Mueller investigation

[Horatio Parker]

Donald Trump's finance chief Allen Weisselberg given immunity in Cohen probe.

Mr Weisselberg's deal comes on the heels of several media reports that Mr Trump's longtime friend David Pecker, the CEO of National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc, has also been granted immunity in the Cohen probe, as well as the company's chief content officer, Dylan Howard.

And aside from Mr Trump, he is perhaps best qualified to answer two of the big questions about the businessman-turned-president over the years: Is he really worth $US10 billion, as he claims, and what is in his tax returns? Mr Trump testified in a case years ago that Mr Weisselberg was the one who values his properties and other assets.

We've all seen this dance before. It will start with Trump pointing out how honest and loyal these people are towards him. Then it will be that he barely knew them. Then it will be they are lying scum, and have always been lying scum. This will be topped off with Giuliani trying to perform mental gymnastics of cirque du soleil complexity, but coming off looking like a hippo with methadone dependency.

There isn't enough popcorn in the world.

I read that Weisselberg got immunity back in January. No wonder Mueller doesn't need Cohen.

I'm seeing editorials calling for resignation/impeachment. I'll be interested to see if the GOPers are as committed to Trump after the midterms.

 

[Artemus]

We can't do this like what happened with Nixon. Whether or not he resigns, no pardons. He has to be tried and convicted and punished.

Honestly, I don't care if he goes to prison. The real thing we need is to get him out of office to prevent any further damage to the country.

 

[Keith&Co.]

We can't do this like what happened with Nixon. Whether or not he resigns, no pardons. He has to be tried and convicted and punished.

Honestly, I don't care if he goes to prison. The real thing we need is to get him out of office to prevent any further damage to the country.

I don't know about prison, but we do need a trial.

Nixon's pardon left everyone hanging. We wanted blood. Someone had to pay for the shattering of our collective faith in the office. And then Ford further let us down...

Now, though, we don't need blood nearly as much as we need a complete accounting for all the crimes. A full list of every misdeed, every conspiratorl a light shined into every dark corner. As someone said about Manafort's trial, we need the evidence laid out so clearly that only the most deranged partisan hacks will insist the whole thing is a sham.

 

[Copernicus]

We can't do this like what happened with Nixon. Whether or not he resigns, no pardons. He has to be tried and convicted and punished.

Honestly, I don't care if he goes to prison. The real thing we need is to get him out of office to prevent any further damage to the country.

I don't know about prison, but we do need a trial.

Nixon's pardon left everyone hanging. We wanted blood. Someone had to pay for the shattering of our collective faith in the office. And then Ford further let us down...

Now, though, we don't need blood nearly as much as we need a complete accounting for all the crimes. A full list of every misdeed, every conspiratorl a light shined into every dark corner. As someone said about Manafort's trial, we need the evidence laid out so clearly that only the most deranged partisan hacks will insist the whole thing is a sham.

I agree. Ford's excuse at the time was that he wanted to spare the country the agony of seeing a former President dragged through the courts. He did not want that kind of distraction. However, his action also spared his party the embarrassment, and he did suffer some consequences for his decision. I think it would have been better for the country to have Nixon dragged into court and had our noses rubbed in what so many people had willfully blinded themselves to for so long.

So here we are again, only now it is worse than in the past. Republicans have learned from past mistakes and are better able to shield themselves from accountability now. They learned how to turn the special prosecutor law against Democrats, and that ended up with both parties letting the law lapse without renewing it. No more recordings. They realize that Nixon should have destroyed the tapes when he had the chance. Trump is a do-over for them, and this time we have a president who is never going to resign or admit culpability. Republicans are not going to allow the Senate to remove him from office, even if the House does end up impeaching him. Should Democrats gain control of the Senate, they will not come close to the super-majority needed to remove Trump.

 

[TV and credit cards]

Of course, the people who need to know this can't be influenced by facts, but we already have enough facts to conclude that Trump has betrayed America and is a Russian asset.

The surrealness of it. How did we all wind up in this HBO series?

Despite this, the "liberal" media pretends this is still an open question, the Democratic leadership is still not pushing for impeachment, and the Republican politicians are doing everything possible to interfere with the investigation.

Well, for the media, surely you can see it is financially advantageous to do so. Could we expect better of them? And the Democrats are just being pussies. They'll stand behind the Mueller findings, sure, but stick their necks out even an inch, why?... Pussies. The Republicans? Expect nothing more than them to react according to polling, no...matter...what.

How much proof do we need to establish that Trump is a Russian asset, working against the interests of America, and unfit to hold the office of president? Just based on what we already know (see above link), there is more than enough to conclude that, and there has been for some time.

Indeed. And when considered inclusively with his Oath of Office and Congress' latitude to bring forward impeachment proceedings. How much indeed.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

It’s the job of a responsible news organization to consider EVERYTHING to be an “open question” until (and only until) the question has been “closed” by a court of law. Anything short of that and we get Fox News only on the left.

 

[TV and credit cards]

A good write up on Weisselberg in the New Yorker.

