Damn, a few months ago I would never have thought I'd be thanking posts by Duffman (et al.).
But now that some evidence is coming out about illegalities (Comey writing down his conversations etc), Trump is looking worse and worse.
Clearly a guy in over his head. And not a typical "I have so much to learn and this job is hard" type reaction, but more of a "you guys are being unfair to me... whyyyyyyy" reaction. It isn't very becoming.
__________________
Pass the bacon.
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You know you're through the looking glass when the racist sheriff that runs a jail that lets prisoners die of thirst gets appointed as assistant secretary in the Department of Homeland Security and it hardly registers as a blip on the news. Welcome Sheriff Clarke.
A bit from Kasich. He really should have been the GOP nominee. Centrist Republican with respect for the other side of the aisle. But the GOP would never give him the nomination because he isn't right enough and can you imagine them accepting a democrat first lady! He'd have likely won in a landslide for those same reasons.
This would have been potentially an amazing election of true issues and two guys wanting to talk policy and actual vision with respect. Kasich vs Sanders. Instead we got Clinton vs Trump.
Quote:
"I think it would be awful for the country if the Democrats use this as a political opportunity, and ran a partisan effort," Sanders said. "But it is absolutely imperative that Republicans come forward. This is too serious a problem to run away from."
"It's absolutely imperative that Republicans work with us in an open and fair process."
Kasich agreed.
"I believe this is not a time for Republicans to hide, and I also don't think it's a time for Democrats to exploit," said Kasich.
"It is very important that we get to the bottom of this. Let's put our country first and we'll come out of this better."
MAY 17, 2017
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has appointed Robert S. Mueller III, the former F.B.I. director, to serve as a special counsel to oversee its investigation into Russian meddling in the election, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced on Wednesday.
The appointment of Mr. Mueller dramatically raises the stakes for President Trump in the multiple investigations into his campaign’s ties to the Russians. It follows a swiftly moving series of developments that have roiled Washington, including Mr. Trump’s abrupt dismissal of the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, and the disclosure that the president urged Mr. Comey to drop the bureau’s investigation into his former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn.
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The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true. Go Flames Go!
This is great. I can't wait for Trump to go after the universally respected Mueller on twitter. Will he fire Rosenstein now? I'm sure that would go well...
Congressional Republicans kill a motion to bring a special independent commission investigation into Trump's Russia ties. Notably only two Republicans supported the measure but the rest put party over country. McCain, such a Maverick.
They only need 25 more Republicans to support if the motion gets re-introduced
Quote:
House Republicans blocked a vote Wednesday on legislation to create an independent commission to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election.
A Democratic effort to force a vote failed, with only one Republican – Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina – joining them in a procedural vote that would have allowed them to bring up the bill. But Democrats also launched a petition Wednesday that would allow them to force a vote on the bill at a later date if they get a majority of lawmakers to sign on.
“Today is a courage call for our Republican colleagues,” said Rep. Eric Swalwell of Calif., who co-authored the bill with Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland. “Can they — as we have done with past attacks against our country — can they put party aside, put our country first and unite with Democrats to say that never again will we tolerate an attack like this?”
The legislation would create a 12-member, bipartisan commission that could interview witnesses, obtain documents, issue subpoenas and receive public testimony to investigate Russia’s attempts to influence the election.
The bill’s 199 cosponsors include two Republicans – Jones and Rep. Justin Amash, of Michigan. Amash voted with his party to block bringing up the bill.
Re: Special Counsel. Interesting, I didn't expect them to do it yet, though I guess the sooner the better, the longer they waited the more perception that they've got something to hide increases.
I wonder if some of the Republicans that were calling for Comey's memos or otherwise starting to distance themselves from Trump will use this as a reason to resume their support.
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
“There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, according to a recording of the June 15, 2016 exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Californian Republican known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) immediately interjected, stopping the conversation from further exploring McCarthy’s assertion, and swore the Republicans present to secrecy.
Meanwhile alt-right nuts AND Fox news freaking out of the DNC staffer Seth Rich death just got slapped hard with a lawsuit from the family and the PI involved. Fox News reported falsely that Rich had leaked a large amount of DNC emails to wikileaks, got murdered for it and the FBI and found evidence thereof.
Family, FBI and the PI quoted all deny reports and Fox News has refused to issue a retraction. Fake News.
Quote:
"The family is officially asking for a retraction and an apology from Fox News and from the Fox 5 DC affiliate for inaccurate reporting and damaging the legacy of their son," spokesman Brad Bauman said.
This week, both Fox News and WTTG-TV published and aired reports, sourced to private investigator Rod Wheeler, that said evidence showed Rich had been in contact with Wikileaks before his death. Wheeler later told CNN he had no such evidence and that he had, in fact, only heard of some information attributed to him from a Fox News reporter with whom he spoke.
A FoxNews.com story on the case also cited a "federal source" who said the FBI had conducted a forensic analysis of Rich's computer and discovered thousands of emails with Wikileaks. But a law enforcement official told CNN that the FBI never had possession of Rich's laptop and did not conduct a forensic analysis of its contents.
Neither Fox News nor WTTG-TV have issued corrections to their reports. Multiple requests for comment made to both outlets were not returned.
The conversation provides a glimpse at the internal views of GOP leaders who now find themselves under mounting pressure over the conduct of President Trump. The exchange shows that the Republican leadership in the House privately discussed Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election and Trump’s relationship to Putin, but wanted to keep their concerns secret. It is difficult to tell from the recording the extent to which the remarks were meant to be taken literally.
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
Former Trump aides Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort have emerged as key figures in the FBI's investigation into Russian campaign interference, which has just been taken over by a special counsel, four law enforcement officials told NBC News.
Officials say multiple grand jury subpoenas and records requests have been issued in connection with the two men during the past six months in the ongoing probe into whether the#Trump campaign colluded with Russian#attempts to influence the election, an inquiry that will now be overseen by former FBI Director Robert Mueller
When House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy suggested in 2016 that Trump was getting paid off by Putin, Paul Ryan silenced discussion and instructed Republicans to keep that "in the family." There may be more than meets the eye to claims that the Feds have Ryan and McConnell on tape admitting to laundering money through the GOP. Things are getting very interesting.
