Mueller investigation

[Jason Harvestdancer]

The word “Russia” eliminates all rational thought in journalists

After two long years of the most expensive and wide-ranging independent counsel investigation in a generation, we should be close to nabbing those dastardly secret agents from Russia who supposedly hacked our presidential election. Are we? No, we’re not. Robert Mueller’s prosecutors are instead threatening elderly men with life in prison for petty crimes. Crimes that have nothing to do with spying or Russia or anything else that threatens America. The whole thing is a grotesque joke. But you’d never know that from watching cable television. … The word itself is a kind of magical incantation that eliminates all skepticism and rational thought in journalists. Whatever the claim is, they believe it wholeheartedly. Not just because they’re dumb, though obviously, they are dumb. But because — Russia!!!!!! It’s a spell, like ‘eye of newt.'

It’s really sad that one of the few places really questioning this hegemony of nonsense is Fox News.

It's really sad that you think Fox News or Tucker Carlson really question anything.

It's really sad that nobody else comes closer to questioning this particular bit of nonsense. If Tucker Carlson is one of the few speaking truth, you know you've got problems.

 

[Angry Floof]

It's really sad that you think Fox News or Tucker Carlson really question anything.

It's really sad that nobody else comes closer to questioning this particular bit of nonsense. If Tucker Carlson is one of the few speaking truth, you know you've got problems.

Fox News and the rest of the right wing authoritarian universe has been downplaying Russian interference with zeal and without regard for facts since first hints of Russian involvement in the Trump campaign came to light. He is not right. He is simply hyperbolizing what suits his prejudice.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

If a stopped clock is only right twice a day, it takes a very special form of obstinance to insist that you never mention the time during those two times a day.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

It's really sad that you think Fox News or Tucker Carlson really question anything.

It's really sad that nobody else comes closer to questioning this particular bit of nonsense. If Tucker Carlson is one of the few speaking truth, you know you've got problems.

Fox News and the rest of the right wing authoritarian universe has been downplaying Russian interference with zeal and without regard for facts since first hints of Russian involvement in the Trump campaign came to light. He is not right. He is simply hyperbolizing what suits his prejudice.

To be fair, I remember Jason saying that the frenzy over Benghazi was overzealous.

 

[laughing dog]

It's really sad that you think Fox News or Tucker Carlson really question anything.

It's really sad that nobody else comes closer to questioning this particular bit of nonsense. If Tucker Carlson is one of the few speaking truth, you know you've got problems.

True. But if you think that the partisan ideologue like Tucker Carlson is speaking truth when he calls tax evasions and lying to the FBI "petty crimes", then you have real problems.

 

[James Brown]

But that's classic Mueller, who cut his teeth on prosecuting organized crime. You bust the lower ranks and get them to flip on the bigger prizes higher up the food chain.

The bosses at the higher levels are bound to feel that their underlings are being harassed for "petty crimes." For a while, anyway.

 

[Angry Floof]

If a stopped clock is only right twice a day, it takes a very special form of obstinance to insist that you never mention the time during those two times a day.

That doesn't make sense. If you know a clock is stopped, you have no way of knowing when it is right without looking at another clock that is actually working. The stopped clock can't actually provide you with useful facts.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

Fox News and the rest of the right wing authoritarian universe has been downplaying Russian interference with zeal and without regard for facts since first hints of Russian involvement in the Trump campaign came to light. He is not right. He is simply hyperbolizing what suits his prejudice.

To be fair, I remember Jason saying that the frenzy over Benghazi was overzealous.

Yes. I did.

If a stopped clock is only right twice a day, it takes a very special form of obstinance to insist that you never mention the time during those two times a day.

That doesn't make sense. If you know a clock is stopped, you have no way of knowing when it is right without looking at another clock that is actually working. The stopped clock can't actually provide you with useful facts.

And we have an example of what I was talking about.

 

[Angry Floof]

Yes. I did.

If a stopped clock is only right twice a day, it takes a very special form of obstinance to insist that you never mention the time during those two times a day.

That doesn't make sense. If you know a clock is stopped, you have no way of knowing when it is right without looking at another clock that is actually working. The stopped clock can't actually provide you with useful facts.

And we have an example of what I was talking about.

No, you don't. You are the one who thinks stopped clock Tucker Carlson is a working clock because he said something you think is true.

You look at a stopped clock that says it's 4:00 and carefully avoid looking at all the working clocks that say it's actually 7:30.

 

[marc]

After two long years of the most expensive and wide-ranging independent counsel investigation in a generation, we should be close to nabbing those dastardly secret agents from Russia who supposedly hacked our presidential election. Are we? No, we’re not.

Unless you count the 12 Russian hackers that were indicted.