I think the practices of the Trump organization will overshadow Russian collusion for some time now. Points 2 & 3 of Rosenstein's order.

There is a lot of meat on this bone.
And the juices of corruption will feed the prosecutorial flames.

 

[Underseer]

We can't do this like what happened with Nixon. Whether or not he resigns, no pardons. He has to be tried and convicted and punished.

Honestly, I don't care if he goes to prison. The real thing we need is to get him out of office to prevent any further damage to the country.

Then you don't understand what I'm saying.

We in Illinois put 3 or 4 consecutive governors in prison before they started to believe that the law also applies to them.

If we don't give Trump the full punishment his crimes warrant, then we are guaranteeing more criminality from future presidents. This is no longer about protecting the constitution, we have to protect the Magna fucking Carta. If the law doesn't also apply to those in charge, then the rule of law means dick.

 

[Underseer]

It’s the job of a responsible news organization to consider EVERYTHING to be an “open question” until (and only until) the question has been “closed” by a court of law. Anything short of that and we get Fox News only on the left.

That's a noble sentiment except for the fact that we have more than enough facts to conclude that Trump is a Russian asset working more for the benefit of Russia than America.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/08/trump-chose-putin-over-america-right-in-front-of-us.html

It is a good thing to refrain from making any conclusion until after the facts are in, but if you continue to do so after the facts have come in, you're not helping anyone nor anything and you're certainly not helping the truth.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

It’s the job of a responsible news organization to consider EVERYTHING to be an “open question” until (and only until) the question has been “closed” by a court of law. Anything short of that and we get Fox News only on the left.

That's a noble sentiment

It's not a "sentiment;" it's a basic fact. Legitimate news organizations are not supposed to be judge/jury/executioners or present opinions (outside of the Op-Ed page). Period. Their job is to present facts and uncover evidence and investigate, not form opinions about any such facts, and certainly to never present their opinions as fact. That's just Journalism 101 that unfortunately has been forever altered by Fox News making yellow journalism profitable.

But that still doesn't mean a responsible news organization should just follow Fox. How is, say, Anderson Cooper saying, "My opinion is that Trump is guilty of treasonous acts" in any way help anyone or anything or "the truth"?

And while I certainly agree and have argued extensively that Trump is guilty of treasonous acts, that's still just my opinion. It's based on facts, but until and unless a court of law--however biased it may end up being--concludes Trump is guilty, he's not. That's the way our jurisprudence works. Innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, not the court of public opinion.

Sorry. Don't shoot the messenger.

 

[Elixir]

It’s the job of a responsible news organization to consider EVERYTHING to be an “open question” until (and only until) the question has been “closed” by a court of law. Anything short of that and we get Fox News only on the left.

That's a noble sentiment

It's not a "sentiment;" it's a basic fact. Legitimate news organizations are not supposed to be judge/jury/executioners or present opinions (outside of the Op-Ed page). Period. Their job is to present facts and uncover evidence and investigate, not form opinions about any such facts, and certainly to never present their opinions as fact. That's just Journalism 101 that unfortunately has been forever altered by Fox News making yellow journalism profitable.

But that still doesn't mean a responsible news organization should just follow Fox. How is, say, Anderson Cooper saying, "My opinion is that Trump is guilty of treasonous acts" in any way help anyone or anything or "the truth"?

And while I certainly agree and have argued extensively that Trump is guilty of treasonous acts, that's still just my opinion. It's based on facts, but until and unless a court of law--however biased it may end up being--concludes Trump is guilty, he's not. That's the way our jurisprudence works. Innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, not the court of public opinion.

Sorry. Don't shoot the messenger.

I agree to the extent that Anderson Cooper saying "My opinion is that Trump is guilty of treasonous acts" is not helpful. But it shouldn't be verboten as long as it is made clear that it is just opinion. Knowing a "news" person's bias is about as good as it gets these days. Beats the hell out of Faux Nooz/Hannity/Giuliani/echo chamber saying "Trump has done nothing wrong", or if (when?) Maddow says "Trump is guilty of treasonous acts" as facts.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

I agree to the extent that Anderson Cooper saying "My opinion is that Trump is guilty of treasonous acts" is not helpful. But it shouldn't be verboten as long as it is made clear that it is just opinion.

Well, it's not "verboten" of course, in a strict sense, but it also goes against everything a legitimate reporter stands for. Their job is to report the facts--without bias--so that readers can form their own opinions, unless, as previously noted, it's in the Op-Ed section (which I guess no longer exists).

Regardless, by definition ("report") they are not supposed to feed you their opinions. That's called "propaganda" and it's why Fox News isn't a news organization.

Knowing a "news" person's bias is about as good as it gets these days.

Good as what gets? I don't know what you mean by that.

Beats the hell out of Faux Nooz/Hannity/Giuliani/echo chamber saying "Trump has done nothing wrong", or if (when?) Maddow says "Trump is guilty of treasonous acts" as facts.

