Trump Admin Meltdown Thread Part III - A Democratic House

[tennbengal]

Can I do you a favor to become Attorney General?

Yes, that answer is clearly, yes.

[brian]

If he loses in 2020 or is actually impeached, Schumer will be at the forefront arguing we should just let everything else go in order to move on.

I'm here for AOC primary-ing his ass in 2022.

[Johnnie]

If he loses in 2020 or is actually impeached, Schumer will be at the forefront arguing we should just let everything else go in order to move on.

I'm here for AOC primary-ing his ass in 2022.

I would fucking love that.

And I'll be retired by then. So I can work on her campaign without worry.

[Rush2112]

[Nonlinear FC]

A rare moment of honesty from Trump:



Based on everything I’ve read, I don’t think he expected or even really wanted to get elected. So he probably didn’t give a shit about the corruption inherent with continuing his business negotiations while running for President.

I've literally been saying this, almost verbatim since the summer of 2016.

[rass]

The fact that Trump keeps freaking out on Twitter is honestly a good sign. He's prone to being a bitch, so you never really know, but it doesn't sound like he thinks it's going to be very good for him.

!!!

[Joe K]

The fact that Trump keeps freaking out on Twitter is honestly a good sign. He's prone to being a bitch, so you never really know, but it doesn't sound like he thinks it's going to be very good for him.

!!!

It’s now a goal of mine to be in a circumstance where I can defend my behavior as “very legal & very cool.”

[mister d]

That phrasing was all intentional and clearly not really him ...

[The Sybian]

If he loses in 2020 or is actually impeached, Schumer will be at the forefront arguing we should just let everything else go in order to move on.

I'm here for AOC primary-ing his ass in 2022.

I like a lot of what she says and stands for, I like that she is fearless in standing up to attacks, but I get the feeling she is a lightweight, and something will make her crumble. And with Fox and the RW using her as a lightning rod for everything wrong with the "radical Left," the slightest misstep could blowup into a huge scandal. And watching her in interviews, I don't think she is all that politically astute.

[Joe K]

If he loses in 2020 or is actually impeached, Schumer will be at the forefront arguing we should just let everything else go in order to move on.

I'm here for AOC primary-ing his ass in 2022.

I like a lot of what she says and stands for, I like that she is fearless in standing up to attacks, but I get the feeling she is a lightweight, and something will make her crumble. And with Fox and the RW using her as a lightning rod for everything wrong with the "radical Left," the slightest misstep could blowup into a huge scandal. And watching her in interviews, I don't think she is all that politically astute.

I strongly disagree with you regarding her political astuteness. I think she’s a very skilled politician who both Republicans and establishment Dems should not underestimate. Just curious, what specifically from her interviews makes you think she’s a lightweight? Because I think she’s very well versed on policy (much more so than many right-wingers who are held up as reasonable voices) and just sounds different because there are so few truly leftist voices in American politics. And none of her policy positions would be remotely controversial or outside of the mainstream in a Western European country. We’ve just been conditioned for decades to accept right-wing framing on policy.

[duff]

I like a lot of what she says and stands for, I like that she is fearless in standing up to attacks, but I get the feeling she is a lightweight, and something will make her crumble. And with Fox and the RW using her as a lightning rod for everything wrong with the "radical Left," the slightest misstep could blowup into a huge scandal. And watching her in interviews, I don't think she is all that politically astute.

Well the right just elected someone who is not all that politically astute and a lightweight. They love that guy.

[Joe K]

To expand a bit, I think AOC’s leadership has been very impressive. She hasn’t even been sworn in yet and has already played a central role in getting a “Green New Deal” added to the House agenda for next term. Centrist Dems criticized her for joining protestors who targeted d Pelosi on this issue, but it worked.

And this is exactly how Dems need to view (and talk about) the role of money in politics:



Of course Manchin shouldn’t be the most powerful Senator on energy policy for a political party that purports to care about the environment.

[EnochRoot]

So are we entering into an expanse of space where Donald Trump may wind up dying in prison?

Facts:

1) VTB bank and Trump signed a letter of intent for Trump Tower Russia.
2) Deutsche Bank was found guilty of laundering $10B from Russia
3) Deutsche Bank has loaned Trump 10's of not 100's of millions of dollars.
4) VTB was one of the banks laundering money through Deutsche.
5) Deutsche bank was raided yesterday by German Officials.

Hmm.......

[DaveInSeattle]

Just out of morbid curiosity as I was driving home from dinner with my kids last night I tuned into the 'Mark Levin show' on AM radio. I wanted to hear his reaction to the Cohen guilty plea news.

