American Politics Thread: Orange is the new POTUS

[oldschoolcalgary]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Trump apparently preparing a certified letter to send to Graham claiming no ties to Russia...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...no-russia-ties

LOL...

"Nothing to see here... go on about your business"....

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Jesus Christ.

Jebus, don't they know it's 're-signs'? What a network I tell ya :-)

[photon]

Ignoring Trump's motivations, I kind of agree with the move itself. Comey's recent testimony trying to defend his actions re: Clinton emails and his account of things vs. the contradicting reports are enough.

But I think it's an opportunistic move by Trump to try and combat any ongoing investigations.

[direwolf]

Lol, firing the guy who's currently in charge of investigating you. Trump is such a clown. He might as well just hang a sign around his neck that says "I'm guilty".

[dash_pinched]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Trump apparently preparing a certified letter to send to Graham claiming no ties to Russia...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...no-russia-ties

Yup, no Russian ties - However, China is a different case.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by photon

Ignoring Trump's motivations, I kind of agree with the move itself. Comey's recent testimony trying to defend his actions re: Clinton emails and his account of things vs. the contradicting reports are enough.

But I think it's an opportunistic move by Trump to try and combat any ongoing investigations.

I was going to say this. Comeys handling of the Clinton investigation means he deserves to be fired given what has come out. This guy essentially won the election for Trump and now becomes a casualty.

[photon]

The White House circulated negative press clippings on FBI Director James Comey minutes after announcing his firing Tuesday evening.

The one-page sheet circulated by the White House contained four stories, most of them about Democrats criticizing Comey's decision to disclose developments in the investigation into Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

One of the clips was a Wall Street Journal editorial calling for Comey’s resignation because “he has lost the trust of nearly everyone in Washington, along with every American who believes the FBI must maintain its reputation as a politically impartial federal agency.”

The story selection, and the release itself, added confusion to the circumstances surrounding his firing, given that President Trump frequently cheered Clinton’s email woes when he ran against her in 2016.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administ...y-after-firing

[direwolf]

Sounds like Comey's decision to not file charges against Clinton for her emails was one of the reasons for his dismissal, or at least that's the reason they're using. Why am I not surprised.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/09/politi...out/index.html

In a separate letter, rich in irony, Rosenstein laid out the reasons for Comey's firing, arguing that it was his transgressions over the Clinton email investigation that were the cause of his dismissal.

At the center of Rosenstein's rationale for recommending Comey's firing was the director's handling of the investigation into Clinton's private server, namely his decision to recommend no charges be filed and the news conference he held to explain his reasoning.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Maybe I'm looking at this from the wrong perspective, but in theory this should be Trump's most popular move as President. His cultists wanted Comey gone because he's investigating Trump and by getting rid of him it allows for a sycophant to take his place and turn the FBI into a retribution wing of the White House, and Dems hate Comey because they think he cost Hillary the election.

Should be fascinating to see where his approval numbers go after this catastrophic last 7-10 days for him. In theory he should be approaching the impeachment zone of sub-30%, but I guess we'll find out how much party over country really matters to Republicans (not Trump cultists who obviously will never leave).

[photon]

Mr. Comey learned that he had been fired while he was addressing a group of F.B.I. employees in Los Angeles. While he spoke, television screens in the background began flashing the news. Shortly thereafter, a letter was delivered to the F.B.I.’s headquarters in Washington.

...

Senior White House and Justice Department officials had been working on building a case against Mr. Comey since at least last week, according to administration officials. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had been charged with coming up with reasons to fire him, the officials said.


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/09/u...-fbi-live.html

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Just keep thinking every day it just can't become a bigger circus. And I'm wrong almost every day. What's next?

[photon]

Interesting takes from various legal minds (minds that know law, not minds that are above 18).

http://www.politico.com/magazine/sto...-crisis-215118

[photon]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

Just keep thinking every day it just can't become a bigger circus. And I'm wrong almost every day. What's next?

[ResAlien]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

I guess we'll find out how much party over country really matters to Republicans (not Trump cultists who obviously will never leave).

