Trump Commutes Stone's Sentence!

One more nail in Trump's reelection attempt coffin.

The undecideds will not be happy about that.

😡😡😡😡😡

Confirmed.

Draining that swamp!

I recall that a person can only accept a pardon, if they accept that they broke the law in the first place. This also means that they can’t invoke 5th Amendment and refuse to testify, since they are absolved of wrongdoing. This has meant that Trump might have withheld pardons at least in part, for fear of testimony against him. Does anyone know if a commutation is similar?

Helen Keller saw this one coming. Hopefully when Trump goes to prison, , no one will pardon him. That would be ironic!

Oh well. I give up. We might as well rewrite our laws to say that if you’re Republican go ahead and commit all the crimes you want.

It's time for a complete sweep of the Senate and Executive Branches.

[quote]Does anyone know if a commutation is similar?

I think a commutation just ends the person’s sentence. They are still considered guilty.

The Lincoln Project:

Kids gotta go to school, but Roger Stone is at risk in prison. Got it.

He can't pardon a co-conspirator.

If he had pardoned Stone, Congress could still have called Stone to testify against Trump. With a commutation of sentence, he's protected from Congress.

More bullshit from this corrupt administration.

Schiff: "Trump has engaged in countless acts that are ... destructive to our democracy while in office, but commuting the sentence of Roger Stone, a crony who lied and obstructed our investigation to protect Trump himself, is among the most offensive to the rule of law."

Dan Rather:

News of Donald Trump commuting Roger Stone's sentence proves what was obvious since the beginning. The pledge to "drain the swamp" was about as real as Trump University. Many will conclude Stone had a lot to say to implicate Trump, didn't say it, and was rewarded accordingly.

He’s such a corrupt piece of shit ... It’s clear he was afraid of Stone turning on him

I really want Kamala Harris to be Attorney General, so she can start prosecuting Trump on Day One.

FUCK THAT ORANGE MOTHERFUCKER AND THAT TURD STONE!!!

Stone threatened Dump this afternoon, and it worked.

[quote]howardfineman @howardfineman

[quote]Just had a long talk with #RogerStone. He says he doesn’t want a pardon (which implies guilt) but a commutation, and says he thinks #Trump will give it to him. “He knows I was under enormous pressure to turn on him. It would have eased my situation considerably. But I didn’t.”

I dearly want someone to leak his tax returns!

Trump is such a fucking pussy. A baby could blackmail him if all Stone had to do was make a light threat like at R20.

Deplorables will still make excuses for this, as in he should have never gone to jail, witch hunt etc. I don't see this changing anyone's mind one bit.

[quote] One more nail in Trump's reelection attempt coffin.

The average American doesn’t give a shit. They don’t follow any of this stuff.

I'm done with this world.

The worst part is we now have to listen to him gloat about himself and how Trump is the best ever. Fox will have him on I am sure 24/7 about his unfair lock up.

Quite big tits!

this was done friday night...again. and under the cover of "mercy" Fuck him!

But yet, poor minorities get sent to prison every day in America. No wonder people walk around bitter and angry and filled with resentment with zero faith in the system.

Miss Lindsey is joyful.

Any state or local laws Stone can still be prosecuted for that he can't be protected by Trump?

I hope the old pinhead catches Covid-19 and dies!

Stone knows much dirt on Trump including the Russian collusion saga.

Trump and ALL his cronies around him are all SCUMBUCKETS.

...as Michael Cohen was hauled BACK to jail yesterday...

Aside from Trump being corrupt and using his presidential powered to protect his own gang of crooks, can someone justify the very existence of this type of presidential power in the first place?

I mean, why should a president have the power to pardon, or commute sentences? This does seem like a breach of the separation of powers. It means that ultimately, the judicial can be overridden by the executive.

He did it. That dirty prick! He pardoned the fucking Penguin. Lock him up, Joe.

OMG! I can’t believe Trump would do such a horrible thing!

and Conservatives in Canada (many who are Trump supporters) call Justin Trudeau corrupt?

I mean we all expected this but it doesn't make it any less disgusting

fucking repub pieces of shit will make excuses

this is a real travesty

Stone is despicable

Democrats and Biden campaign needs to HAMMER Trump on this through November

this is a real disgusting act

He just resigned. There’s no way he can spin this. Haberman says aides are freaking out.

Nixon and his administration are saints compared to the corruption of Trump, Barr, and all the cronies.

Biden needs to hire Lincoln Project OR just go for the fucking jugular Joe!!! Americans are DUMB so fucking dumb it down for them.

DUM DONNY LIAR IN CHIEF CRONY IN CHIEF CHIEF PUSSY GRABBER

On Friday, so there will be less coverage....I hope this just adds to the weight of the hammer that is pounding on the last nail of the coffin.

Primo Dirty Tricks Man gets off scott-free. Damn. If he does stuff from after today, he can still be prosecuted -- maybe NY or another state's attorney general have something on him which Trump can't pardon or commute?

