is blathering about Comey.

Boy will this boost Comey's book.

Its evident that Trump is shook.....hes going to crack....and soon.....He knows what Michael Cohen knows, and he knows hes fucked one way or another.

Hillary's outfit while she was acid washing her e-mails!

Oh, no, her EMAILS!!!!

The ultimate bullshit pivot.

Why does he even go on public television? Nobody but his Deplorables respond to his "Hillary's Emails" button pushing.

And tonight there's Lester Holt's interview with Loretta Lynch.

A pundit pointing out that Michael Cohen is deputy national finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. Hello, midterms!

Any links to Drumpfs meltdown?

[quote]A pundit pointing out that Michael Cohen is deputy national finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.

That is so like 10 minutes ago.

Why are there no demonstrations chanting "Lock HIM up"?

Why do all Republicans look like him?

He is bringing up Hillary’s emails!

R327 -

[quote] A pundit pointing out that Michael Cohen is deputy national finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. Hello, midterms!

What does that mean? Will they have to find someone else? Did he embezzle some money (all of it) and they are broke?

R333 I think it means that many republicans are shitting their pants tonight.

As someone pointed out upthread, the RNC already deleted Michael Cohen's name from their website.

Here's hoping Cohen takes down the RNC too!

What will Lindsey have to say?

Maybe Lindsey will go one way; maybe Lindsey will go the other way.

For sure, the photogenic Lindsey will speak daily before the camera.

You're all unbelievable. It's amazing. You simply wave away established crimes like the emails but cling to something incriminating turning up from an affair with a porn star 12 years ago.

And you call me crazy.

[quote@] R327: Any links to Drumpfs meltdown?

Here.

Oops, sorry for the dup in R339.

Will Ms. Lindsey want to put Trump on trial in the Senate as much as he wanted to put BIll Clinton on trial nearly 20 years ago?

YEAH RIGHT.

[quote]Well apparently the OIG report is being presented to congress today (Monday) so we'll have a better idea of who's right very soon (SPOILER: it's me)

Yes, that’s definitely the big news of the day, r209. You must really be enjoying our liberal tears.

Established crimes? Tool at R209 you mean the ones that were investigated 12 times by the very people who hated Hillary Clinton?

And still they couldn't find anything other than three mis-marked memos? Those established crimes?

What I love about this Cohen Raid is that every damn person who had to ok it were Republicans and some of them were Drumpf appointees. Further, none of it would have been possible without probable cause.

They're all shitting themselves.

Shit really goes down at the Regency Hotel...damn!

Who needs pee pee tape when you got the Stormy & Cohen shitshow?

Yeah, who’d imagine Stormy would have a role in all this. Perhaps, the undoing of a President.

R305 Just read your post. Man, you did a far more beautiful job of summing things up than practically anyone else I've seen. Even professional journalist. OP should consider using your summary at the start of the next thread.

More later, lots of catching up to do. But wanted to let you know I read and appreciated.

Oh - one thing in response. So tired of the questions as to why Manafort and Michael Flynn weren't vetted properly. Answer: Because they weren't vetted at all! They were sent by Putin to cozy up to Trump, just like the movie Mean Girls. They all knew all along. Flynn's job was his reward and he was expected to.. well....expected to continue working for Putin. So obvious to anyone who's seen an episode of Homeland or The Americans. Drives me crazy!

But actually Flynn was vetted, Professional Shit stain Chris Christie who was the transition guy urged Trump not to hire Flynn, but then Trump fired the dshit stain and the rest is history,

^^ R305 I did know about 95% of what you wrote, (some I had forgotten). However, some of the Wilbur Ross stuff was new to me. I knew he had connections to Russia, I didn't know about the marriage. Thanks for that info. Another head-scratcher - how the hell did he get approved?? (in any other year.....). About Wilbur Ross, though. Could there be a man with a name more perfectly suited? Although I'm often tempted to call him Sam Drucker, (from Petticoat Junction and Green Acres).

I wish you were in LA and we could have lunch tomorrow and discuss theories.

Oh, r295/6. I'm working from an archaic device. Thus the many typos. Sorry.

Heads up to Stormy's lawyer's fans - he'll be on Larry O'Donnell tonight.

^^ He'll be on every show the rest of this week!!

I’m not a Stormy fan as I am a prude; however, I do think she deserves a monument. Though let’s see how it works out.

Perhaps we could call it a "mammument"?

And never forget that Pence became VP because of Manafort.

^^ R356 , perhaps if R305 is reading this, he can explain the Pence/Manafort connection and offer a theory as to why Manafort insisted on Trump going with Pence.

Thanks R305 if you're reading this.

simple . Pooty made an investment, he wants to make sure "his guy" maintains control of the WH even if/when the dotard crumbles.

Flynn, like Manafort a few others had dollar signs in their eyes. They weer in the process of becoming wealthy like the Oligarchs they were cozy with. Oil and gas leases, representing "client to foreign governments, etc. Flynn in particular really thought he was hitting the big time. Remember how he was on the phone just as Trump was being sworn in? Flynn was a greedy corrupt traitor.

R209 is the baby brother of the ELE Troll. It’s cringeworthy.

Where did r209 go?

[quote]What I love about this Cohen Raid is that every damn person who had to ok it were Republicans and some of them were Drumpf appointees. Further, none of it would have been possible without probable cause.

A former FBI official explained on CNN that this is a SIM, a special investigative matter--when a warrant is on a politician, member of the media, member of the clergy, etc., High-profile person.

He said these SIMs have to be signed off at the highest level.

The highest level.

Oh, THIS is why the stock market's dropping?

FANK YOU, Herr Drumpf, for explaining the drop has nothing to do with your idiotic trade war.

[quote]Professional Shit stain Chris Christie who was the transition guy urged Trump not to hire Flynn, but then Trump fired the dshit stain and the rest is history,

President Obama told orange himself that Flynn was bad news.

OK, can someone please explain to me just why the fuck the traitor Flynn wasn't locked up and stripped of rank for his treasonous activities before?

I mean, Obama knew he was a traitor and yet nobody did Fuck all to kick him out of the military, strip his rank and hang him for treason. Why not?

Obama was too centrist, too willing to reach across the aisle, and too cautious by half. Not that long ago Obama would have been a corporate-friendly, moderate Republican.

r365, it is all pending.

