The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 1:28 pm

Here's a preview of the redacted report:

Spoiler:

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 1:43 pm

The meltdown (over a REDACTED report which completely exonerates him) has begun in earnest.

Wow! FBI made 11 payments to Fake Dossier’s discredited author, Trump hater Christopher Steele. @OANN @JudicialWatch The Witch Hunt has been a total fraud on your President and the American people! It was brought to you by Dirty Cops, Crooked Hillary and the DNC.

The President of the United States just quoted One America News Network as a legitimate news source.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 4:05 pm

He needs to step down. Like, now. You might as well have elected Alex Jones. 42% of Americans suck ass. I'm not sure how many Canadians do, but I hope it's less than 42%. I fully concede it might not be. Drumpf's clever ploy of saying outrageous shit to distract me from...outrageous shit(?) is working.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 4:10 pm

It's like a shitnado.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 5:30 pm

GreenGoo wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2019 4:05 pm He needs to step down. Like, now. You might as well have elected Alex Jones. 42% of Americans suck ass. I'm not sure how many Canadians do, but I hope it's less than 42%. I fully concede it might not be. Drumpf's clever ploy of saying outrageous shit to distract me from...outrageous shit(?) is working.

don't you know it's dangerous for toddlers to step?

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 5:37 pm

Barr and Rosenstein (but not Mueller) will be holding a press conference tomorrow morning to go along with the release of the redacted report.

Trump has hinted that he might hold one of his own.

Dems will probably subpoena the full report tomorrow afternoon or Friday, setting up a court battle and maybe a constitutional crisis.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 6:42 pm

Tomorrow is going to be such a shitshow.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 7:10 pm

Oh, wait. The press conference is a few hours before the release of the redacted report.

Because obviously congress and engaged Americans don't know to read, so we need tons of massage and spin before getting access.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 8:22 pm

Holman wrote:Oh, wait. The press conference is a few hours before the release of the redacted report.

Because obviously congress and engaged Americans don't know to read, so we need tons of massage and spin before getting access.

It will make for a quick news conference as Trump's puppet says "Well, you'll have to wait for the release and make your own conclusions" again and again.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 8:52 pm

Hard copies?

Is this 1975? Also, is this a joke?

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 8:59 pm

Barr can STFU. I'll draw my own conclusions, thanks.

milo · Post by **milo** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 11:43 pm

Alefroth wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2019 4:10 pm It's like a shitnado.

I just can't like this..... enough.

Jolor · Post by **Jolor** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 11:46 pm

YellowKing wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2019 8:59 pm Barr can STFU. I'll draw my own conclusions, thanks.

Great that you will. Millions, however, won't and will instead accept whatever conclusions are thrown their way from their acceptable sources.
But, yes; let the rest of us draw our own conclusions, at the very least.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 1:15 am

If he can't even get Mueller out any of his team (he should have all of them, frankly) to stand with him at the press conference, there's something seriously smelly going on.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 1:55 am

Oh and remember, if there is no mention of Trump's written answers then they are part of an ongoing investigation.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 2:11 am

Hope everybody's old enough to get the reference.

Spoiler:

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 8:44 am

Everything I know about Watergate I learned through my uncles' Doonesbury compendium books that I read in the mid '80's.

Uncle Duke is who introduced me to HST.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 9:23 am

It's frustrating that Mueller was quick to react to the erroneous Buzzfeed reports that misconstrued some information. But he's seemingly willing to sit back and let Barr and this administration cover up and spin as much as they want.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 10:08 am

YellowKing wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2019 9:23 am It's frustrating that Mueller was quick to react to the erroneous Buzzfeed reports that misconstrued some information. But he's seemingly willing to sit back and let Barr and this administration cover up and spin as much as they want.

I would assume that's because there was an active investigation by his team going on at that time. That's not the case now, so while he could make personal comments, I'm not sure he can put out any sort of "official" statement.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 10:15 am

Holy Shit.