R45 People are home because of the coronavirus so that releasing shit on Friday really doesn't work like when folks went out Friday night and did stuff over the weekend, though.

I wonder why Trump has not touched the Manafort case yet. I'm shocked he didn't pardon or commute his sentence either

He hates this country. He shits all over our norms and conducts. Just send him off to rot away in fucking Russia already.

They all should be gassed. Horrible people. Sorry to offend anyone, but Team Trump deserves it.

Rachel is FURIOUS about this turn of events tonight. She is MUST-SEE TV right now.

Rachel Maddow on MSNBC if anyone doesn't know who I was talking about in the last post.

The Lincoln Project is going to have a field day with this one.

Hey Log Cabin Republicans - what do you have to say now?

And as usual - crickets.

Blame the Republican Party, particularly the Republican controlled Senate, for failing to act affirmatively when there was the opportunity to remove Trump.

The GOP is totally corrupt and destroying America.

R43 Nixon was a corrupt bastard but there was still some sense that he understood the responsibility of his job and that he cared about the country.

Trump has absolutely none of that.

My sentence was commuted, then I was pardoned.

I hope the next democratic president gets in and starts pardoning all kinds of people. I want Assata Shakur pardoned. She could finally come back home to the US and get out of Cuba.

That'll fuck Republicans up real good, LOL.

Roger Dodger is now free to celebrate his freedom and paint the town red--and get a nice, big dose of COVID-19.

Trump must have some huge, massive, fucking coffin.

Do many nails, so little time.

This pardoning power needs to be abolished. It clearly can be abused, with no balances and checks.

R56 fuck Richard Nixon. He did not care about this country. He was a racist and he was corrupt. Fuck him.

Nixon and Trump are both one in the same to me, there is no difference. Their both crooked evil racist white men. But then again, all the white American presidents have been evil white supremacists. All of them, along with their first lady wives.

Fuck all of them.

Will the Stones be having a "swingers" party tonight?

....Mitch, Elaine, Mike, Mother, Matt G & LadyG

"He just resigned. There’s no way he can spin this."

"We are both victims of the horrible phony Russian witchhoax. It was a disgrace. Unfair!". That should resonate with the Angry Old White Men who watch FOX all day.

[quote] They all should be gassed. Horrible people. Sorry to offend anyone, but Team Trump deserves it.

Well I AM offended R50!!

Gassing is far too humane for that lot.

Wow! Every time you think he can’t get any lower or more illegal, he can. The most corrupted person in WH ever. No morals no ehtics.

What do you mean he resigned? Who resigned? Trump? Barr?

WHO?????

The thing is, the sentence commuting isn't illegal.

I thought he was gonna drain the swamp?

EVERY repub who has an interview with mainstream media should be asked about this

They just say they haven't read about it yet. The fuckers.

I just emailed my Republican Senator (Rob Portman) and bitched him out. None of this crap would be happening if the Republican senate hadn’t voted to acquit Trump.

I email or call Portman almost daily, blaming him for whatever idiocy Trump is up to, including the daily COVID death count. I strongly suggest you all do the same. It feels good and who knows, maybe it’ll shame them into resigning.

Why are people on this thread outraged?

FCI...

Any thoughts? Heard any rumblings about what will happen next?

I heard earlier that MSNBC said there would be "mutiny" at the DOJ if Trump let Stone off.

I think it is possible to be outraged, but NOT shocked as I suspect most of us are.

R68, but commuting a sentence as a quid pro quo for silence about Presidential wrongdoing could be obstruction of justice.

Tune into Maddow NOW if you want to hear Rachel interview Nicole Wallace about this. RM has been vintage all show on the topic. Wallace call coming after the commercial break.

It's 6:34 PT/9:34 ET.

High five, r72!

Me, too. Portman is as useless as tits on a nun and I also call daily and remind him he could have gotten rid of this traitor in February but he refused.

I tell him I intend to remind everyone of how useless he is come November 2022.

Roger Stone is only 67? He looks like absolute shit.

[quote]He just resigned. There’s no way he can spin this. Haberman says aides are freaking out.

Did you not notice Lady G's comment? She's spinning it for him. (Like a good little bitch does.)

Exactly r73. This has been coming for quite some time. And his base is exhilarated. They adore his utter contempt for democratic norms and the subsequent outrage it triggers.

He does this again and again and again in different ways. Totally predictable behavior on Trump’s part.

NW: "We should remember their names forever. They are all complicit in the ERASURE of Robert Mueller's probe. We should all ask why Mueller needs to be erased. What are they trying to normalize. Pat Cippolone and Bill Barr. The obliteration of the rule of law."

NW: "You pull the fire alarm and who's coming? Nobody's coming. There are a whole lot of people who know just how bad this is."

I love Nicole!

r81 I understand that Sun Tzu now reads Trump's books.

I adore her, R84. I rarely watched her show before SIP because she's was daytime. Now that her slow has expanded I tune in religiously even like her sharing with Brian Williams. She's just so fucking smart, and her outrage is so grounded enumerable values.