Dershowitz: 'Deafening Silence of ACLU' After Raid on Trump Lawyer 'Really Appalling'

Fox News Insider

2 hours ago

I just crapped my pants!

he's hissing in our general direction, r369

The special counsel is investigating a payment made to President Trump’s foundation by a Ukrainian steel magnate for a talk during the campaign, according to three people briefed on the matter, as part of a broader examination of streams of foreign money to Mr. Trump and his associates in the years leading up to the election.

That MAGA crowd is simply OUT OF THEIR FUCKING MINDS. This year is going to be very painful for them. Their distortion field is so THICK. I imagine a handful of them, individually, will show up in DC threatening to shoot GOP congressmen when they finally turn away from Trump and try and save their own asses. Or maybe FBI HQ. The MAGA crowd is completely unhinged from reality. MAGA Twitter is a fucking scream this morning - facts be damned.

Mueller is closing in on Trump, right? I mean, once the net is dropped on his longtime personal lawyer...that’s pretty much checkmate, game over, innit? Because Trump was no choirboy to begin with, was he?

R372, I’ve also read their comments. They think it’s a coup, the end of the republic. The extreme ones are calling it tyranny and are for starting a civil war. This is the thought process of the cult of Trump.

r374, Nothing would scare the Deplorables more than starting a war, because then they have to really come forward and show their true numbers. That's why they are so gun-ho about weapons, because they don't have the man power and try to compensate that with fire power.

And civil war requires logistics and more importantly men who listen and not just "blow things up" and do their own thing. You really think these raging lunatics can obey specific orders? They are led by rage and they will just do violent, uncoordinated shit. It will be great for Putin who will revel about the chaos, but the Deplorables will run out of steam and resources fast, because they run around like headless chickens.

I think we’re going to see a rise in right wing terrorism, but they’re too stupid to organize anything.

[quote]President Obama told orange himself that Flynn was bad news.

Right-wing media continues to tout Flynn as a "great patriot."

Oh, the irony. I would have told him to slurp my pissflaps.

R378

McConnell keeping a low profile through all of this, and then emerging to use the clown for a self-serving tax cut is yet another example of the selfishness and complicity. They also know that these poor people will defend them rather than admit they were deceived. The damage is sadly done and we're divided, without moral compass or competent leadership, and with lots of violent, raging fools wanting revenge. Their NRA was a russian laundromat for thugs in office, their idol is a malevolent narcissist cheat, their godly man is nothing more than a end timing autocrat, their jobs are still gone. Their only comfort is to watch the rest of us miserable and dragged down into the mud right along with them.

Seriously, when was the last time we saw McConnell? I'm enjoying the vacation, but still.

The Corrupt Fat Ass claims he cancelled The South America trip because of Syria. Bullshit! The Mueller tornado is gaining steam. And it's being reported the host countries were not going to greet him with a huge reception and fanfare as the Middle East and Asian countries did on his last trips. Orange Mussolini wanted no part of this.

I was at the gym last night. They have several large televisions set up in front of the aerobics machine, each one tuned to a different station. I noticed faux news flashing this statement, repeatedly, across the screen: "They are trying to silence conservative voices!" I chuckled because, when they can no longer support what their dear leader has done with their circuitous and ridiculous arguments, they just repeatedly flash false, unsubstantiated statements. Who needs FACTS, when just throw out bullshit 'sayings to the up your willfully ignorant, unwashed, deplorable masses?

We need to start demanding that people change the station or turn off Fox News if it is on in our vicinity.......If they complain and say its free speech, tell them "Sedition is not free speech....look it up ".......because they obviously dont know the definition of the word.

I love the fact that Mueller outsmarted them again by referring Cohen's case to the SDNY. I would not be surprised if he does similarly with Roger Stone and Jared and Donnie. All of them will implicate Trump and this way nothing Trump does to Mueller will affect the continuing investigation. I know in the past Chris Christie and Rudy were "advising " Trump, along with Dershowitz, but I 'd bet the only one still talking to him is Dersh.

Christie would tell him not to fire Mueller. Former U.S. Attorney is no dumbie. He knows what the process is to go after Cohen. What I'm wondering is why Dear Rudy didn't let Trump know this was coming. Rudy's main sources were retirees from the NYC field office, and a few older agents still active. They were all friendly with Rudy because he would often hire them for his law firm and his security company. Rudy is a rotten, corrupting piece of shit. And he and his asshole buddies all live in the same Hillary hating misogynist bubble.

Another aside. The Boggs law firm that allowed Michael Cohen to have a space in their offices, is one of the most prestigious, powerful law firms ? lobbying firms in Washington. I thin they couldn't wait the shove him out the door. I guess early on, they decided to play footsie with the Trump people, and it wasn't working out too well for them.

Important thread.

Thanks, R386, that's a great discussion.

Betcha Ryan is lunching with the Koch brothers to make sure they know it might be impossible to ignore Trump's messes.

I want to add that it wouldn't surprise me if the Kochs are trying to make a deal to save Pence so he can be POTUS, and they'll get rid of Trump. It doesn't matter at this point about the Midterms. They were hanging on to Trump because they thought they could save the midterms. I bet now they are telling the Kochs that hey think they'll take some hits and it'll be tight, but they can save both houses...if the Kochs give them enough money....

R372 and others.... "The MAGA crowd is completely unhinged from reality. MAGA Twitter is a fucking scream this morning - facts be damned."

I feel it's always necessary to point this out whenever I see it now. We truly don't know how many of those posts are legitimately MAGA, and how many are Russian bots. If the comments come up almost immediately, chances are they're bots. It's very confusing and easy to forget but we have to make an effort to keep it in mind.

The positive spin is this: perhaps ALL THIS TIME, (and we're talking at least two years now), a large percentage of what we all along believed to be Trump Support, might have been as fake as Pizzagate.

R391 here again... "And civil war requires logistics and more importantly men who listen and not just "blow things up" and do their own thing. You really think these raging lunatics can obey specific orders? They are led by rage and they will just do violent, uncoordinated shit."

This quote is kind of proving my point. This is exactly the kind of banter that Putin wants to see and is strongly encouraging, thus the bots. The bots are creating this divisive drama that continues to erupt. Whatever cliche you want to use. Fanning the flames, throwing grease on the fire, etc. Just think of that old duplicitous second best "friend" you used to confide your feelings to about your best friend, and how he'd tell you all the horrible things your bf was saying, while doing the exact same thing to the other person. Your friendship gets destroyed because of lies, and situations that never existed.

