Did Trump Shake Down Qatar for Kushners?

[Copernicus]

Rachel Maddow lays out grounds for suspecting that the government of Qatar was forced by the Trump administration to bail Jared Kushner's family out of a failed real estate deal. There is no direct evidence yet that Trump personally forced Qatar to yield its reluctance to fund the Kushners, but is there an alternative explanation for the sudden policy shifts by Trump? Apparently, Trump's "fixer", Michael Cohen, was involved in the alleged extortion, and the Mueller team is looking into the possibility. The government of Qatar has refused to cooperate with Mueller--a pattern of behavior by foreign governments that seems to be emerging with this administration. Normally, allied foreign governments would cooperate our Justice Department in the past, but this is a case where the administration opposes its own Justice Department.

[YOUTUBE]Fud17AIFL4g[/YOUTUBE]

For those who cannot view the video, see this news story: Kushners Near Deal With Qatar-Linked Company for Troubled Tower

 

[Elixir]

Rachel Maddow lays out grounds for suspecting that the government of Qatar was forced by the Trump administration to bail Jared Kushner's family out of a failed real estate deal. There is no direct evidence yet that Trump personally forced Qatar to yield its reluctance to fund the Kushners, but is there an alternative explanation for the sudden policy shifts by Trump? Apparently, Trump's "fixer", Michael Cohen, was involved in the alleged extortion, and the Mueller team is looking into the possibility. The government of Qatar has refused to cooperate with Mueller--a pattern of behavior by foreign governments that seems to be emerging with this administration. Normally, allied foreign governments would cooperate our Justice Department in the past, but this is a case where the administration opposes its own Justice Department.

[YOUTUBE]Fud17AIFL4g[/YOUTUBE]

For those who cannot view the video, see this news story: Kushners Near Deal With Qatar-Linked Company for Troubled Tower

Did the Cheatos shake down Qatar? Of course they did. They turned down the Cheato Family's first demand for money and got a blockade for that. So they offered the Cheatos a few hundred million to prop up their failed tower project, and presto! No blockade.
Is that illegal? Not unless you can PROVE it wasn't a coincidence, no matter how statistically unlikely that might be. So Teflon Don skates again.

 

[Copernicus]

It is premature to dismiss this incident as something that can't be proven. Mueller is looking into it, so it is possible that some evidence will turn up in the future to corroborate or cast doubt on the allegation. Right now, there is no explanation for Trump's sudden shift in longstanding foreign relations with Qatar, one of our staunchest allies in the Gulf, and none again for his sudden reversal of his earlier policy. The most likely explanation right now is that the President used government policy to extort money for his son-in-law's family. That is very clearly an impeachable offense, but Republicans won't touch it and Democrats don't want to run on an impeachment platform during the midterms. So, in the short term, Trump can get away with what looks like a "high crime and misdemeanor".

 

[Elixir]

Republicans won't touch it and Democrats don't want to run on an impeachment platform during the midterms. So, in the short term, Trump can get away with what looks like another "high crime and misdemeanor".

FIFY.
Hope you're right that it would be possible to prove. I hope to live long enough to see Cheato die in prison.

 

[Copernicus]

Republicans won't touch it and Democrats don't want to run on an impeachment platform during the midterms. So, in the short term, Trump can get away with what looks like another "high crime and misdemeanor".

FIFY.
Hope you're right that it would be possible to prove. I hope to live long enough to see Cheato die in prison.

He ought to be locked up as a warning to future presidents. As things stand now, he represents a very bad role model for those who follow him. Pretty much the kind of president that the original founders feared would abuse the office--a tyrant. There are still a lot of checks on him, but he is furiously looking to exploit all the weaknesses and gaps in them that he can find. There appears to be no political will to plug the gaps that he does find. Many Democrats want to turn the tables on Republicans, not necessarily rebuild or modify the table. It is a myth that the Constitution is sacred scripture that can never be changed, but the faith of so many Americans turns the myth into reality.

 

[braces_for_impact]

It seems to make even more sense if the latest from the NYT is accurate.

 

[Elixir]

It seems to make even more sense if the latest from the NYT is accurate.

It is SO stunning to imagine how Rethuglicans would be posturing if the shoe was on the other foot. They'd have their "2nd amendment solution" people out in force threatening to overthrow the government unless the President and all his co-conspirators were locked up.

 

[braces_for_impact]

Oh, there's definitely going to be some locking up...

 

[starwater]

It astonishing hos the Greed over People party has just turned a blind eye. Trump will continue to get more brazen because no one says anything.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Oh, there's definitely going to be some locking up...

In return for pushing anti-Qatar policies at the highest levels of America’s government, Broidy and Nader expected huge consulting contracts from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, according to an Associated Press investigation based on interviews with more than two dozen people and hundreds of pages of leaked emails between the two men. The emails reviewed by the AP included work summaries and contracting documents and proposals.

The sudden turn on Qatar was again one of those weird, WTF is Trump doing moments. Completely oblivious to our major base in the nation (or whatever you want to call it). And again, we see why this happened.

What is worse, while Trump very well may have done nothing wrong here, it just goes to show how fucking easy it is to manipulate him.

 

[Underseer]

Rachel Maddow lays out grounds for suspecting that the government of Qatar was forced by the Trump administration to bail Jared Kushner's family out of a failed real estate deal. There is no direct evidence yet that Trump personally forced Qatar to yield its reluctance to fund the Kushners, but is there an alternative explanation for the sudden policy shifts by Trump? Apparently, Trump's "fixer", Michael Cohen, was involved in the alleged extortion, and the Mueller team is looking into the possibility. The government of Qatar has refused to cooperate with Mueller--a pattern of behavior by foreign governments that seems to be emerging with this administration. Normally, allied foreign governments would cooperate our Justice Department in the past, but this is a case where the administration opposes its own Justice Department.

[YOUTUBE]Fud17AIFL4g[/YOUTUBE]

For those who cannot view the video, see this news story: Kushners Near Deal With Qatar-Linked Company for Troubled Tower

Fake news! Deep state! Uranium One!!!!!!