Oops, lost some punctuation up above. Sorry!

[quote] Nadler and Malloney: “This transparently corrupt commutation damages public confidence in the justice system and the rule of law. Among other things, we intend to seek an immediate briefing from the White House Counsel on the circumstances surrounding Roger Stone’s commutation.”

[quote] Ohhhh. Those are ... not fighting words. Hold a fucking hearing and consider making this shit illegal.

I tend to agree with Marcy wheeler (who is now in Ireland, btw. She married someone Irish.)

As an American by birth and unfortunately now within its borders, this shattering of integrity and overt corruption is escalating.

And the Dems appear feckless.

Am beginning to think that the whole US system of governance is breaking down.

Instead of checks and balances, it is akin to Rome at the end: collapse from within.

R84 She smart clever and doesn’t hold back.

Well, I’m sure he learned his lesson this time.

Dan Rather is so earnest and prosaic.

R89, this is entirely on the heads of the Republicans in the Senate.

[quote] Rachel Maddow on MSNBC if anyone doesn't know who I was talking about in the last post.

Oh thank you for clearing that up. I thought you meant Rachel Smith, a checkout clerk in Muncie, IN.

And Rachel is now reporting today we topped 70,000 new infections in a single day.

R90, its not just Wallace's big brain and fearlessness, though those are fantastic. She understands the inner workings of Republican government because she's been there, which has fine tuned her bullshit detector to the point she catches spin and elision the second it leaves some slimebag's mouth. And then she shoots it down with such controlled glee and fury. Seriously, if I were in a burning building (which we all are), I'd want her at my side.

Watch for something really big in the next couple days to blow this off the radar. Often his pattern when there is something that's really newsworthy and negative, he'll get all the attention on something else quickly... sometimes also negative or controversial, but the point is to just keep taking all the air out of the room and keep moving fast (to mix a metaphor).

DACA path to citizenship isn't it.

[quote] The average American doesn't give a shit. They don't follow any of this stuff.

The "average American" cares more than you realize; the demonstrations of the last few weeks should tell you that.

[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.]

Were there charges they didn't pursue?

[quote] [R89], this is entirely on the heads of the Republicans in the Senate.

Respectfully disagree, R93.

Sure the overt damage to the US has been perpetuated by many Republicans, but the Dems are not blameless.

There have been many, many missteps on both sides.

Richard Neal? Jerry Nadler (of late). And even the DL perennial favourite, Nancy Pelosi.

Trump’s taxes? (Neal acted like a wet dish towel for months and months.....and months on this topic.)

The Impeachment? (Nadler too weak or incapacitated to be heavily involved?) and the current hearings where Repubs are unruly and Nadler can’t seem to exert strength in his own jurisdiction of hearings?

Now Nancy says we need to change “laws” preventing things like the Stone commutation from occurring again. Believe it is not laws but Amendments to the Constitution that would necessitate such changes.

Platitudes. Once again.

Don’t even get me started on Chuck Schumer.

Of course propping up a very controversial candidate like Hilliary swayed many over to Trump, so I don’t think either party is in tune with what is occurring within the country.

One only needs to see the high count of Covid infections (70,000) today to see what’s happening here.

All this while those outside our borders watch in horror, sadness and (for some), glee.

Well at least Biden can hit back at Trump when he goes on and on about law and order. Trump was too busy pardoning his criminal friends while the rest of the country was dealing with a pandemic.

Did the DL font get bigger? How do you chance the mag level in DL?

I feel like it’s zoomed in or something??

[quote] He just resigned.

Huh?

Watch Trump get re-elected. Americans are dumb as hell.

Well, some of the dumbest ones are too too dumb to wear a mask and won't be able to vote.

[quote]The "average American" cares more than you realize; the demonstrations of the last few weeks should tell you that.

Oh my god, you really think the people at the protests were independent voters?

How concerned is Susan Collins?

[quote]Oh my god, you really think the people at the protests were independent voters?

Who do you think the people at the protests were, R107?

They need to arrest Trump as soon as possible.

R110 Can't they just kill 'em?

Maggie Haberman has been reporting all day that half of the trump aides were firmly against this, and warned trump how bad this is when he’s polling at 33%. He doesn’t care. He’s given up.

[quote] all the white American presidents have been evil white supremacists.

Um, yeah, look in the mirror, that just as much a racist a statement as the ones you claim are racist. Pot meet Kettle.

[quote]Sure the overt damage to the US has been perpetuated by many Republicans, but the Dems are not blameless.

Thanks Boris.

YES, lets give a laundry list of all the minor things the Dems failed to do to stop the out of control POTUS and Republican party. Blame the victim classic spin from conservatives.

[quote]The "average American" cares more than you realize; the demonstrations of the last few weeks should tell you that.

If people who demonstrated represented more than 1/10 of 1% of voters, I'd be shocked.

Why was Julian Assange never charged with espionage?