It's the delusion of no collusion.

"I love the fact that Mueller outsmarted them again".

To me, this quote implies that Mueller did it deliberately and for that reason. Like he's using premeditation or strategizing. Maybe, but I don't think so.

I think Mueller referred it because that's proper procedure. Plain and simple. Mueller is focused and meticulous. Which is what I love about him.

The "outsmarting" is just a bonus.

I think Mueller knew exactly what he was doing here.

Mueller handed it over to the State, cuz Donnie Two Scoops can’t do fuck all about State charges. They’ve got Cohen now. He’s losing his license no matter what. And he’s probably going away for the rest of his life. Unless...

If (and it’s a big 'if') Cohen cooperates, it’s game/set/match.

Strongly disagree with you R394. It seems everything we know about Mueller shows that he's methodical and knows exactly what he's doing.

R394 Did you misunderstand my post? (Did I not articulate it well enough?)

Meticulous is another word for methodical. Yes, Mueller knows exactly what he's doing. All I'm saying is, he's not doing it deliberately as an attempt to "outsmart". To go a little farther, he's not allowing outside politics and partisanship to distract him. He's doing what he's doing because it's the right thing.

I agree with you!

Again, R397, because he is methodical he's doing it for a specific reason and it's not because it's procedural. That's my point.

Further, I agree with some others... it wasn't referred because it's procedural... I think he did it as a tactic to let Cohen know he's fucked so he had better cooperate.

"I think he did it as a tactic to let Cohen know he's fucked so he had better cooperate"

Hmm, Okay. Maybe. I'm not certain. It's just that I believe because Mueller is so procedural, he would have done it irrespective of any specific dimensional-chess game strategy. We can never really know. And it's not that important. What's important is that Mueller just keeps doing what he's doing......

For R305 (if you're still with us). David Corn just posted an article about Wilbur Ross.

Maybe all of the above are true. Yes, it's procedurally correct. But it also has the added benefit of being partially on a tangent from the main Mueller investigation so it will continue no matter what happens to the Mueller investigation. And Mueller is a chess player. He is deliberate and methodical, and he is also going to do whatever he can properly do to protect his work. I'm almost certain that entered into the thinking about whether or not to do this. It was not just a coincidental added benefit, but more likely the most beneficial way to proceed. Mueller's main focus is Trump and the collusion between his campaign and the Russians to interfere in our election. He could have ignored Cohen, except as a witness. Instead he chose the "nuclear option. "

Trump can get all worked up but firing Mueller for this will not do a damned bit of good. And BTW: To those who don't get it. This was a FBI/ Federal seizure. It was not the state of NY. It was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of the state of New York who had the FBI go after Cohen after Rosenstein, and some judge approved. They kicked in his door and snatched the phone right out of his hands. LOLOL!!

How much time could Cohen be looking at if all the charges wring out guilty?

R402 does that ensure the investigation proceeds through that US Attorney office even if Mueller gets the axe? Is that correct? And does it also eliminate the possibility of a pardon?

Rick Wilson just posted this great piece. My favorite part:

"It’s an open secret and has been for quite a while, but Trump isn’t worth $10 billion. As one of my hedge-fund friends (an actual billionaire) said of Trump in 2015, “He’s a clown living on credit.” For Trump to have the public learn that he may not be as wealthy as he has continued to claim as the central element of his branding would hurt him more than if Mueller then proved he took sacks of cash and a foot massage from Vladimir Putin. Collusion with the Russians is nothing compared to having his baroque finances revealed. Trump would rather be known as a traitor than as someone who isn’t one of the Masters of the Universe."

From what I understand, he can’t be pardoned if he broke any kind of state law.

I’ve read pretty much all these threads from pretty early on.

[quote]How much time could Cohen be looking at if all the charges wring out guilty?

Fraud, money laundering, campaign irregularities; you name it. They’ll have tons of charges to ultimately pick and choose from, so no matter how you cut itl, I think it’s a pretty safe bet he’s looking at life.

Kyle Griffin:

“He’s sitting there bitching and moaning. He’s brooding and doesn’t have a plan,” a Republican close to the White House tells Vanity Fair. “I could see him having a total meltdown and saying, ‘Fuck it, I’m firing all of them,’” a Trump friend told VF.

^^ "or Fuck it. I'm pushing this red button."

NowThis Verified account @nowthisnews

Fox News accidentally broadcast that they were the least trusted major news network

Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating previously unreported meetings in the Seychelles that included several foreign power players, according to an investigation by NJ.com. The January 2017 meetings were attended by “foreign influencers” from countries like “Russia, France, Saudi Arabia and South Africa,” and were "part of a larger gathering" hosted by United Arab Emirates’ Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, according to the report. Several of the meetings occurred around the same time as an already-reported gathering between Blackwater’s Erik Prince, Russian businessman Kirill Dmitriev, and the crown prince. That meeting was brokered by George Nader, who has been of interest to Mueller. Flight records show that people in the Saudi financial system, and others holding passports from Egypt and Singapore flew into the Seychelles in the second week of January. Alexander Mashkevitch, an “alleged financier of Bayrock, an investment vehicle linked to Trump,” was also reportedly on the islands during that time period. Nader flew to the islands on January 7, and Dmitriev flew in on January 11. Mueller has been expanding the scope of his investigation to look at the relationships that Trump and his associates may have had with foreign funds in the years running up to the election.

Is anyone watching CNN? Is it me or has Joey Jackson had a voice makeover? He used to sound exactly like Gilbert Gottfried, and he still does, but to a lesser extent.

Maybe he can give Richard Painter some lessons, R312

[quote] R366: Obama was too centrist, too willing to reach across the aisle, and too cautious by half. Not that long ago Obama would have been a corporate-friendly, moderate Republican.

Obama was only capable of doing so much. The racists wouldn’t let him do too much, else the Trump Channel would roust the useful idiots.

[quote] R374: ...This is the thought process of the cult of Trump.

It is a cult. That, and Fox. It’s such a shame.

Mr. Mueller is irreproachable and unapproachable. He would not make a very effective "feel your pain" type politician, but he was made for this moment.

There are so many bases for comparing Nixon and Trump. Even this proposed meeting with North Korea. It reminds me of when Nixon opened up China.

Fortunately for us, perhaps, Nixon also happened to be a brilliant man who made one colossally dumb mistake. Trump is an idiot who makes tons of them every day. When/if ever he does something that's thought of as smart, usually it's an accident.

