Trump Thread

[Montmorency]

Hey old dudes, I hear tell that Ari Fleischer (first press secretary of GW Bush) was a skilled one. Comment?

[HopAlongBunny]

My two favourite songs while reading political discussions.

[Greyblades]

Another coin to the "insult setups I refused" jar.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

My two favourite songs while reading political discussions.

I have loved these lads for nearly 40 years. Ian Anderson is a genius.

[HopAlongBunny]

So where did the Russia investigation come from?
Trump: it's the Democrats
Facts: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-me...a-story-made-/

[Greyblades]

Contention:

Trump said, "This Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. It's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should've won."

Counter:

Democrats did not create the story, nor do they control the agenda of the House and Senate committees which are conducting their own investigations.

Note how it defends the democrats from an accusation Trump didnt make but they read into (that it was the democrats that made it up) and ignores the validity of the actual accusation (that the Democrats are using it as an excuse for losing).

The cherry on top is they rate this pants on fire despite not actually proving that the allegations arent made up! Merely that:

The American intelligence community expressed with confidence that Russia aimed to interfere in the election to harm Clinton and help Trump.

Why do people still think politifact is unbiased when it churns out this level of inanity?

A better question is why does hopalong keep producing these sources when there are thousands of actually credible sources of Trump criticism he could be using?

[a completely inoffensive name]

Greyblades, why are you still posting in here. I would have thought you would be spending this week blaming Corbyn and the left for WannaCry.

[Greyblades]

Do I look like pannonian to you?

[Strike For The South]

Hey remember that time the president obstructed justice?

[Greyblades]

Remember when we knew what eachother was talking about by reading thier posts instead of thier thoughts?

Man those were some wierd times.

[Xiahou]

Notes made by former FBI director Comey say Trump pressured him to end Flynn probe
Now this could finally amount to something.

In recent weeks, Trump was been an increasingly embarrassing buffoon, but if Comey is called to testify before Congress under oath and supports this story...... things could get very bad for Trump.

[Greyblades]

BBC says "asked"

Mr Comey reportedly wrote a memo following a meeting with the president on 14 February that revealed Mr Trump had asked him to close an investigation into Mr Flynn's actions.

He reportedly shared the memo with top FBI associates.

"I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go," the president told Mr Comey, according to the memo. "He is a good guy."

Mr Comey did not respond to his request, according to the memo, but replied: "I agree he is a good guy."

Looks like another partisan overreaction to me, even the WaPo points out the problem in any potential case:

“There’s definitely a case to be made for obstruction,” said Barak Cohen, a former federal prosecutor who now does white-collar-defense work at the Perkins Coie law firm in the District. “But, on the other hand, you have to realize that — as with any other sort of criminal law — intent is key, and intent here can be difficult to prove.”

Seems like they would have more luck pushing with the recent screw up with the russians.

[Xiahou]

The Russian intel-sharing idiocy is a intel/diplomatic snafu, but it's not going to have the impact of Trump firing his FBI director after he tried to lean on him to end an investigation (should the reports prove true).

From CNN:

Comey was in the Oval Office briefing the President along with the vice president and attorney general on February 14, according to a source close to Comey who has a copy of the memo. After the briefing, Trump "asked Sessions and Pence to leave," the source told CNN.
According to a memo, Comey wrote about the encounter and shared with confidantes, the President said: "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go."
He told Comey that Flynn hadn't done anything wrong.
Comey was "concerned" that the President was trying to "stop the investigation," the source told CNN. "He wrote a number of memos, a great many if not all were about contacts with Trump -- particularly the ones that made him feel uneasy."

Again, if these memos do exist and Comey testifies before Congress that Trump, after making Sessions and Pence leave the room, leaned on him to let Flynn off the hook... we might be looking at President Pence soon.

If the memos aren't produced and Comey doesn't testify in support of the allegations... then it's just your standard Trump scandal nothing-burger. We'll see.

[Greyblades]

They are overreaching, even if a memo emerges they cannot actually turn this into an intimidation charge as the wording alone is not indicative of it; you could just as easily say it was an honest plea for comey to stop wasting thier time, which Trump is well within the law to do and without any account from an unbiased source noone can say it was otherwise.

[Strike For The South]

He asked so it's not obstruction. I forget about that loophole

lololololololololololol

l
o
l

[spmetla]

They are overreaching, even if a memo emerges they cannot actually turn this into an intimidation charge as the wording alone is not indicative of it; you could just as easily say it was an honest plea for comey to stop wasting thier time, which Trump is well within the law to do and without any account from an unbiased source noone can say it was otherwise.

Whether or not Trump thinks the investigation is a waste of time asking the head of the FBI to stop an investigation of the former head of national security for his ties with our number one geo-political enemy since the end of WWII is obstruction, "nice guy" or not. The only one overreaching is Trump and the unbiased source is the man he just fired and complemented for being so 'brave' in his Hillary emails announcement despite working for Obama at the time.