Draining the swamp by commuting the sentence of his cronies. Drain! Drain I say!

"This is the most corrupt and cronyistic act in perhaps all of recent history."

CNN legal analyst @JeffreyToobin reacts to President Trump commuting Roger Stone's prison sentence.

Jonathan swan reporting the trump campaign is in chaos. They didn’t want nor expect this. Trump is so beyond fucked. He just killed justice. Excited to see what Susan Collins has to say for herself. Cuntrag.

I want his returns leaked in full!

I wonder what little Whorevanka thinks of this.

He should be jailed for this.

Bill Kristol:

In Donald Trump's America, Roger Stone is rewarded for lying and Lt. Col. Vindman is punished for telling the truth.

Assange claims that there is no proof that any of the hacks came from Russia. What I don't understand is if Intelligence has a record of the communications between Guccifer 2.0 (alleged Russian Hacker) and Stone, wouldn't that be concrete proof? Why haven't those communications been posted?

Bill kristol was literally an architect of the iraq war. Why is he being posted here? Fuck off

Daddy Peter Baker from the nyt is reporting that the White House is freaking out about the DACA comments. They’re walking them back.

Cause trump loves losing lol

[quote] Thanks Boris. YES, lets give a laundry list of all the minor things the Dems failed to do to stop the out of control POTUS and Republican party. Blame the victim classic spin from conservatives.

First off, the trope of dismissing people who disagree as being Russian trolls is tired. Juvenile. Not working.

Secondly, Dems are hardly “victims”. They have full agency. We voted them into a majority in 1/2 of Congress.

I provided several examples where Dem leaders failed to act, or did so slowly in the face of rapid - and mounting evidence of corruption. And they aren’t “minor” if they could have stopped the runaway train towards escalating deaths, economic collapse and overt greed and corruption.

You, like Republicans, fail to provide evidence but rather attack, name-call and shame.

[quote] Where are the good guys? Evil is winning.

Posted on another thread about the US becoming a “corrupt banana republic”.

If this were it were a functional democracy, there would be stronger actions taken by the Dems.

A functional democracy like a functional immune system would be able to deal with the diseased portions of the body....or country, in this case.

Instead, we see little response. Hence mounting deaths: literally and figuratively.

Meanwhile, there are platitudes. Even some actions, like the impeachment.

But instead of loudly mounting a defense, many in federal Dem leadership pander and delay.

Hence, the mess we find ourselves in now.

Very few of our allies are looking toward the US for leadership.

That ship has sailed. While the Dems certainly did not cause it, I purport they could have done more than they have.

Sad. But true.

So in one night trump:

Told all illegal immigrants they’re good (They’re not)

Pardoned convicted criminal Roger Stone

Railed against Black lives matter mural

Trump and the former sex slave are in panic

[quote]Pardoned convicted criminal Roger Stone

He was not pardoned.

You're probably one of those people who thinks the Senate should have "impeached" Trump.

Again, wondering why Guccifer wasn't identified as a Russian spy on any of the communications between him and Stone. Wouldn't you have to prove intent?

[quote] Who do you think the people at the protests were, [R107]?

Are you for real? Do you really think they’re people who would vote for George W Bush or Donald Trump because they’d “rather have a beer with him?”

The demonstrators were either younger people or POC. Not independent voters, lol.

[quote] but commuting a sentence as a quid pro quo for silence about Presidential wrongdoing could be obstruction of justice.

Could it, r76 ? On what planet though? Didn't Ford pardon Nixon shortly after the latter resigned for the Watergate scandal? Did Ford get prosecuted for obstruction of justice?

Look, Trump will not get impeached or prosecuted. We've talked about this already.

The only two ways he can go away are: (1) he dies or (2) he (badly) loses the election.

[quote] I rarely watched her show before SIP because she's was daytime.

SIP?

[quote] FCI... Any thoughts? Heard any rumblings about what will happen next?

FCI?

I was thinking along those lines too, R97. I'd call all his grandstanding about schools reopening another whopping red herring (not the Feds' jurisdiction.). I'm surprised there hasn't been more fallout from Putin placing bounties on US troops' heads, but that's faded to background noise. Guess we'll know soon enough.

R134, I wrote the mangled SIP (shelter-in-place) post. My point was that Nicole Wallace's show Deadline Whitehouse came on at 1pm PT, so I wasn't home to watch it. Now I am home and tune in religiously, even if I'm multitasking.

[quote] Republicans are Ruthless. Democrats are Toothless.

From a twitter comment to Jerry Nadler.

[quote]Look, Trump will not get impeached or prosecuted.

He's already been impeached and prosecuted.

Maybe Stone will get the virus

Our justice system is over. It has been destroyed.

This fucking co-equal branch of government is turning more and more into a goddamn cafeteria food fight by the day!

I can’t wrap my arms around this shit anymore. The Judicial branch convicts and sentences, and the Executive commutes? Not only that, but this commutation is filthy-dirty, and reeks from yet another move by trump to obstruct justice.