As one would expect, it was 15 minutes of completely unhinged yelling and ranting. The main point seemed to be that Mueller is 'criminalizing politics!' (whatever the hell that means) and that Trump isn't guilty of anything except for being a conservative who cares about the Constitution.

[brian]

...Trump isn't guilty of anything except for being a conservative who cares about the Constitution.

The irony is this describes Mueller to a T.

[Steve of phpBB]

...Trump isn't guilty of anything except for being a conservative who cares about the Constitution.

The irony is this describes Mueller to a T.

And Trump and the modern Republican party have criminalized politics.

[brian]

...Trump isn't guilty of anything except for being a conservative who cares about the Constitution.

The irony is this describes Mueller to a T.

And Trump and the modern Republican party have criminalized politics.

The projection with Trump and these right-wing nutjobs is off the charts.

[sancarlos]

[Johnnie]

I seriously couldn't keep up with all the links in r/Politics today.

This shit is getting hectic.

I sincerely hope that Time Magazine gives Trump 5th red X cover. That would be excellent.

[sancarlos]

[DaveInSeattle]

[Johnnie]

[EnochRoot]

Nice senile moment from our fearless leader. At :16 you can hear him say, “Get me out of here.”

[Pruitt]

Not all heroes wear capes.

[EnochRoot]

From Russia, With Love.

[A_B]

[Pruitt]

Fantastic!

[Pruitt]

[Pruitt]

13 Trump entities being subpoenaed in case targeting president’s D.C. hotel, potentially revealing private details of his business

A "Breaking News" bulletin, so the headline is basically the full content.

[tennbengal]

13 Trump entities being subpoenaed in case targeting president’s D.C. hotel, potentially revealing private details of his business

A "Breaking News" bulletin, so the headline is basically the full content.

Maryland AG Brian Frosh doing some fine work on this one.

[Steve of phpBB]

Dammit, where's that Flynn sentencing memorandum?

[The Sybian]

Dammit, where's that Flynn sentencing memorandum?

I know! I've been waiting for this to drop! [to finally prove it's a witch hunt]. "No mention of Trump or Russia collusion. Mueller hoax Proofen! All trying to get Trump because they hate America. #MAGA"

[Brontoburglar]

19!

[The Sybian]

19!

WTF are you talking about? Scrolling through news sites, still not sure.

ETA: But Brian Flynn lost the Dem primary for NY 19.

[The Sybian]

Man, Mueller asking the Judge to give Flynn no jail time after months of delayed sentencing and absolutely no word in the media about Flynn at all during that time... He must have delivered something enormous, and they must have substantiating evidence to back it up. Fuck, this is exciting and making me nervous at the same time.

[sancarlos]

[EnochRoot]

Man, Mueller asking the Judge to give Flynn no jail time after months of delayed sentencing and absolutely no word in the media about Flynn at all during that time... He must have delivered something enormous, and they must have substantiating evidence to back it up. Fuck, this is exciting and making me nervous at the same time.

That’s because with Donald Trump, it’s always worse than you’d previously thought.

[EnochRoot]

A particularly salient, and well-versed contributor on Talking Points Memo, khyber900 breaks down Robert Mueller’s massively redacted, sentencing memo recommendations for Michael Flynn:

FLYNN MEMO - SHORT HOT TAKE:

The short analysis of the Flynn Sentencing memo + addendum: Most of the good stuff is redacted. That said, there is more than enough in here to conclude that Donald J. Trump is [screwed]. This memo combined with the emoluments subpoenas being issued today tell us that the walls are indeed closing in on Trump, the family and the family business.The only people who haven't figured this out are the Republicans. They are paralyzed politically, emotionally and morally.

FLYNN MEMO - LONGER TAKE

This divided into two memos. The first one is 7 pages in length and deals with the sentencing recommendation. There are a few choice quotes in the memo, but basically Mueller heaps praise on Flynn for the timeliness and extent of his cooperation and recommends a low sentence to no jail time at all.

Given the defendant’s substantial assistance and other considerations set forth below, a sentence at the low end of the guideline range—including a sentence that does not impose a term of incarceration—is appropriate and warranted

Given what a particularly cantankerous, deceitful, traitorous a**hole Flynn was in 2015-16, I find that remarkable. The memo then recounts the lies Flynn told in relation to the Flynn-Kislyak meeting of 12/29/16 and the false statements he made with respect to his FARA filings relating to his Turkey lobbying.

