The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

[msteelers]

I love the “with stars in their eyes” bit.

I don’t think they had stars in their eyes... more like big bags of money.

[Skinypupy]

Let's be honest, there really is only one appropriate response to this sad tale of woe.

Dear Mr. President,

[Kraken]

I don’t say this often anymore (because the answer is usually either obvious or doesn’t matter), but I’d actually love to know who he’s referring to here.

While there's no indication that this is what he means, the Globe recently ran a story about how WH experience is career suicide for many underlings when they try to get jobs elsewhere. What was once a badge of honor is now a mark of shame as mainstream businesses want to avoid that taint. Here's a similar story to the one I read.

Traditionally, “White House” are two words that tend to stand out in a good way on a resume, especially among those looking for work in D.C. But there’s a broad understanding that working in this White House isn’t something one can credibly brag about.

Not that Trump is likely to be aware of that, or that he'd care if he were.

[LordMortis]

The solution is simple. They gotta keep a rockin' They just can't stop.

Dear Mr. President,

I'm telling ya. That picture really does say it all.

[Skinypupy]

A quick point of order here. If a 'witch hunt' is defined as a fake investigation, and this is a 'phony' witch hunt, doesn't that mean that he's admitting this is a real investigation?

[Unagi]

dude, we are hunting a phony witch... Shssh.

[LordMortis]

A quick point of order here. If a 'witch hunt' is defined as a fake investigation, and this is a 'phony' witch hunt, doesn't that mean that he's admitting this is a real investigation?

I think a phony witch hunt would be one in which the hunters aren't doing anything but are trying to make it look like are hunting for nefarious purposes, for which I believe the president would need to be complicit, only making this revaluation now for unknown reasons.

[LordMortis]

dude, we are hunting a phony witch... Shssh.

Damned ambiguity. Are you quite sure? This not what I get from the context.

[Unagi]

Yeah, I was just kiddin.

Pretty sure you have it right....


Of course the truth is that Trump just can't say anything.

"Your Second Amendment rights are under siege, but they will never, ever be under siege as long as I'm your president..."

[Unagi]

every time I hear him say "Witch Hunt" I think: "Quick to judge, quick to anger.... Slow to understand"

[LordMortis]

"Your Second Amendment rights are under siege, but they will never, ever be under siege as long as I'm your president..."

[/quote]

He said that?

[LordMortis]

Here it is! Found out what he is referring to.

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&q=toknowall

There is something poetic about the last entry being from the NYPost about Hillary's emails.

[Unagi]

"Your Second Amendment rights are under siege, but they will never, ever be under siege as long as I'm your president..."

He said that?

yep.

[LordMortis]

Wait. "Your second amendment? " Has he become Russian and renounced his citizenry already? "We are pride in our history?" What does that mean? His Rs and Ls sometimes sound weirdly elongated in the middle of the clips. Too many adult beverages or blood to the brain problems.

How is this only frightening to a small stressed out minority?

[Holman]

FOIA FTW:

Remember when Trump fired Comey and then began claiming (in tweets and through his Press Secretary) that Comey was bad for the FBI, everyone thought so, agents were happy to see him go, he was mismanaging the place and had lost the confidence of field agents, etc etc?

You will be shocked to learn that these claims were bullshit.

The blog Lawfare put in a Freedom Of Information Act request for FBI internal communications regarding Comey's departure, and the story that emerges is clear:

Over the weekend, we received 103 pages of records responsive to Wittes’s first two requests—messages from FBI leadership around the country and across the bureau regarding the firing of Director Comey. The bureau identified 116 pages of responsive material and withheld only 13 pages, so this material constitutes the overwhelming bulk of communications to staff on the subject of the firing.

What does it show? Simply put, it shows that Ellingsen nailed it when she described a reaction of “shock” and “profound sadness” at the removal of a beloved figure to whom the workforce was deeply attached. It also shows that no aspect of the White House’s statements about the bureau were accurate—and, indeed, that the White House engendered at least some resentment among the rank and file for whom it purported to speak. As Amy Hess, the special agent in charge in Louisville, put it: “On a personal note, I vehemently disagree with any negative assertions about the credibility of this institution or the people herein.”

Before detailing the story these documents tell, let’s pause a moment over the story they do not tell. They contain not a word that supports the notion that the FBI was in turmoil. They contain not a word that reflects gratitude to the president for removing a nut job. There is literally not a single sentence in any of these communications that reflects criticism of Comey’s leadership of the FBI. Not one special agent in charge describes Comey’s removal as some kind of opportunity for new leadership. And if any FBI official really got on the phone with Sanders to express gratitude or thanks “for the president’s decision,” nobody reported that to his or her staff.

[gbasden]

every time I hear him say "Witch Hunt" I think: "Quick to judge, quick to anger.... Slow to understand"

Indeed!

[Unagi]

I'm seriously annoyed that the media keeps dignifying to phrase 'spygate'.

Drop it, and it loses its power.
Call it what it is -- Trump's desire to turn this into an FBI problem... when it IS NOT.