We better OVERWHELMINGLY take over the Senate in November, and start wiping out some of these fucking twisted and contradictory laws once and for all; to include the electoral college. I’m so cranked up and beside myself with this crap.

[quote]While the Dems certainly did not cause it, I purport they could have done more than they have.

Gee Uncle Repug, what have the Republican party or party leaders or Republican controlled Senate and White House done for us? What happened to compassionate conservatism? Fiscal responsibility?

[quote] Gee Uncle Repug, what have the Republican party or party leaders or Republican controlled Senate and White House done for us? What happened to compassionate conservatism? Fiscal responsibility.

The Republicans are corrupt.

Abhorrent.

That goes without saying.

This whataboutism still doesn’t absolve the failure on the Dems part to halt this overwhelming destruction of the US federal government.

R143, the Dems have tried as best they can. They went as far as *impeaching* Trump. They can't do anymore when the other party refuses to hold Trump accountable.

The House could start withholding funds from the DOJ, couldn't they?

I hate that we have to wait until the end of July for Barr's scheduled appearance and you KNOW he'll likely find some way to delay it indefinitely

[quote] The House could start withholding funds from the DOJ, couldn't they?

Yup.

[quote] Republicans are Ruthless. Democrats are Toothless.

Nice summation of current situation.

Oh, Ladybugs 🐞🐞🐞

Defund the Justice Department R146?

That’ll prevent them from going after (or protecting?) Jizz-Lane (among a few other things).

Yep. That’ll teach ‘um a lesson

[quote]“Lindsey Graham is a blight on the face of the Earth,” Stone told Breitbart News Deputy Political Editor Amanda House. “He’s a disgrace to his state and to the United States Senate. He must be driven from public office because of his constant insistence that Robert Mueller is a saint who should be given totally unfettered power to do anything he wants. Lindsey Graham makes me want to puke.”

[quote]There was a pause, but Stone was not done. “He’s a fish-faced enemy of the people, a low life scum bag. This guy doesn’t belong in public office, he belongs back in South Carolina,” he quickly added.

[quote]The comments came as Stone discussed President Donald Trump’s ability to effect his agenda despite intense resistance, including from within his own party on the issues, like trade and immigration, where establishment politicians like Graham push back hardest.

 [quote]“We’re going to renegotiate these multi-national trade deals in which the United States gets screwed but our trading partners seem to prosper. [Trump’s] going to build the wall,” Stone explained. “What’s amazing is how much the president has gotten done considering the constant attacks of the elites within the Republican and the Democratic [parties].”

[quote]This is not the first time Stone has made his feelings about Sen. Graham public. Before being banned from Twitter for calling CNN’s Don Lemon a “lying c**ksucker,” Stone told his followers last year, “The fact is Lindsey Graham is so hated in SC that he can no longer appear in public for fear of being lynched by his constituents.”

The above was contained in a Breitbart News article on 22 May 2018 entitled: Exclusive — Roger Stone: Lindsey Graham Is ‘A Fish-Faced Enemy of the People’ (not linking).

Do you see how Kompromat works?

Lindsey Grahàm Twitter (7/10/2020);

[quote]In my view it would be justified if President @realDonaldTrump decided to commute Roger Stone's prison sentence. [quote]Mr. Stone is in his 70s and this was a non-violent, first-time offense.

See how kompromat works over and over?

[quote]Dems are hardly “victims”. They have full agency. We voted them into a majority in 1/2 of Congress.

That does not even come close to being "full agency." Trump and GOP corruption, McConnell refusing to even let the Senate vote on most anything, and a complicit media have hobbled the Democratic Party in a way that you're refusing to acknowledge.

Sure, Schumer and Pelosi and others have made some missteps, but we shouldn't be in a position where one misstep from a Dem is considered the "real reason" that Trump does things like pardoning Roger Stone.

Stop pretending like this isn't primarily the result of massive far-right corruption.

[quote] The Republicans are corrupt. ... That goes without saying.

[quote]This whataboutism still doesn’t absolve the failure on the Dems part to halt this overwhelming destruction of the US federal government.

Oh la de dah, the Republicans are awful as usual, no surprise there, big yawn. The real problem is the Democrats who should have stopped the constant stream of crimes and corruption despite having no power in the Judiciary, Senate or White House, and very few allies in the media.

Clearly, the Democrats are the real problem. Committing crimes and being corrupt? Oh well, c'est la guerre.

TL;DR

Well GODDAM, what other fuckery can Dump unleash between now and Jan. 1st? Honestly, NDP et al. Should be pissing themselves now. You know, as much as I respect NDP, and Schumer and Biden and Kerry.....I want them OUT after this election. I'm sorry, but they are impotent in today's Politics. I want 10 Avenattis in their place, that can get things done or removed 10x faster.

Let's make a bet. Dumpass will break the law everyday from now until Nov. 3rd. Then after losing the election, he will work to destroy this country. The Dems just don't have the balls to see this coming!