Nixon made more than one mistake, but he was a brilliant man. And completely undermined by his own inferiority complex.

Nixon had the brains to know what he was doing to the country and the grace to eventually go away. In comparison, Trump will have to be dragged from the WH, bile spewing from his mouth, shit pouring down his legs, squalling and screeching and blaming everyone but himself for his downfall.

And even in our best case scenario, (Trump is sent to prison for treason and given a life sentence), he'll continue to proclaim his innocence, he'll claim he was framed, and Sean Hannity and the rest of his friends at Fox will continue to sew division in this country. It will never be over.

I predict when shit really goes down that Trump will barricade himself in the WH and have to be taken out with a tranquilizer gun.

.........

R422, I foresee it coming down to Trump, Miller, and a de-wigged Huckabeast in the bunker.

Who is Charlie Dent? I think he's a hot Daddy. On Chris Matthews.

What's up with Cohen owning NYC taxi medallions?

Thank you all who participate in these threads. Seriously... you all provide content before I see it anywhere else.

Well, If they do find direct proof of espionage and conspiracy with Russia that amounts to a charge of Treason, and hes found guilty, he should be executed on national tv and made an example of so anyone thinking about attempting something similar will think twice......its in the constitution and it calls for the death penalty.

R425, he’s a republican Pennsylvania congressman, but not a big fan of Trump. Has said Trump is a big factor in his not seeking reeelection.

And he IS a hot Daddy

I'm going to ask a possibly stupid question, but!

If the Ghoul has some dirty FBI agents in the NY office, what are the odds that someone alerted Cohen prior to the raid?

Yeah, that taxi medallion thing is weird. Back in the day, I suppose they were cash in the bank. Was he flipping them? The whole thing reminds me of that episode of The Sopranos where Paulie shoplifted some worthless thing from a coffee shop. No grift too small for the ambitious and enterprising criminal.

Trump might fire Mueller as a delay tactic. Delay, delay. It actually works, to some extent.

^^ I totally agree. Remember, Trump only lives in and for the moment.

So Don Lemon got the interview with Cohen! Good for him.

Just for clarification: 1] Mueller found crimes unrelated to his investigation, and referred them to the guy who got Preet Baharara's job for investigation. It is still a federal jurisdiction in New York.

2] In order for Mueller's charges to be Trump pardon-proof, there has to be filed reciprocal charges filed at the state level. These can be filed AFTER the pardons are given and probably will be to conserve a state's resources if pardons are issued.

The guy who was managing Cohen's taxi medallions and whose arrest was cited by Cohen as the reason for his falling into arrears on his taxes:

Something has to be really off about Cohen in order for him to have done that interview after the raid.

If he has the medallions, and they arent on cars, thats a prime money laundering opportunity......you file taxes claiming to make hundreds of thousands of dollars and its all laundered money....

Today's pin...

[quote]#JillsPin today on #MSNBC w craigmelvin at noon CT/1 ET represents how hard our system of justice is working to protect our democracy, just as it did during #Watergate. No one is above the law. Hope you'll join us for latest news about 45's atty, Michael Cohen, and more.

r395 Mueller did not hand anything to any state. The search warrant served on Cohen was a Federal one carried out by FBI agents located in NY.

It seems so clear to me now. What does Scott Pruitt have in common with Donald Trump? They both have no morals, no ethics, and will break any law they think they can get away with if it benefits their own self-interest. Do most of us on this thread agree with that?

And in his short time on the job so far, Pruitt has committed so many act of corruption that even other Trump appointees have reported him. Even Fox news made him look bad. Yet Trump hasn't fired him. Why?

Trump doesn't care abut "optics'. Trump doesn't give a shit about the Republican Party.

Trump will fire Jeff Sessions and replace him with Scott Pruitt. This circumvents having to go thru Rod Rosenstein. Pruitt will then fire Robert Mueller. Will Pruitt have cause? No. Will he do it anyway? Yes. Will any of the Republicans do anything about it? No.

[quote]I predict when shit really goes down that Trump will barricade himself in the WH and have to be taken out with a tranquilizer gun.

I would pay money to see that.

Pruitt is damaged goods. No way he becomes AG.

If Stormy is the one that brings down Putie's Bone Spurs fifedom, that gal deserves a Nobel Prize. Give her the Peace one, and then her own reality show.

R22... "A story you will only see here"... said by Hannity. Fox is filled with "stories only seen here".... total lies. No other news station, with an ounce of integrity, would report their "stories".

Does Maddow have a scoop tonight about Dana Boente? Corroboration of Comey/Trump convos?

Yes and she's been utterly tiresome in flogging it.

Disagree with 447. She and her team are true journalists and the presentation was excellent. What was Hannity and Tucker talking about..... panda sex games?

[quote]What was Hannity and Tucker talking about..... panda sex games?

Don't be silly. You know the only thing Hannity talks about his Hillary.

I didn't see this link posted here.

Exclusive: Handwritten notes we believe were written by Dana Boente on his talking with James Comey about the "cloud" of the Russia investigation:

R444 " and then her own reality show."

I think that's a given. I'd be surprised if she wasn't already in negotiation.

Trump has hosted Hannity, Pirro, and also Dobbs, at least via phone, in Mar-a-Lago as well as regular conversations at other times. Obviously he chats with additional Fox commentators as well, such as the newly hired Bolton for foreign policy. He acts on their messaging.

He waches way too much cable news throughout the day. And following Murdoch's propaganda yappers' advice is not going to get him out of this mess.

r275 has formulated the perfect response to those who are steadfast in their belief that impeachment of Trump would cause his crazy supporters to rise up in some kind of massive scary coordinated civil unrest. As if.

let's try again - r375 is the referenced post:

r375 has formulated the perfect response to those who are steadfast in their belief that impeachment of Trump would cause his crazy supporters to rise up in some kind of massive scary coordinated civil unrest. As if.

We had those crazy militias that used to have "training camps" out in the country where they taught survivalist shit and how to make bombs, and target practice, back in the mid-80's and the 90's. Before Barack was even a gleam in John Kerry's eye. We had the Oklahoma City bombing by militia people. The Alt Right has been around for a long time, going back to the Reconstruction after the Civil War.

Wanted to add that what we have to be concerned about ist he youth. the Alt Right is actively recruiting young people. That's bad.