Barr says it wasn't obstruction because Trump was frustrated by the investigation.

In assessing the president’s actions discussed in the report, it is important to bear in mind the context. [...] As the special counsel’s report acknowledges, there is substantial evidence to show that the president was frustrated and angered by his sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents and fueled by illegal leaks.

Remember: it's not a crime if you're angry.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 10:22 am

Congratulations Barr. You've exonerated Nixon in the process.

Vorret · Post by **Vorret** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 10:22 am

Well, that changes everything!

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 10:36 am

"Trump didn't do anything. But if he did, it was only because he was angry and that makes it OK."

The AG is now the personal attorney for the POTUS, apparently. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:00 am

Wait, did the Attorney General of the United States just say that the President couldn't be held accountable for his crimes because of his mental state?

I wonder how that could be used...

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:06 am

Redacted report is here.

448 pages.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:09 am

Shockingly, that link is sllllllllloooooooooooowwwwwwww.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:10 am

Holman wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:06 am Redacted report is here.

448 pages.

The NFL investigation into deflated footballs was 435 unredacted pages. Just sayin'.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:14 am

The PDF they've posted is non-searchable...

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:26 am

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:00 am Wait, did the Attorney General of the United States just say that the President couldn't be held accountable for his crimes because of his mental state?

I wonder how that could be used...

I mean, that's true in general - mental state is an essential element to pretty much every crime.

Though "he couldn't have obstructed justice because he was merely upset that the criminal investigation of him was proceeding" is a novel take.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:30 am

How redacted is it? Going by the table of contents it doesn't seem hugely redacted as a topic matter.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:32 am

El Guapo wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:30 am How redacted is it? Going by the table of contents it doesn't seem hugely redacted as a topic matter.

Just flipping through the first 100 pages or so, large block redactions seem rare (maybe 3-4 pages out of that). Smaller line/paragraphs redactions seem a bit more common.

My data set might not be representative of the whole, however.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:38 am

It's early yet, but people are immediately finding language in the report that contradicts Barr's summary and morning press conference.

e.g. Mueller does suggest that Congress could take action on instances of obstruction. Barr claimed that the report left that up to the AG.

Likewise, while Mueller says he could not establish collusion, he also says that he might have come to different conclusions had so many witnesses not refused to cooperate.

This is looking a whole lot like "We couldn't establish collusion because the witnesses wouldn't talk and the evidence was destroyed."

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:41 am

Lawfareblog has a Dropbox link to a searchable copy.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:41 am

"I'm not saying that the dress makes you look fat, I'm just saying there is nothing I'm seeing that says this dress doesn't make you look fat."

Enough · Post by **Enough** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:42 am

https://twitter.com/nycsouthpaw/status/ ... 2161543170

Dogstar · Post by **Dogstar** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 12:01 pm

Clearly this report is a "complete and total exoneration" of the President. Clearly. (That's all I've got -- too much information from too many sources, and my brain is melting a bit ever since Barr's presser.)

Edit -- Other than this gem:

MUELLER (p. 370): "The President's efforts to influence the investigation were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests."

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 12:02 pm

Daniel Dale is doing report highlights. (Thread.)

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 12:17 pm

I guess writing the 4 page summary is easy when you don't actually use the document you're summarizing and instead create something designed with a specific purpose in mind.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 12:25 pm

I don't have time to site and read the 448 pages (and may never) but skimmed down through all of it and was surprised by the large blocks of text that were available. The sections I stopped and read felt like I was just re-reading news I had already seen or heard. I'm certain that people with more time will be able to pick it apart better than I can.

I think a lot of the redacted stuff in the obstruction section probably points to whatever's ongoing with Roger Stone (his last name fits some of the black spaces). The Personal Privilege stuff looks like it just covers Trump family and friends - which I'm sure Congress would love to check into.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 12:35 pm

90 percent of America will search for "Prostitute" and "Pee", then call it quits when nothing shows up in the results.