You will not ever see Maddow report that Trump is "guilty of treasonous acts." At least not in any literal sense, because there is no such crime as "treasonous acts" that he could be found guilty of. And the fact that Fox News is a propaganda outlet does not then mean we should have our own propaganda outlets. The lie that there is such a thing as the "liberal" media is about as played out as they come. Legitimate msm news organizations are all pretty much dead center politically, where they belong.

The confusion lies in the fact that they chase after the car crash as their guiding principle. It if bleeds, it ledes is still the maxim and the right knows this and have no problems deliberately crashing their cars to get that headline attention.

 

[Underseer]

Roger Stone says he may be the next to be indicted.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...-investigation-mueller-indictment-latest-news

More indictments for the so-called "nothingburger."

- - - Updated - - -

Mitch McConnell likely under investigation:

http://dctribune.org/2018/08/25/mit...er-ties-to-russias-hacking-of-2016-elections/

 

[Elixir]

Well, it's not "verboten" of course, in a strict sense, but it also goes against everything a legitimate reporter stands for. Their job is to report the facts--without bias--so that readers can form their own opinions, unless, as previously noted, it's in the Op-Ed section (which I guess no longer exists).

Regardless, by definition ("report") they are not supposed to feed you their opinions. That's called "propaganda" and it's why Fox News isn't a news organization.



Good as what gets? I don't know what you mean by that.

Beats the hell out of Faux Nooz/Hannity/Giuliani/echo chamber saying "Trump has done nothing wrong", or if (when?) Maddow says "Trump is guilty of treasonous acts" as facts.

You will not ever see Maddow report that Trump is "guilty of treasonous acts." At least not in any literal sense, because there is no such crime as "treasonous acts" that he could be found guilty of. And the fact that Fox News is a propaganda outlet does not then mean we should have our own propaganda outlets. The lie that there is such a thing as the "liberal" media is about as played out as they come. Legitimate msm news organizations are all pretty much dead center politically, where they belong.

The confusion lies in the fact that they chase after the car crash as their guiding principle. It if bleeds, it ledes is still the maxim and the right knows this and have no problems deliberately crashing their cars to get that headline attention.

I have heard Rachel Maddow stepping over that line on numerous occasions. It almost always looks like she knows it, and utters a little modifier afterward.
Don't get me wrong - I am in awe of her ability to dig up facts, connect dots and come up with logical conclusions. But they are not always presented as opinions, even in the absence of definitive proof.
Entertainment media are all uniformly subjected to the same filters of human preference, and they all bow to that controlling force, albeit in different ways.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Roger Stone says he may be the next to be indicted.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...-investigation-mueller-indictment-latest-news

More indictments for the so-called "nothingburger."

- - - Updated - - -

Mitch McConnell likely under investigation:

http://dctribune.org/2018/08/25/mit...er-ties-to-russias-hacking-of-2016-elections/

Second link is click bait. No source, just commentary... asking questions that we all have, but absolutely nothing suggesting McConnell is under investigation.

 

[whollygoats]

Roger Stone says he may be the next to be indicted.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...-investigation-mueller-indictment-latest-news

More indictments for the so-called "nothingburger."

- - - Updated - - -

Mitch McConnell likely under investigation:

http://dctribune.org/2018/08/25/mit...er-ties-to-russias-hacking-of-2016-elections/

Second link is click bait. No source, just commentary... asking questions that we all have, but absolutely nothing suggesting McConnell is under investigation.

Which is a damned shame. I guess everything goes easier with KY.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Roger Stone knows he is next. He wants money early for a legal defense. He is screwed because of manhattan madam, guccifer 2.o and cohen flipping. Don jr may also be next. Then Trump. The buck shits there.

 

[Underseer]

Roger Stone says he may be the next to be indicted.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...-investigation-mueller-indictment-latest-news

More indictments for the so-called "nothingburger."

- - - Updated - - -

Mitch McConnell likely under investigation:

http://dctribune.org/2018/08/25/mit...er-ties-to-russias-hacking-of-2016-elections/

Second link is click bait. No source, just commentary... asking questions that we all have, but absolutely nothing suggesting McConnell is under investigation.

Fair enough.

But if Mueller isn't investigating other Republicans in the House and Senate, then the rule of law has failed. They've made it pretty obvious that a lot of them are Russian assets.

 

[Underseer]

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/201...ejects-war-council-intervention-goes-it-alone

With his closest allies defecting, the president increasingly trusts only his instincts. He “got joy” from stripping former C.I.A. director John Brennan’s security clearance. And after betrayals by Allen Weisselberg and David Pecker, a former White House official says, Trump “spent the weekend calling people and screaming.”

Trump is having a full-on meltdown. Well, more than usual at any rate.

 

[Artemus]

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/201...ejects-war-council-intervention-goes-it-alone

With his closest allies defecting, the president increasingly trusts only his instincts. He “got joy” from stripping former C.I.A. director John Brennan’s security clearance. And after betrayals by Allen Weisselberg and David Pecker, a former White House official says, Trump “spent the weekend calling people and screaming.”

Trump is having a full-on meltdown. Well, more than usual at any rate.

The only silver lining in this shit-cloud is that I know the fucktard is miserable being in the job.