Isn’t Trump fucked no matter what, now? They have evidence that he and Cohen broke federal laws, including criminal activity. No Republican is backing his claim that it is a witch hunt. He will resign and then Pence will pardon him. Deja vu

Well, that's if Pence isn't dragged into this too. Remember, Pence lied about knowing Drumpf was going to fire Comey.

That would be awesome. Agree the deplorables will not fight a civil war. They are lazy and watch TV all day

R458: We want that to happen - minus Pence.

However, unfortunately I believe the fucker will fire Mueller in an attempt to shut down the investigation and the floodgates will open and destroy his presidency.

What percentage of deplorable morons would instantaneously drop dead if Trump and Pence go down and the newly re-installed Speaker Pelosi becomes President Pelosi?

I’m guessing he will fire him. He’s not just going to stand there and let them uncover everything.

If other repugs are implicated then they secretly want him to shut it down too.

Mueller isn't an inexperienced, stupid, man. He knows that at any moment Drumpf might try to fire him... so I wonder what his contingency plan is?

Maybe he will fire them all and then resign. We know he doesn’t give a shit about American

[quote] so I wonder what his contingency plan is?

He doesn't really need that much of a contingency plan. Trump can't fire the FBI. They investigate criminal activity and already have a LOT of information on Trump, Cohen, Manafort, Flynn, Gates, and the assorted traitors and felons associated with them. The FBI isn't going to stop investigating a massive criminal enterprise because the lead prosecutor has been fired by the principal subject of the criminal investigation. It will be up the U.S. Attorneys offices in the Southern District of NY, DC, the Eastern District of Virginia, and possibly New Jersey to take up these cases in conjunction with the prosecutors who remain in Mueller's office and the Criminal Division of DOJ. The FBI isn't going to drop this just because Orange Cheetolini is in a huff over his impending removal from office.

And, since Mueller has an information-sharing agreement with the NY Attorney General's office, I'm sure Eric Schneiderman has been kept in the loop as well.

tRump can try and shut this down. He will not be successful.

He's running out of options, which is evidenced by the fact that no lawyer will represent him. I think even if Pence is somewhat linked to all of this, it would/could be ignored in the interest of moving on. Although Pence is dumb, I don't think Pence though would be stupid enough to pardon him. What end would it serve for Pence, particularly if he can marshal support from the deplorables? I'd bet the reason we're seeing all this with Syria is because he thinks a was could stop the unraveling of his Presidency. It can't.

He thinks he will fire them all, all investigations will sto and he gets away with everything. Then he can go on TV and talk about how those mean “Democrats,” Mueller, Rosenstein and other Trump appointees, were to him, and how they were trying to stop him from MAGA by arresting him. And every Republican will pick up that talking point and parrot it like the mindless zombies they are.

Still, you have to wonder what kind of “legal expert” is agreeing with him and egging him on. A law student would know there’s such a thing as the rule of law. Why don’t his attorneys and advisors? Does he listen to anyone not named Vladimir?

[quote]Still, you have to wonder what kind of ....... is agreeing with him and egging him on.

From what I can tell, everyone on the Hill is telling Trump not to fire anyone. He can’t avoid being impeached or resigning.

I do think Pence would pardon him, because he is a cocksuckkng sycophant

R471's link I could be from the same planet as that Rebekah Mercer creature.

Has this been discussed? The Speaker of the Ohio House just resigned amid reports that he's the target of an FBI investigation. Coincidence? Or part of the ever expanding net?

[quote]You're all unbelievable. It's amazing. You simply wave away established crimes like the emails but cling to something incriminating turning up from an affair with a porn star 12 years ago.

"But her emails" is only illegal for Trumpanzees. Nobody in the real world gives a fuck.

And we'll repeat it again for the Trumpanzees: [bold]NOBODY GIVES A FUCK THAT THEY SMASHED.[/bold] The issue under investigation is illegal payments - payments Cohen can get disbarred for, quite possibly reimbursed by the RNC, based on a NDA that is impossible to enforce.

You Trumpanzees are going to have one painful learning curve in the coming months.

I cannot conphrehend the level of stupidity it takes not to understand that the FBI went to Cohen’s because they had probable cause to believe he has broken the law, was in danger of destroying evidence if they didn’t get there before he destroyed it, and were able to prove it before a judge. Why is this so hard to understand?

This is not about paying off a porn actress. Why cannot you understand it, no matter how many times it’s explained to you? Why can you never understand?

1. If Cohen, as he claims, entered into a contract on behalf of Trump without Trump’s knowledge or consent, he will lose his license to practice law, period. No lawyer has a right to do that. And Trump and Cohen were both yelling all over the place that Cohen is guilty of doing it. The FBI can just watch TV and go pick him up for that alone.

2. Stormy says she was threatened, presumably by one of “fixer” Cohen’s goons. Cohen brags that he is a fixer and compares himself to Ray Donovan. Ray Donovan that carries a bat and murders people to shut them up and make them leave his clients alone.

Gee, I wonder if there is evidence of paying some goon at Cohen’s place? Because that would be a crime under RICO. And Mueller made a career out of bringing down John Gotti and the Gambinos, so he knows about RICO.

3. Cohen had taxicab medallions that were not attached to any taxis. They used to cost up to a million dollars apiece, so why throw them in a drawer? Money laundering?

4. And if this guy has millions of dollars, why did he have to take out a mortgage for $130,000 to pay Stormy? How much money is under the table? Tax evasion?

5. Did he lie to the bank about his credit situation to get a mortgage on his house to pay Stormy? “I need money to pay off a porn actress” isn’t an excuse a bank will accept. Bank fraud? Lying on a loan application will get you jail time. It’s a federal crime.

God knows what else. A lot of that doesn’t implicate Trump directly, and isn’t attorney client privilege. Just because Trump knows a lawyer does not mean the guy is immune to all possible prosecution no matter what he does. And if Trump was in on these illegal actions, they’re both guilty.

And there is no such thing as an attorney client privilege that shields you from being prosecuted for a crime both attorney and client participated in. It’s a license to practice law, not a license for you and your pals to break the law with impunity.

If Trump is on the up and up like he claims, then this stuff is not about him and he should stay out of it. It only makes sense to get in the middle of this if he’s guilty too.

Interesting that the Ohio Republican Speaker of the House has resigned amid FBI investigations.

Evidence that Ohio (and Russia) directly hacked 2016 General Election vote counts?