I'm guessing he was advised strenously against doing this (as was right), but was told when he insisted, "At least do it on a Friday."

This is probably his way of giving Barr a smack in the face for saying something he didn't like. Something his wives and children would be very familiar with.

Hmm, that link to Reuters didn't work for some reason. Let's see if this works. It's from Newsweek yesterday and the headline is ""Trump and Barr Contradict Each Other Over Roger Stone Case."

Roger Stone appears set to report to prison on Tuesday, but already this week, President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr have clashed on whether they believe the GOP operative's prosecution and sentencing were fair.

In an interview with ABC News' Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas, Barr said he believed the outcome of Stone's case, which saw him sentenced to prison for more than three years, was fair.

"I think the prosecution was righteous and I think the sentence that the judge ultimately gave was fair," Barr said.

[quote]I wonder why Trump has not touched the Manafort case yet.

Manafort committed a crime (false IRS returns, bank fraud) and there was evidence of it.

[quote] Stop pretending like this isn't primarily the result of massive far-right corruption

Agree. It is.

[quote] Sure, Schumer and Pelosi and others have made some missteps, but we shouldn't be in a position where one misstep from a Dem is considered the "real reason" that Trump does things like pardoning Roger Stone.

There has been more than “one “.

The whole point is if there was a robust pushback system we wouldn’t find ourselves where we are.

Once again, for those in the back (or the slow learners?): The. Trump. Repubs. Are. Horrifically. Corrupt. They are the source of much of this angst.

But Dems have been essentially ineffectual in pushback. Even in messaging.

Look to how popular the Lincoln Project has become. Has any Dem messaging gained as much traction?

The thing is, Stone is one who might have enjoyed incarceration, dirty boy that he is.

Rachael Maddow should be FURIOUS a homophobe like Joy Reid is getting a 7pm show every night. Rachael put your anger where it counts.

[quote]What I don't understand is if Intelligence has a record of the communications between Guccifer 2.0 (alleged Russian Hacker) and Stone, wouldn't that be concrete proof? Why haven't those communications been posted?

It's a mystery.

[quote]Look to how popular the Lincoln Project has become. Has any Dem messaging gained as much traction?

No Democratic messaging has gotten the kind of attention from the media that the Lincoln Project has. Democrats don't have that kind of funding, and the Democratic Party wouldn't be able to say the things the Lincoln Project says without massive pushback from the GOP and the media.

Anyone who has been paying any attention to politics knows there's a double standard.

Joe Biden can say "show us your taxes or shut up." He can tell a Trumpster yelling at him at a meet-and-greet that what he's saying is "bullshit." Pelosi cannot. Schumer cannot. The Democratic Party cannot run ads saying these things.

No one is saying the Democratic Party has been perfect, but it's pretty telling that you've been posting about how the Democrats are the real problem for 10 hours straight, and calling people stupid if they disagree with you. When you offer examples of what they could have done, it's always "look at how great these Republicans are at doing X," which is also pretty telling. You want this entire thread to be about how the problem is the Democrats because they didn't... what, stop Stone and Trump from colluding with Russia and Putin, and then didn't stop Trump from commuting Stone's sentence? How were they supposed to do any of that?

The couldn't have, and you know it, but you hope we will forget all that and shit all over the Dems instead of the Repugs. No dice, buddy.

[quote]The House could start withholding funds from the DOJ, couldn't they?

That wont work, Trump can just shift money already expropriated for something else. In fact he already tried that with The Wall. Yes, EVENTUALLY he lost that in court, but good luck with that if he dose it again this close to an election.

[quote]Oh la de dah, the Republicans are awful as usual, no surprise there, big yawn. The real problem is the Democrats

The real problem is Boris and his classic shell game of trolling . Switch the blame to the other side is a classic troll move. FF R152 to heaven!

^ Here’s one last roll of the dice, R161.

I am in no way absolving or excusing the Republican Party in the United States of America. The “Right” seems irredeemable at this point.

I had hoped for more from the Democratic Party. Their efforts in all this have been disappointing; although I can appreciate that in some cases they have tried.

However, we will agree to disagree that it’s no longer possible to vigorously defend them as you do.

Looking at current state of the country with thousands dying, a dire economic situation, the plundering of the financials and abuse of taxpayers is evidence that the system is broken.

Things have become deadly serious.

Perhaps it is time for the populace to step in and empower themselves as their pleas for action have largely gone ignored.

The Dems don't have any power to do what you want R154. I don't know why you don't get that. Remember when everyone said they wouldn't impeach, they still did it and if you watched all the people and testamentary it was a spectacular case set forth. Yet 99% down vote from the entire Republican party except Mitt Romney. It's easy to be a critic, how about offering solutions instead. In your vast knowledge of the subject of what they did wrong, please enlighten us as to the steps they could taken to change our current state of affairs with the lack of power they have. I will hold my breath.

Something to the effect: "We're planning to take a look at it".

Three years later: "Barr (or insert another Trumpster) has tentatively agreed to interview with the committee in two months".