Unfortunately until the readers of FoxNews and Breitbart see the truth that Trump is a embarrassing buffoon who's doing more to harm the interests of America instead of making it 'great again' their respective representatives won't see a threat to their reelection next year and opt to do little to nothing hoping it'll blow over.

[Xiahou]

Whether or not Trump thinks the investigation is a waste of time asking the head of the FBI to stop an investigation of the former head of national security for his ties with our number one geo-political enemy since the end of WWII is obstruction, "nice guy" or not.

The 1980s called, and they want their foreign policy back.


Sorry, couldn't help myself....

[spmetla]

I was never a fan of Obama or his wimpy foreign policy but certainly prefer it to our current foreign policy of sheer incompetence.

[drone]

I was never a fan of Obama or his wimpy foreign policy but certainly prefer it to our current foreign policy of sheer incompetence.

Just wait until next week's trip to the middle east. Who knew the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be so hard to resolve?

[spmetla]

Just wait until next week's trip to the middle east. Who knew the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be so hard to resolve?

His methods are like the opinions of my non-current events following friends, to them it's too easy to fix things. "Why don't they just do..." or "this could be fixed if so and so didn't just ...."
Needless to say these are my friends that also tend to doubt the moon landing, think 9/11 was an inside job, and are sure that vaccines and fluoride are socialist plots against us. Great to hand out with, work on cars or help on bigger projects on my farm but not ones to discuss books or news with.

Wonder if his son in law and daughter can prod him to not say anything too crazy though at this point I don't think that's possible. Anyone who can rail against china his whole campaign and then after a 10 minute conversation with their president be swayed to their opinion won't fair well in the muddle of the middle east.

Funny how he loves saying how he's working harder than any president before him, thing is he probably believes it. I'm certain that this is the hardest he's ever had to work in his life except that this time he can't wrap himself in a bubble of yes-men that his quality of work is the greatest. So many meetings and complex issues he probably never considered possible, far more difficult and complex than just a line of businesses using the branding of his hotel/casino chain and now failure/bankruptcy isn't really an option.

[HopAlongBunny]

Special Counsel Robert Mueller named by DOJ.
Comey's predecessor as FBI director will apparently oversee the investigation into Russian meddling.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/u...tion.html?_r=0

Calls for impeachment might be premature as Trump's frequent mouthing of "who knew" and "I just didn't know" are probably accurate.

[Greyblades]

You scholars of legalism do know the charge of obstruction of justice requires him to actually obstruct justice right?

Nixon bribed people into silence, Lewis Libby and Barry Bonds lied under oath, Conrad Black confiscated evidence.

If the democrats, or god forbid the FBI, try to charge him with obstruction over saying "I hope you let this go" to the investigator they'd be laughed out of every court east of the nutty ninth.

[Montmorency]

Deep Throat stamped his foot. 'A conspiracy like this...a conspiracy investigation...the rope has to tighten slowly around everyone's neck. You build convincingly from the outer edges in, you get ten times the evidence you need against the Hunts and the Liddys. They feel hopelessly finished - they may not talk right away, but the grip is on them. Then you move up and do the same thing at the next level. If you shoot too high and miss, then everyone feels more secure. Lawyers work this way. I'm sure smart reporters must, too.'

Tee hee

[AE Bravo]

Goddamn your references are ancient as hell all the time.

Dusty old posts you got there. ;)

[Seamus Fermanagh]

You scholars of legalism do know the charge of obstruction of justice requires him to actually obstruct justice right?

Nixon bribed people into silence, Lewis Libby and Barry Bonds lied under oath, Conrad Black confiscated evidence.

If the democrats, or god forbid the FBI, try to charge him with obstruction over saying "I hope you let this go" to the investigator they'd be laughed out of every court east of the nutty ninth.

Why not? His executive orders on refugees have been fought by the courts, in part, because of his campaign rhetoric -- why bother with content when you can KNOW in your heart that Trump is evil?

[Strike For The South]

Why not? His executive orders on refugees have been fought by the courts, in part, because of his campaign rhetoric -- why bother with content when you can KNOW in your heart that Trump is evil?

Why are you dying on this hill? Of all them men to defend, you choose the one setting fire to our institutions.

Greyblades, you are a Polemic to the point of being Hitchens without the wit or coherency.

[Greyblades]

Your only contribution to this debate have been insults and ridicule, yet you would call me an incoherant polemic?

[Strike For The South]

Your only contribution to this debate have been insults and ridicule, yet you would call me an incoherant polemic?

Correct.

[Greyblades]

Then I name you an unreliable judge of character who has become accustomed to letting his news outlet do his thinking for him, with all the folly that entails.

Are we done?

[Fragony]

Am I watching Deadwood lol, please don't stop bickering