Yes, r477. Everyone knows that Ohio is a hotbed of international intrigue and espionage. Especially Toledo.

I guess you are not aware that Russian hackers launched a cyberattack against state voting systems r478.

Oh, he’s aware, R479, he’s just trying several different propaganda techniques in one post so as to minimize Putin’s involvement in the 2016 General Election.

Did anyone ever verify the Anonymous claimed cock-block of the Rove-Orca Ohio hijack of 2012?

Weather update:

Stormy with a chance of Treason

Are the deplorables rioting yet?

A couple of points on the Cohen thing. Chris Hayes found a small blurb in one of Mueller's filings that indicated Mueller would refer anything outside of his authority to investigate to the proper authority BUT that maybe used as leverage in his own ongoing investigation. What this means is whatever they find on Cohen they will use to flip him.

Also the Ohio speaker was being investigated for travel fraud for something last summer, some trip to London. Dude is obviously guilty. Seems unrelated to Trump stuff

R479 and R480 , to you think that Russian interference was done from [bold]OHIO[/bold]? Reread the posts. Damn.

Blue Wave!

The Democratic candidate in a Florida state Senate special election overwhelmingly defeated her GOP opponent, a delegate for President Trump during the 2016 election.

Democrat Lori Berman easily won the special election in the state's 31st district with 74.8 percent of the vote. Republican Tami Donnally earned about 25.2 percent with nearly all precincts reporting, according to Florida Division of Elections.

R485, are you crazed? Are you not aware that that there would have been people "on the ground" in-state (and not just St. Petersburg and proxies from Veles) working to commit election fraud as well?

Are you not aware that Ohio (a swing state that Trump "won" by the slimmest of margins) was specifically targeted?

From Axios:

A source present at the taping says James Comey's interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, airing Sunday at 10 p.m. as a "20/20" special, is "going to shock the president and his team."

In an ABC promo, Stephanopoulos says Comey compared Trump to a mob boss.

According to the source: - The Comey interview left people in the room stunned — he told George things that he’s never said before. - Some described the experience as surreal. The question will be how to fit it all into a one-hour show. - Comey answered every question. - If anyone wonders if Comey will go there, he goes there.

Can't wait!! That is going to be some good TV. The Attorney General who approved the Cohen raid was a Trump appointee who replaced Preet. Hilarious!! It gives me hope.

[quote] The Attorney General who approved the Cohen raid was a Trump appointee who replaced Preet.

No, he's the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and he did not. He recused himself. Rosenstein signed off on this -- which is why Trump is now threatening to fire him.

Republican shill Erick Erickson:

"Tonight I got to go grocery shopping with a congressman. We walked the aisles of a Safeway grocery store while he bitched about the president who he has only recently been on television defending. Best line of the night: "It's like Forrest Gump won the presidency, but an evil, really f*cking stupid Forrest Gump."

David Corn asked Erickson why the congressman doesn't speak up:

"No way. He won't. He even said that he can't or he'd get primaried."

Profiles in courage, ladies and gentlemen!

Trump is going to reach for Rosenstein. I think he can fire Rosenstein without giving a reason. If he fired Mueller he'd have to have a cause. But Rosenstein is easier to fire and it is Rosenstein who has approved everything Mueller has done. The Deputy Attorney General has the authority to limit or expand Mueller's investigative power. Rosenstein approved the raid on Cohen.

With Cohen's arrest, we're now going to get a peek into the world DJT and his Mafioso family operated on behalf of their Russian buddies: money laundering, drug and gun running, prostitution. It's been going on for at least 25 years and now we'll get to find out why: Rudy Giuliani and the entire NY office of the FBI has been protecting them.

Trust me on this one. It's gonna get real nasty real soon.

Will add that if Trump does fire Rosenstein, then the next person in line will move up. And I may be mistaken but I think that person is a Trump person. Now as an officer of the court, no lawyer can ignore criminal wrong-doing, or the existence of probably cause that wrong doing may have occurred, especially DOJ Deputy Director. I would love to see someone Trump appointed uphold the law. I was sort of disappointed the U.S. attorney in the Southern District of NY recused himself.

The Acting Associate Attorney General (because Rachel Brand resigned and got the hell out of the Department) is Jesse Panuccio. He is a Harvard Law graduate and clerked for a judge on the Tenth Circuit, but he appears to have zero criminal prosecutorial experience. He would be the next in line if Trump fires Rosenstein. Next up after that is the Solicitor General, Noel John Francisco , a guy who is also smart (Chicago Law), but who clerked for two very conservative judges: Luttig on the Fourth Circuit and Scalia (and clearly, he wasn't one of Scaia's liberal law clerks -- and yes, he had several over the years). He also has no prosecutorial experience.

In other words he might be trying to get out before he gets implicated.

Of course, Ryan retiring will not save him from indictment for past crimes.

Trump tweet 30 minutes ago: ‏ Much of the bad blood with Russia is caused by the Fake & Corrupt Russia Investigation, headed up by the all Democrat loyalists, or people that worked for Obama. Mueller is most conflicted of all (except Rosenstein who signed FISA & Comey letter). No Collusion, so they go crazy!

Trump will Fire Mueller, then, Mueller should refuse to stop working. As Trump has no right to fire Mueller, lacking cause, and as he’s not the appropriate person to fire him, Mueller should continue on. Then, it will go to the courts, no doubt.

Trump is out of his fucking mind.

If Mueller is looking at Trump's business dealings, can his tax returns be subpoenaed? Or would the case have to go to trial first?

R498 he's obviously setting it up with that Tweet. He'll be firing Rosenstein within the week, just watch.

I admire Mueller so much. Honestly, I don't know how he sleeps at night knowing how many people would love to see him dead. I don't know how he gets out of bed every morning with the weight of this situation fully on his shoulders. Hell, most days I dread going in to my own job and it's easy and pointless. The fortitude of this guy....

Has anyone slept with Mueller? Any tea on how big his cock is?

What's fascinating about that Drumpf tweet is how he completely altered the facts (no surprise) but literally everyone involved in the raid were Republicans and / or his own appointees.

Does no one find a problem in the fact that Cambridge Analytical worked for Trump?

How many of us would truly like to see Trump dead? The world over, Trump is hated above all else. Putin's and Trump the mosted hated men in the world and now Trump suddenly says they are at war. Trump is nuts.