Like a bunch of the ‘news’ shows at Fox, white supremicist fan Tucker Carlson conveniently ignores a lot of facts that dispute their position.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

It's really sad that nobody else comes closer to questioning this particular bit of nonsense.

Where is Carlson "questioning" anything? He's simply regurgitating Trump's "witch hunt" assertions and falsely accusing "the media" (of which he is a part) of not doing some unspecified thing; of blind belief no matter the claim being made (what claim and by whom, not specified). "They are dumb." This is a child's declaration on a grade school playground, not any kind of intelligent analysis or piercing adult insight into, as he put it, one of the most expensive and wide-ranging independent counsel investigations in a generation.

Let's not forget that Trump--and his trumpeteers like Carlson--has claimed that the reason--the ONLY reason--for Mueller's "witch hunt" is because Democrats were upset over Hillary not being President. Which must mean that Carlson agrees with that ludicrous reason as well or else he wouldn't be tacitly affirming it with this openly biased and vacuous opinion in the guise of "news."

Do you believe that Mueller's motivation is because he's secretly a Democrat in Republican clothing and is just still so cartoon-like hopping mad about Hillary not being President that he's lost his mind in a frenzied zeal to blindly waste millions of taxpayer dollars and valuable resources just so he can pick on frail old men whose "only" crimes are to repeatedly lie to the FBI (and the American people) about numerous connections to Russia--who just happened to coincidentally be waging a concentrated covert cyberwar against us for the sole purpose of placing their own puppet into the most powerful office in the world--on top of other such related crimes as money laundering and tax fraud and the like?

Hillary Derangement Syndrome. Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Again, these are things simple-minded children come up with, which is precisely why the Trump sycophants came up with them. idiotic memes for idiots to regurgitate.

If Tucker Carlson is one of the few speaking truth, you know you've got problems.

Then we have no problems, as he's very clearly not speaking anything near the truth.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

If you think Tucker Carlson is one of the few speaking truth, you know you've got problems.

FIFY.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

If you think Tucker Carlson is one of the few speaking truth, you know you've got problems.

BIFY.

FIFY.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

It's Newsweek (so, you know), and they're quoting "a former Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator," but just parking this here: Donald Trump Will Resign The Presidency in 2019 in Exchange for Immunity For Him and His Family, Former Bush Adviser Says.

Note that the piece also references:

Former Republican Representative John LeBoutillier wrote that it seemed increasingly clear that Trump's presidency was going fully off the rails. Making predictions for The Hill, he wrote: "1. Donald J. Trump’s presidency will not survive 2019;
2. The downward trajectory of every aspect of his tenure indicates we are headed for a spectacular political crash-and-burn—and fairly soon; 3. His increasingly erratic and angry behavior, his self-imposed isolation, his inability and refusal to listen to smart advisers that he hired, all are leading him to a precipice."

As I have pointed out previously, the way this is going to go down is to incrementally add layer upon layer, starting first with these kinds of "predictions" (i.e., from Republicans). These will start popping up more and more as a means for higher ranking Republicans to weigh in on the matter, slowly building momentum and consensus (always testing the voters as they go).

Whether or not Trump is finally smart enough--or narcissistic enough--to take the out is still an open question, of course, but I believe he will. Most of what he does is mob-boss theatre, but when it comes down to fuck or get off the pot, he'll get off the pot. He's a coward through and through and no promise of a pardon will be trusted (and rightly so; Pence would fuck him in a heartbeat, I have no doubt, particularly after all of the dirt that Mueller and Congress already have on Trump comes rolling out layer after layer as well and Trump's popularity with Republicans continues to fall).

Right now, the latest Economist/YouGov poll shows some interesting results. Republicans that think the country is "generally heading in the right direction" is only at 70% (with 21% affirming that it's "off on the wrong track" and 9% "not sure"). That may not seem like a lot to most, but it is if you follow Republican jingoistic lockstep mentality in polling results, as I do. Iow, that 70% is really more like 60% or lower in the privacy of their own thoughts, but it's inflated when challenged.

But perhaps more importantly are the "Census Region" percentages. For "off on the wrong track" there is a majority consensus across the board, but note midwest and south: Northeast, 52%; Midwest, 56%; South 51%; West 55%. Likewise with the "not sure" at: Northeast, 15%; Midwest, 15%; South 14%; West 11%. That's Trump/GOP country through and through showing the highest percentages of we're going off the rails fast concern.

"Not sure" under a Republican administration--particularly one built entirely on bloviation--translates into "I just don't want to admit it, but yeah, we're fucked" so you basically combine those with the others and you get 65% against Trump's "direction" for the country in the South and a whopping 73% against in the Midwest.