For Republicans it is always party over country. Trump is not getting impeached while there is a Republican majority. If 2018 swings to the Democrats then maybe but until that point this is the new normal.

[direwolf]

Great post from Dan Rather on the Comey firing.

https://www.facebook.com/theDanRathe...58646539340716

Future generations may mark today as one of the truly dark days in American history, a history that may soon take an even more ominous turn.
President Trump's sudden firing of FBI Director James Comey is a matter that should deeply concern every American, regardless of party, partisan politics or ideological leanings.

The independence of our law enforcement is at the bedrock of our democracy. That independence, already grievously shaken under the brief tenure of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is now shattered by uncertainty.

The firing of an FBI Director is always a very serious matter in normal times. But these times aren't normal. Far from it. The Bureau is engaged in one of the most important and perilous investigations of this or any other presidency—the investigation of connections between the Trump election campaign and the Russian government.

The questions mount and the shadow grows darker. What were those connections? What did Mr. Trump know about them and when did he know it? How can the President explain the serious allegations against his former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn? And what is President Trump hiding in this regard? It’s imperative that the nation—We The People—get answers to those questions. It will take time, but the process must start now.

A politicized FBI is the last thing we need as we struggle through the maze of lies, concealment and ever-deepening mysteries. The last time a President fired prosecutors who were investigating him was Richard Nixon during the widespread criminal conspiracy known for short as “Watergate.” We all know how that turned out. In real ways, this potential scandal and coverup are much graver. We are talking about the very security of the United States and the sanctity of our republic.

Thomas Paine famously wrote in 1776: "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. "

I see this as having the potential for a similar reflection point in our American story. If there is a cover up, if our nation is at the risk that has certainly been more than suggested, it is incumbent upon everyone who claims to love this nation to demand answers.

We need a special prosecutor. We need an independent investigation. There is, obviously, much we don’t know about what has just happened, why it happened and why now. Just as obviously there is much more, so much more that we need know. We need to damn the lies and expose the truth.

[Senator Clay Davis]

^^I'm talking about Republican voters, not the hermits in Congress. If Trump's approval gets into the impeachment zone, the hermits will act because self-preservation trumps all (pun goodness!). Even they aren't dumb enough to sentence themselves to death for the orange goblin. It's whether he gets into the 25-30% range, which is up to voters.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Let's go back to this article from March.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...ocracy/513872/

The traditions of independence and professionalism that prevail within the federal law-enforcement apparatus, and within the civil service more generally, will tend to restrain a president’s power. Yet in the years ahead, these restraints may also prove less robust than they look. Republicans in Congress have long advocated reforms to expedite the firing of underperforming civil servants. In the abstract, there’s much to recommend this idea. If reform is dramatic and happens in the next two years, however, the balance of power between the political and the professional elements of the federal government will shift, decisively, at precisely the moment when the political elements are most aggressive. The intelligence agencies in particular would likely find themselves exposed to retribution from a president enraged at them for reporting on Russia’s aid to his election campaign. “As you know from his other career, Donald likes to fire people.” So New Jersey Governor Chris Christie joked to a roomful of Republican donors at the party’s national convention in July. It would be a mighty power—and highly useful.

Yeah, we're well on our way here.

[chemgear]

[Senator Clay Davis]

You mean the dumbest administration in history, with the lowest amount of awareness and foresight in history, didn't see the reaction to one of their moves coming? No.....

[FlameOn]

Senate investigators are demanding to see Trump teams financials. I expect them all to be fired shortly.

Senate Russia investigators have sent a request to the Treasury Department's criminal investigation division for any information related to President Donald Trump, his top officials and his campaign aides, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee told CNN Tuesday.

"We've made a request, to FinCEN in the Treasury Department, to make sure, not just for example vis-a-vis the President, but just overall our effort to try to follow the intel no matter where it leads," Sen. Mark Warner told CNN. "You get materials that show if there have been, what level of financial ties between, I mean some of the stuff, some of the Trump-related officials, Trump campaign-related officials and other officials and where those dollars flow -- not necessarily from Russia."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/09/politi...ump/index.html