Will the hunger and greed of our media be our undoing? Is there a way to put a check on this?

[Unagi]

Wait. "Your second amendment? "

at the VERY least --- the most Obvious sign of pandering.

[Smoove_B]

Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America:

Why didn't President Obama do something about the so-called Russian Meddling when he was told about it by the FBI before the Election? Because he thought Crooked Hillary was going to win, and he didn't want to upset the apple cart! He was in charge, not me, and did nothing.

There has to be a team of lawyers chugging Maalox somewhere, right?

EDIT: Maalox hasn't been on the market since 2012? Outdated joke reference FTW!

[Skinypupy]

Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America:

Why didn't President Obama do something about the so-called Russian Meddling when he was told about it by the FBI before the Election? Because he thought Crooked Hillary was going to win, and he didn't want to upset the apple cart! He was in charge, not me, and did nothing.

There has to be a team of lawyers chugging Maalox somewhere, right?

EDIT: Maalox hasn't been on the market since 2012? Outdated joke reference FTW!

"Why oh why didn't Obama stop the Russian meddling that I continue to tell everyone never happened?"

Here's a pretty good summary of how it all went down, and why Obama didn't "just stop him".

[LordMortis]

Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America:

Why didn't President Obama do something about the so-called Russian Meddling when he was told about it by the FBI before the Election? Because he thought Crooked Hillary was going to win, and he didn't want to upset the apple cart! He was in charge, not me, and did nothing.

I agree with him and I'm sure Obama does as well. Of course we probably disagree with who apple cart is and I fully imagine nothing is hyperbole for far too little.

[GreenGoo]

Er, he did do something. We can argue that he did too little or too much, but we can't argue that Obama did nothing, because he and his administration were quietly looking into it. They even tried to contact Drumpf and discuss it with him.

As far as I'm concerned, Drumpf is trying to have it both ways. There was no interference and he won fair and square and there was meddling that Obama failed to deal with.

It's a really badly written cartoon at this point.

[Unagi]

and I fully imagine nothing is hyperbole for far too little.

I really wish I knew what those words strung together meant.

[Unagi]

Er, he did do something. We can argue that he did too little or too much, but we can't argue that Obama did nothing, because he and his administration were quietly looking into it. They even tried to contact Drumpf and discuss it with him.

As far as I'm concerned, Drumpf is trying to have it both ways. There was no interference and he won fair and square and there was meddling that Obama failed to deal with.

It's a really badly written cartoon at this point.

It's like 3 separate badly written cartoons with their plots mixed together without care and placed in one cartoon that makes no sense and actually effects your real life.

But yes - he is totally promoting 2-3 different angles and doesn't realize where they overlap in mutual exculsivity. What TRULY sucks is how many people just keep eating this shit and can live off it.

[Captain Caveman]

Er, he did do something.

Yeah, aren’t we all forgetting that he implanted a spy in the Trump campaign to help Hillary win? Trump said so himself in a tweet not too long before this one.

So, he both claims Obama planted a spy to stop him and that Obama didn’t do anything to stop him.

[Chaz]

And never mind the bit where if he did do something publicly, the GOP would have immediately spun it as partisan slander during a presidential election. In fact did Cocaine Mitch tell Obama exactly that?

[YellowKing]

As pointed out on Pod Save America, the intelligence community could have torpedoed the Trump campaign at any time with a single phone call. They in fact bent over backwards NOT to influence the election.

To claim that there was some conspiracy would make these the absolute worst conspirators of all time.

[GungHo]

As far as I'm concerned, Drumpf is trying to have it both ways.

And he will continue to get it both ways because his base is both profoundly ignorant and unsophisticated. And it's growing.

[LordMortis]

And it's growing.

I don't think it's growing but I also don't think it's shrinking which still warrants a

[hepcat]

Wait..hold up a minute. You can’t buy Maalox?

[Victoria Raverna]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... nald-trump

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani said on Sunday that his repeated imputations of a supposed scandal at the heart of the Robert Mueller investigation – which Donald Trump calls “Spygate” – amounted to a tactic to sway public opinion and limit the risk of the president being impeached.

“Of course we have to do it to defend the president,” Trump’s lawyer told CNN State of the Union host Dana Bash, who accused him of being part of a campaign to undermine the Mueller investigation. Trump has repeatedly called the special counsel’s work a “witch hunt”, despite its producing five guilty pleas, including by three former Trump aides, and evidence of Russian tampering in US elections.

“It is for public opinion,” Giuliani said of his public campaign of dissimulation. “Because eventually the decision here is going to be impeach or not impeach. Members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, are going to be informed a lot by their constituents. And so our jury – and it should be – is the American people.

[GreenGoo]

The first rule of gaslighting a nation is you don't tell the nation you're gaslighting it.

[Carpet_pissr]

Or we’ve already jumped the shark so long ago that you can tell them directly, and they just don’t care or can’t do anything about it.