R507 *raises hand*

Someone job my memory. Months ago when people were speculating that Ryan wasn't going to seek reelection didn't he say those rumors were bullshit?

*jog

I love that they played this ad during Fox & Friends.

[quote]Trump paying her off with campaign funds and then lying about it was a crime.

The Clintons commit ten such crimes every morning before breakfast,

R512, and yet there is no evidence. No facts. Just enemies with accusations.

R513, the FBI exonerated Clinton before it investigated her, They were literally afraid of her revenge as POTUS if they investigated her honestly.

Trolls are out early this morning. Obviously they're afraid.

R514 and after the election, when she was no threat at all, DOJ again refused to launch another investigation because there is no substance to the accusations. Remember that? We do, because we watched it play out.

R514, they can’t investigate if there’s no evidence of wrong-doing. Years from now, the “emails” will be a classic example of fake news. The failures who complain all about it are the ones who spread it.

Why are emails important again?

R501, I've read elsewhere that Muellar already has Trump's tax returns. He could've requested them any time as part of his investigation.

Yes, R519, I believe he does. It's standard operating procedure to get those when the Feds are conducting such an investigation. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to anticipate that the investigation will eventually get to pay offs bribery, etc. Trump had a stink around him, and Mueller knew it. I'm sure Comey also knew it. In fact as we watched the 2016 campaign Trump was so adamant about not releasing his tax returns you have to figure the FBI started investigating him in July. So they probably had them for a while.

The Clintons aren't committing crimes. When they say their charity was for actual charities it was and they put a lot of time and money into their charity. They are hard workers and both very intelligent. Trump is a curse on our country, a fascist lying piece of shit but since half of our population is racist, I guess we deserved this punishment.

Mueller couldn't find four indestructible black boxes at Ground Zero of the WTC and he blamed the anthrax attacks on an innocent man. Why is he so revered?

Because he's an honest man, R522. Unlike you, bringing up irrelevant nonsense and outright lies.

Don't engage R523. Just sit back and enjoy the grasping at straws because they're scared.

Mueller is playing poker and he’s holding all the damn cards. He met with Trump’s lawyers on the same day the Cohen seizures were happening.

Yes, you're right, R524. I'm just of the opinion that you can't let that shit hang out there unopposed. It's what got us into this mess. Thanks for the reminder. It's been so quiet lately that I got complacent.

I just block the fuckers. Life is too short to argue with assholes.

I understand R526 and for certain morons, I think it necessary. However, for a lot of the trolls, especially the borscht eaters, they're not even reading the responses or if they are they won't respond anyway. If they notice no one responding they just jump to a different thread.

Stormy, as I've posted before, may be our Charlotte Corday--getting to the evil man in a way no one else could. But Stormy, unlike Charlotte, is not a virgin apparently.

Yashar Ali:

Rep Mark Meadows, Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, says that Rosenstein and Christopher Wray should be held in contempt of Congress and that the option of impeaching Director Wray should be on the table.

He went onto say that Pruitt's job is safe and he should not resign.

Trump will Fire Mueller. Mueller should refuse to stop working. Trump has no authority to fire him.

It's too late for that family. Their high level grifting has been discovered and the investigation will continue with or without Mueller. They know this, so their only option at this point is to start a war. Duck and cover, America. This isn't going to be a safe one for us.

Mark Meadows is immoral, corrupt piece of shit.

Contempt for what exactly? Just because?

This is getting good.

R525 that is so fucking awesome. I hope they've harvested Mueller's sperm. We need more like him in the gene pool.

OP - we're getting close to the end of another thread.

Beyond a Treasonable Doubt?

MarkMeadows' former chief of staff, Kenny West, resigned after female employees accused him of inappropriate behavior but remained on the House payroll in violation of House rules, according to an independent investigation by the House Ethics Committee. Meadows paid West $58,125 from April 2015 to August 2015 even though he was no longer working in Meadows’ office, according to the Office of Congressional Ethics.

If The Treason's Rockin' Don't Come Knockin'

Meadows is an even bigger piece of shit than Paul Ryan, and that's quite an accomplishment.

Dangerous Tr'easons

Charlie Dent is a cutie, and liberal as Republicans go.

Clever, R541.

I like 537's idea.

I'd like to take this moment to remind you all that one of the first things Mueller did when he was putting together this team was to contact FinCEN. The IRS financial crimes unit.

These are the people who rooted out the silk road bitcoin traders. They don't play. Any financial transactions or money laundering will be dug up and dissected. That orange fool is so fucked and he's utterly unaware of how fucked he is.

[quote]Contempt for what exactly? Just because?

Because Nunes demanded that the FBI hand over all Hillary bullshit investigation materials. The deadline Nunes set has passed and Wray and Rosenstein have ignored him so far.

Just to remind others or inform newbies, (which I assume we get all the time).

We don't know if Mueller has Trump's tax returns. We can't trust reports he does have them. BUT - not only does he possibly have them, but it's possible he's had them since before our 3rd Treason thread appeared! - AND - he's been using them as a road map just like others theorized he's been using the Dossier.

Something I've never understood is the importance of Drumpf's tax returns. Yes, he's obviously earned money in a million illegal ways... but why would we expect that he'd be honest enough to report those ways on his filings?

Yeah so this is how they're going to try to get rid of Rosenstein.

R545 I'm in the industry. That was a very big deal that flew over most people's heads, as did the lawyers specializing in espionage.

R548 "Something I've never understood is the importance of Drumpf's tax returns. Yes, he's obviously earned money in a million illegal ways... but why would we expect that he'd be honest enough to report those ways on his filings?"

That's a valid question that many have but are afraid to ask. Hopefully someone with a lot of knowledge of tax law who knows more and can explain more than I will respond, but here are a couple reasons:

*They could show that Trump has had business dealings with Russian banks and companies dating as far back as 20 years. If it was just 20 years ago, not such a big deal. But many suspect he's been dealing all along. Straight thru the time he declared his candidacy. Don Jr. has pretty much confirmed that in various interviews. If he owes money to banks owned by Russian oligarchs, it absolutely affects his decisions in governing in regards to Russia, especially the sanctions.

*Many also have suspected for years, (even written books), that not only is Trump NOT a billionaire, but is so overly extended financially that he possibly OWES as much as a billion in debts. The tax returns could show some evidence of that. Therefore, he's working for his Russian debtors to pay back his loans. (which is one of the crimes Manafort has been charged with).