Nadler again two months later:. AG Barr has cancelled the decision to appear before the committee citing executive privilege and schedule conflict. We'll write a letter to him again and give him two months to change his mind.

Nadler after another two months: Barr didn't respond. After our three week recess, the committee will schedule a meeting to talk about issuing a subpoena to the DoJ for certain documents in the matter.

[quote]I mean, why should a president have the power to pardon, or commute sentences? This does seem like a breach of the separation of powers. It means that ultimately, the judicial can be overridden by the executive.

It’s part of the Constitutional checks and balances the Executive Branch has over the Judicial. Just like Congress, for example, has the power to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch and remove the President.

Well the 'checks and balances' are manifestly not working, R167. Really it's a relic of the presidency as an 18th century elective monarchy. Pardons and commutations are completely ridiculous.

[quote]Nadler after another two months: Barr didn't respond. After our three week recess, the committee will schedule a meeting to talk about issuing a subpoena to the DoJ for certain documents in the matter.

And we'll send them a Sternly Worded Letter so they know we mean business.

Trump didn’t pardon him because that means Stone admits guilt and hence, is guilty as charged.

The commuting of a 40 months sentence to be served in the fed, does not change the outcome of the conviction.

He was charged and found to be guilty of the charges he was set to serve the sentence under. The charges and felon designation still hold.

Per Wikipedia:

“Roger Jason Stone[a] (born Roger Joseph Stone Jr.; August 27, 1952) is an American conservative political consultant, [3] convicted felon and lobbyist. In November 2019, subsequent to the Mueller Report and Special Counsel investigation, he was convicted on seven counts, including witness tampering and lying to investigators. On February 20, 2020, he was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison.[4] The sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump on July 10, 2020.[5]”.

Trump subverted rule of law, but Stone is still a convicted felon found to be guilty as charged.

[quote] Rachael Maddow should be FURIOUS a homophobe like Joy Reid is getting a 7pm show every night. Rachael put your anger where it counts.

It's time to move on. Everyone else has.

[quote]In the interview on Wednesday, Ms. Reid was asked about the reaction to the offensive blog posts that surfaced in 2018. She called the episode “a pretty rough experience,” and said she had sought candid discussions with friends, colleagues and her daughter, who is gay.

[quote]“My job in that moment was to listen,” she said, adding, “The L.G.B.T. community in this country has a resiliency and a core kindness.”

[quote]Ms. Maddow praised Ms. Reid for her 2018 apology. “We judge people on their judgment, but also on their capacity to grow and correct,” she said.

[quote]“She also reached out to me personally and directly,” Ms. Maddow said, “in case, as a gay colleague, I had been hurt personally by what had arisen at the time. And that was a stand-up thing to do, and something I won’t forget.”

He'll pardon him after the election #170. Duh.

Stone on LG in 2018:

[quote]Lindsey Graham makes me want to puke. He’s a fish-faced enemy of the people, a low life scum bag.

Has Stone now succumbed to the charms of Lá Sénatrice? Three years of competitive love for Trump has led to a reconciliation.

Scumbag? Birds of a feather.....and kettle calling pot black.

There's a rumor on Gabriel Sherman's twitter that Trump will pardon Charles Kushner.

Roger is funny and cute in a bad boy way. I am not glad or sad he won't be going away to prison, just meh.... I want to see that little ugly squirrel Alan Dershowitz charge with a crime and disbarred, now that would be rich.

[quote] I'm a lifelong Democrat. I'll enthusiastically vote & work hard for Dems up and down the ballot this year. But the history books will write that a president colluded with a hostile foreign power to win election, that the evidence was there, and that Dem leaders just... let it go

[quote] Like here in Australia, the opposition doesn’t know how to combat strong personalities, only policies. The centre don’t want to rock the boat so long the trough is full of yummy money and so they distance themselves from the true left who are prepared to sacrifice to win. My take.

They use that phony “I’m a lifelong Democrat but . . .” line on Twitter too? Good to know.

[quote] SCHIFF: "It's hard to see what remedy we can use now, beyond the ultimate remedy in November when we get to vote these bums out of office."

[quote] In which @RepAdamSchiff exemplifies this bit on p.121 of @sarahkendzior’s new bestseller “Hiding in Plain Sight”.

[quote] The mafia manages the military, the crooks control the courts. In other countries, this would be called an “Authoritarian Coup”. In America, mealy-mouthed officials call out transition into a mafia state “deeply troubling” and do little to curb the damage. (Hiding in Plain Sight, page 121)

R179 So glad you've been reading Sarah Kendzior's book. She also has been doing a lot of podcasts giving information about what really happened with Russia, Trump, etc. and offers ways we can fight this that many haven't spoken about.

The best podcast, on YouTube, is an interview she did with Connie Schultz at the LA Book Fair. Here's the link. It seems long, but put it on in the background while folding clothes or something. It's riveting....

"The Democrats should DO SOMETHING to stop Trump!"