That, in turn, is what Republicans with Senate seats up for grabs in 2020 are looking at with horror and (again) that's now; long before the real heavy shit starts hitting the fan.

ETA: Here is an Econmist/YouGov poll from May of 2017. It's not broken down as specifically as the more recent one, but it lists the totals of those who think the country is "headed in the right direction" at 30% and "wrong direction" at 55%, with "not sure" at 16%.

Iow, the numbers have gotten worse from when they weren't very good to begin with. Combine that with the routing that just happened in the midterms and Trump is a liability to Republicans in 2020, not a frontrunner.

And--again--that's NOW.

 

[James Brown]

All I Know, from Andrew Tobias

I met some amazing people this last weekend...

[One person] testified behind closed doors to the Senate Intelligence Committee and told me — based on years’ involvement in all this — that the Intelligence Community has the goods on both Trump and Pence, and will somehow make a deal where Trump resigns . . . Pence is briefly president naming some moderate as his VP (Romney?) . . . then Pence goes and (Romney?) names a Democrat as his VP (Biden?) . . . and the world sees stable, experienced, honorable grown-ups back in charge.


Utterly fantastical (or is it? listen to Bag Man: both Agnew and Nixon made deals to resign) — but she is closer to this than most of us are (she told the authorities that Manafort was dirty long before it came out in the news, for example), so who knows?

Just speculation, but...

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

All I Know, from Andrew Tobias

I met some amazing people this last weekend...

[One person] testified behind closed doors to the Senate Intelligence Committee and told me — based on years’ involvement in all this — that the Intelligence Community has the goods on both Trump and Pence, and will somehow make a deal where Trump resigns . . . Pence is briefly president naming some moderate as his VP (Romney?) . . . then Pence goes and (Romney?) names a Democrat as his VP (Biden?) . . . and the world sees stable, experienced, honorable grown-ups back in charge.


Utterly fantastical (or is it? listen to Bag Man: both Agnew and Nixon made deals to resign) — but she is closer to this than most of us are (she told the authorities that Manafort was dirty long before it came out in the news, for example), so who knows?

Just speculation, but...

It's the only play Trump has. If he doesn't take it, they will simply eviscerate him and there will be no holds barred. If he stupidly does not take the deal, by the time Mueller and the House are done with him--and all of the Senate Republicans who will probably keep silent, but still get their kicks in at the end when it matters--it will be as blindingly obvious to the overwhelming majority of Republican voters (never his core 10%, but they don't matter) as it is to all of us that Trump is at least guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, if not straight-up treasonous/traitorous acts.

They are already cutting him loose and he knows it.

 

[Elixir]

It's the only play Trump has. ...
They are already cutting him loose and he knows it.

Trump is dumber than a box of rocks and more delusional than any of us might imagine.
RIGHT NOW he is in a situation where he only has one play (re: #TrumpShutdown), and he doesn't even seem to realize it.
I know of know reason to assume that he realizes - or will realize - that taking a disgraced exit from office might be his only option for staying out of jail and keeping his family out of jail.
He will likely convince himself that he can WIN in court, his SCOTUS picks will protect him etc..
Only once he is incarcerated and no lawyer shows up to offer him a new way out, might he realize anything about the gravity of his situation.

 

[Keith&Co.]

[One person] testified behind closed doors to the Senate Intelligence Committee and told me — based on years’ involvement in all this — that the Intelligence Community has the goods on both Trump and Pence, and will somehow make a deal where Trump resigns . . . Pence is briefly president naming some moderate as his VP (Romney?) . . . then Pence goes and (Romney?) names a Democrat as his VP (Biden?) . . . and the world sees stable, experienced, honorable grown-ups back in charge.

So, IS there anyone who can grant immunity from all prosecution? Or would they have to get signatures from every state and every agency with an indictment on file?

Or would they just not mention state-level prosecutors until after the dust settles, then shake their heads at his outrage, "Well, you spoke with a FEDERAL prosecutor about immunity from all crimes, it seemed obvious that he could only promise immunity from FEDERAL prosecution for FEDERAL crimes... The New York AG was never even in the room, was she?"

 

[Keith&Co.]

He will likely convince himself that he can WIN in court, his SCOTUS picks will protect him etc..

And when his family members are escorted out of the White House, you'll know that's the day they tried to convince him otherwise, and it wasn't something he wanted to hear.

And/or when his lawyers' lawyers start to lawyer up.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

It's Newsweek (so, you know), and they're quoting "a former Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator," but just parking this here: Donald Trump Will Resign The Presidency in 2019 in Exchange for Immunity For Him and His Family, Former Bush Adviser Says..

I'm OK with immunity if, and only if, Pence and every judge he's appointed also resign, he surrenders all his assets, and he accepts permanent exile in another country. I want him wiped off the face of this country.