There are lots of other reasons. Hopefully others will contribute.

Yeah, R551, thanks for the response. I get what they could potentially show, I just don't know why anyone would be certain that for instance, in the first scenario, he'd be honest enough to state that he had dealings with Russian banks.

The other question I have is which tax filings are we speaking of, his personal taxes or his business taxes. I'm assuming if he did list any of those transactions with Russians it wouldn't be listed on his personal filings.

Check out Seth's twitter:

Adam Schiff ‏

Rep Adam Schiff tweets -

The President considers firing the Attorney General, Deputy AG, and Special Counsel and the House Intel Chair considers impeaching the FBI Director — all to obstruct an investigation into wrongdoing by the President or those around him.

@SpeakerRyan response: I’m outta here.

Article Just Posted: If Trump Fires Rosenstein, This Man Could End Up With Power Over the Russia Investigation

Mueller needs to drop a house on Nunes's slimy borscht-scented ass.

The deputy NSA has resigned.

R555 would he be confirmed? Or would it be a recess appointment?

R547, there's simply no way he doesn't have the tax returns. Any investigation that is even tangentially related to any white collar crimes starts with tax returns.

R548, he's not likely reporting illegal activity on his returns (although you'd be amazed how stupid some people can be), but if what he is reporting is legit, there will be a verifiable trail. What's going to be Trump's undoing is earnings/assets (or debts) that can't be explained by legal activity.

They have dirt on Trump’s illegal activity both before and after the election. Buh bye!

Don’t people have the “N-word” tapes? Those should drop.

At this point R562 I don't think anyone would care.

Oh, we'd care. It's just more proof, but we already know he's a fucking racist asshole.

Apparently NYT is reporting that the raid on Cohen was also due in part to the Access Hollywood tapes.

The tax returns are useful in and of themselves, but where it really gets interesting is when you're able to compare the tax returns with the loan application and financial information they gave to Deutsche Bank. Granted, tax returns and loan documents are apples and oranges in some ways, but the basic framework should be the same. In Trump's case I'm willing to bet there's all sorts of revenue shown on the Deutsch Bank information that doesn't appear on his tax returns. Now maybe it's because he used legal methods to move them into other corporations or something, but maybe not. Either way it's the differences between the two that Mueller will use to nail him.

At the very least he's guilty of being stupid and ugly. Sorry, I know that's petty, but I'm tired of the discourse and want to see some people being charged. Preferably Kushner, Ivanka and her lover, even that political genius, Melania.

And what about Bernard?

I don't get the request for any material surrounding the Access Hollywood tapes. What are they looking for? Was Cohen paying somebody off? Do we know who leaked them to NBC?

R569, this was brought up in the Michael Cohen thread: There seems to be a possibility that after the Access Hollywood tape, Cohen acted as the “fixer” and was the one to communicate to WikiLeaks/Russia/Putin Corp. to release the HRC emails earlier than they might have planned. That’s what is currently being theorized at least.

The speculation R569 is that they might be trying to see if Cohen / Trump paid any money to have the tapes suppressed and if they somehow prevented the tapes from coming out sooner than they did.

Thanks, R570 I hadn't heard that. Good info.

Too bad it’s not the apprentice tapes.

The Trumpsters haven’t been paying attention and think the Access Hollywood thing is a big joke. They don’t see it coming together.

The Podesta emails were released an hour after the Access Hollywood tapes came out. I imagine they’re looking at Cohen's emails and phone records for that one hour period.

On Ari Melber right now, they’re also suggesting that the release of the tapes are what prompted Cohen to silence all the various women out there, including Stormy.

R575 Jesus, I had forgotten it was all on the same day.

R569 here. Thanks. I just couldn't get my mind around this one. So it's about the coverup of the tape and the diversion from it. And to request that, they had to already know something. I still want to know who leaked it. I wonder if we ever will?

When did the Stormy NDA begin? I thought it was before the AH tapes.

I think they have email corespondence and payments for various hush money payments. In the context of a Presidential election, it’s frightening to think how much Trump dirt was suppressed and how much misinformation was orchestrated to defeat Hillary. Comey is all in on exposing Trump as a mob boss

No, R579, it's the reverse. The Access Hollywood tape came out on October 7, 2016; Stormy was paid the $130,000 on October 27, 2016. The implication from the timing is that the release of the tape sent Cohen into overdrive trying to nail down "loose ends."

Yeah, R581 I was confusing something else (I think her interview with one of the tabloids)?

Yes, R582, I think she did the tabloid interview before Trump ran for President. You have to wonder who else they were trying to shut down in the last weeks before the election.

So the original point of this investigation was to see whether or not the Orange one obstructed justice... and since then he keeps threatening to fire people which you know... would be an act of obstructing justice.

The Wikileaks Podesta emails were revealed an hour and a half after the Access Hollywood tapes. (Trump had a little lead time as he was called and asked for comment before it was released.) Speculation is that they are looking for communication that day between Cohen and Wikileaks or Cohen and Russia. Or Cohen and Trump discussion any of those kind of actions.

R585 and on what day did Drumpf go on the air and ask Wikileaks to do it?

Nevermind, it was Russia that he was calling out to, right? JFC so much has gone on I can't keep track any more.

Woah, that whole thing with Cohen, Podesta, "Grab'em by the pussy", Stormy, Wikileaks ... it all acutally connects! What. The. Fuck!

Hope they have Cohen on suicide watch - he ain’t the tough thug he thinks he is.

My suggestion for the next thread title:

Sooner Or Traitor You’re Gonna Be Mine

We all knew that following the money would lead somewhere big...

Who would have thought though that it would have been money paid to a porn star that would unravel so much.

Cute title R589. Are we ready to move on from Treason in the title?

For the record Ive always liked, "Dangerous Trea'sons," each time its been mentioned.

Link to new thread for when this fills up:

Could be, R591 - maybe switch it up for a while - same coin, different side.

Ooh - that’s a good one, R592 - don’t know how I missed that one, I’ve been following these threads religiously.

r574, too bad they don't realize THEY are the big joke.

No more thread titles named after songs, I think it sounds stupid.

And KEEP treason in the titles!

I disagree. Some of the best ones have been song titles. My favorites were Treason Treason Down the Road... Lovin, Touchin' Treason and Give me One Treason To Stay Here..

Please continue discussion on the new thread.

Link to new thread:

Thread closed.