"Okay, what should they do?"

"Uhm... something? Stop funding the Dept of Justice, how about that maybe?"

The curious thing about the people screaming that the Democrats aren't doing enough is that they usually don't support Democrats. They're frequently the leftist/Sanders online brigade who will scream "Pelosi is in Trump's pocket because she won't impeach!" and then when impeachment starts, they scream "This won't do any good, she's wasting time and money!"

Anyone -- and this includes Kenzidor -- who spends more time whining like a baby because Schiff said we should vote Trump out in November, than they do complaining about the "mafia" and the "crooks" can go fuck themselves.

Kenzidor is one of dozens of online pundits who talks a good game up to a point, then always goes off the crazy cliff and starts making baseless claims or odd predictions that don't come true. They all do that. And part of their shtick involves making you mad about both sides of the issue, making you think that massive grift and corruption is exactly the same level of evil as a slightly disorganized party without any real power in DC.

George Conway:

I’m not sure there ever has been a more openly, brazenly corrupt act committed by a president of the United States.

Mitt Romney:

Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president.

[quote] [R179] So glad you've been reading Sarah Kendzior's book. She also has been doing a lot of podcasts giving information about what really happened with Russia, Trump, etc. and offers ways we can fight this that many haven't spoken about.

Thanks for the podcast link, R180. I’ll give it a listen when possible!

I finally got to read Sarah’s book; which incidentally was recommended here on a DL thread during the Mueller days.

Many folks of late have been mentioning her text because it’s been a roadmap - of sorts - for the Trump Presidency. As you know, she predicted a lot of what has thus transpired. (She claims no predictive powers, only a deep familiarity with authoritarian regimes.)

It has been somewhat challenging to read during an already difficult period with the response of the country to the pandemic.

We may be in for a rough road ahead even assuming a Biden election.

“It is difficult to go back to the old ways.”

[quote]BREAKING: GOP PA Senator @SenToomey says Stone clemency was a "mistake" "“He was duly convicted of lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstructing a congressional investigation conducted by a Republican-led committee."

[quote] A “mistake”? A mistake is like when I turn left when I meant to turn right. This is utter corrupt lawlessness. These people should be ashamed as they sit silently by while their leader tries to torch the rule of law to protect himself. (Neal Kaytal)

LOL. Former Senator Claire McCaskill calls Lindsey Graham a "piece of shit" on Twitter.

Go Claire!

Seth Cousins, who sat on jury that convicted Stone, calls his commutation by Trump "a shocking act of corruption."

Is this Sarah lady like Louise Mench or some fringe road act?

That is the last thing we need right now. No more of these murky figures that come along and muck everything up like Tulsi and Stien and Greedwald.

Let’s get back to basics with it all.

Stone is so hideous, on the outside AND the inside

She's not that bad R190 but she is a major opportunist and part of the red rose brigade on Twitter who spend every day slamming Pelosi, Schiff, Schumer, etc. for "not doing enough." These are literally the people who said "Pelosi must impeach" and when she finally agreed they said, "Wait, you didn't impeach about the right thing, that means Pelosi is in the bag with Putin."

Go out to Sarah's Twitter and scroll down to July 10th RTs, you'll see her RTing Adam Jentleson who said that exact thing.

She also RTs BenFranklin2018 a lot, and he's one of the "Pelosi is in cahoots with the evil state of Israel" leftists. And literally everyone she RTs says voting is useless, don't bother voting, it's all rigged anyway and both sides are the same so what does it matter.

That's all out on her timeline, I'll link to one example that she RTed yesterday. Also on her timeline is massive shilling of her own book. Every news article that has come out in the last several days has ties to her book, she claims. People tweet about her book, and she RTs them tweeting about her book, then she tweets about her book, too. Then she RTs what she said one year, two years, three years ago.

That seems suspicious to me, personally. It seems more about book sales than it does about actual concern for our government. "Democrats are the real evil and don't bother voting because it's useless and also Dems have ties to the evil state of Israel" isn't really a good-faith political position, so the people here in this thread who are saying "Democrats are the real evil and Sarah Kenzidor is a hero" are, likewise, suspicious to me as well.

^R192, why did they not impeach over Russia?

Former GOP SC Governor & Congressman, Mark Sanford:

Even Mueller rose from the dead to condemn this

We're clearly in scary new phase where Dump knows he won't be re-elected, but intends to burn the house down on his way out. Repig senators will do nothing about it since their MAGA loving constituents demand total fealty to Dump. I don't think it's unreasonable that we're in for 4 months of non-stop fuckery from him.

Only TWO Republican Senators criticized Trump's action to the public. Romney gave a firm statement; Toomey called it a mistake, but at least it was something

The remaining Republican Senators are silent on the matter with the exception of Lindsey Graham advocating and praising Trump's action And LadyG Chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. This is so corrupt and absurd.

Enough with this pack of fringe acts that is always up to stunts and tricks. They need to attract republicans with all that energy.

The man is all muscle.