Next, the memo talks about Flynn's military and public service record in laudatory terms (and conveniently leaves out the part when most thought he was a bat................ conspiracy theorist bordering on dangerous and deserved to get canned by Obama). This is a particularly telling quote from Mueller:

The defendant’s record of military and public service distinguish him from every other person who has been charged as part the SCO’s investigation. However, senior government leaders should be held to the highest standards. The defendant’s extensive government service should have made him particularly aware of the harm caused by providing false information to the government, as well as the rules governing work performed on behalf of a foreign government

Given how tough Mueller is, Flynn should consider himself lucky. In lay terms, Flynn committed acts of treason. He was disloyal to his country. Yet, Mueller is lauding him here and soft pedaling his errors. I will note however that the phrase "Senior government leaders should be held to the highest standards" will feel like a gut punch to many Republicans, as they have been avoiding that standard of responsibility for far too long. If the special prosecutor is telling the GOP that Trump and all GOP officials need to be held to a high standard, that doesn't bode well for this decrepit bunch.

The second memo is a 6 page addendum and much of it is redacted. This is the good stuff as it details the different investigations that Flynn has cooperated on. Much of this is new and we only get a glimpse. The important thing is Trump also only gets a glimpse. Imagine what kind of freak out he is having tonight!!! There are 3 investigations where Flynn is assisting the US Gov't.

1. A criminal investigation into ____________________ (all redacted).

2. The SCO's investigation "concerning any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald J. Trump". Roger Stone is not going to like that phrasing, because it expands the net well beyond those who had official positions in the campaign to the intermediaries, of which Stone was a primary such person.

3. Fully redacted title.

So for all those who have said that we only know a fraction of what Mueller knows, this memo proves it. We had no idea into 2 of the 3 investigations that Flynn is involved in. Other DOJ offices are also involved, so this extends way beyond Mueller's office and are likely outside of Trump's reach.

Flynn has provided 19 interviews, and additional documents, communications and _________________ (redacted) (I wonder if Flynn went undercover at all?). There are around 23 lines of text to describe criminal investigation #1, 22 of which are redacted.

Regarding the Trump Campaign-Russia investigation the memo calls out the Transition period and _________________ (redacted).

This redacted portion has a further description covering around 26 lines of text, 25 of which are fully redacted.

"His early cooperation was particularly valuable because he was one of the few people with long-term and firsthand insight rearing events and issues under investigation by the SCO. Additionally, the defendant's decision to plead guilty and cooperate likely affected the decisions of related firsthand witnesses to be forthcoming with the SCO and cooperate."

In general, I think this memo combined with the emoluments subpoenas demonstrate that the walls are closing in on Trump, the Trump family and the Trump family business. In thinking about what Flynn has provided the SCO, I think a maximalist perspective is appropriate to consider given that there are 3 separate investigations with broad scope. Flynn knew Putin on a first name basis. He broke bread with him. He was US military intel. He could likely tell a story for Mueller that described how Russia orchestrated its intelligence operation. It was more than just co-opting Trump, but it extended to the GOP, GOP interest groups like the NRA, and US allies (like the UK). Flynn understands how disinformation campaigns are carried out and would be able to explain how the Russians communicated, co-opted and influenced its targets and bent them to their will. He can tell the whole story and that would involve how Donald Trump and his campaign worked with the Russians to orchestrate the intel operation to undermine the US elections and target Hillary Clinton.

Trump was not expecting any of this it would appear. Another guy who should be freaking out is Mike Pence. Pence stuck the knife into Flynn and pushed him off the plank. The focus on the transition in this memo means that Pence's liability for misprision of felonies and also for actively concocting or shopping a false cover story about Flynn acting on his own to lie about the Kislyak meeting (when in fact he was directed to do so by Trump) had the effect of obstructing and misleading the FBI's investigation. The 'Flynn lied to Pence' lie substantially delayed the discovery of the truth. It was only through Flynn's cooperation that the truth was later hit upon by Mueller.

This investigation will last well into 2019 but many will go down between now and over the next 4 to 6 months.

[tennbengal]

Thanks for that.

[Johnnie]

My day was so busy yesterday I'm just now reading this and the mega thread on Reddit.

I really wanted that fuck to go to prison. I mean, unless we're trading him for the Trump family and Pence, then damn. It literally says treason in the quoted text.

Maybe it's because as a 3 star general I expect more of military leaders, but at the very least his face will be part of curriculums everywhere about government officials that too money from foreign hostile governments.