[GreenGoo]

Or we’ve already jumped the shark so long ago that you can tell them directly, and they just don’t care or can’t do anything about it.

Well...yeah. I assumed that was his thinking.

[Carpet_pissr]

My worst fear is someone actually directing him to say these seemingly idiotic things, as a test to see how far they can push things. That it’s not just Giuliani being a moron, but something far more strategic.

[Holman]

My worst fear is someone actually directing him to say these seemingly idiotic things, as a test to see how far they can push things. That it’s not just Giuliani being a moron, but something far more strategic.

It's a feedback loop.

1) Fox pundit type floats a crazy conspiracy theory,
2) Trump sees pundit on his DVR and tweets angrily about it,
3) Fox news types cover the tweeted implication as newsworthy,
4) Trump sees newsies on his DVR and tweets even more angrily about it,
6) Repeat.

The only question is whether Trump is completely passive in all this. Probably he's not, and the fact that he is known to talk to Sean Hannity every night (!) suggests some strategic planning behind the cycle.

At this point it's basically understood that Hannity is Trump's real chief political adviser. The question is whether he is more sycophant or Svengali.

[El Guapo]

And never mind the bit where if he did do something publicly, the GOP would have immediately spun it as partisan slander during a presidential election. In fact did Cocaine Mitch tell Obama exactly that?

He did. In fall 2016 Obama wanted to get congressional leaders to issue a bipartisan statement on Russian election meddling. McConnell torpedoed it by refusing to sign on, and saying that he would brand any public attempt to do so as partisan election interference.

[LordMortis]

The first rule of gaslighting a nation is you don't tell the nation you're gaslighting it.

You know what's really crazy about all of this? Way back when, shortly after I was born, a guy by the name of Larry Abraham co-wrote a book called None Dare Call it Conspiracy about open secrets. It's so much a bible on conservative libertarianism and so influential on US culture that it's become a phenomena, ironically without that many people having ever read it after the fact but they know John Birch, The TriLat, The Rothschildes, and Illuminati. It contributed to conservatives and conservative independents heading down a decades long dark pseudo McCarthyism path. What's amazing is that this first text of Nixon and Kennedy were the same non gold backed coin leading 45 years down the road really has the 45th administrations playbook. It would be fascinating if it weren't so scary at how effective it's been.

Remember that for over 150 years it has been standard operating procedure of the Rothschilds and their allies to control both sides of every conflict. You must have an "enemy" if you are going to collect from the King. The East-West balance-of-power politics is used as one of the main excuses for the socialization of America. Although it was not their main purpose, by nationalization of Russia the Insiders bought themselves an enormous piece of real estate, complete with mineral rights, for somewhere between $30 and $40 million.

We can only theorize on the manner in which Moscow is controlled from New York, London and Paris. Undoubtedly much of the control is economic, but certainly the international bankers have an enforcer arm within Russia to keep the Soviet leaders in line. The organization may be SMERSH, the international Communist murder organization described in testimony before Congressional Committees and by Ian Fleming in his James Bond books. For although the Bond novels were wildly imaginative, Fleming had been in British Navy intelligence, maintained excellent intelligence contacts around the world and was reputedly a keen student of the international conspiracy.

...

It would be equally disastrous to lump all businessmen and bankers into the conspiracy. One must draw the distinction between competitive free enterprise, the most moral and productive system ever devised, and cartel capitalism dominated by industrial monopolists and international bankers. The difference is the private enterpriser operates by offering products and services in a competitive free market while the cartel capitalist uses the government to force the public to do business with him. These corporate socialists are the deadly enemies of competitive private enterprise.

Liberals are willing to believe that these "robber barons" will fix prices, rig markets, establish monopolies, buy politicians, exploit employees and fire them the day before they are eligible for pensions, but they absolutely will not believe that these same men would want to rule the world or would use Communism as the striking edge of their conspiracy. When one discusses the machinations of these men, Liberals usually respond by saying, "But don't you think they mean well?"

However, if you think with logic, reason and precision in this field and try to expose these power seekers, the Establishment's mass media will accuse you of being a dangerous paranoid who is "dividing" our people. In every other area, of course, they encourage dissent as being healthy in a "democracy.""

I try to post this and OO denies me. "The submitted form was invalid. Try submitting again." Fishpants. ILB. Rip. It's all making sense now.

[Holman]

What's the relationship of that book to None Dare Call It Treason, a piece of red-baiting commie-hunting from the early 1960s that could easily have come straight from McCarthy? I believe it was a bible of the Goldwater faithful.

[LordMortis]

What's the relationship of that book to None Dare Call It Treason, a piece of red-baiting commie-hunting from the early 1960s that could easily have come straight from McCarthy? I believe it was a bible of the Goldwater faithful.

Very closely related. Like one of the same co-authors and tying everything back to the creation of the Soviet Union and Jewish bankers related.

Edit:

Let me walk that back. In my google searches, I conflated Gary Allen with John Stormer. I am spreading lies. My apologies. Always check my facts.