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Trump just fired James Comey

crazyfingers said:
RavenSky said:
So there is no chance of an impeachment as long as Republicans hold the House. What are the other options to get this insane narcissist out of office?
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I think that most Republicans would prefer to have Pence as President. He's at least as far right as Trump has been behaving, far more predictable and less likely to go off the nut and behave as a crazyman as Trump does. If they could boot Trump without too much messiness they would.
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Except for one thing, we've already seen Trump take a threatening swipe at Comey (a guy he blew a kiss at once). Trump will not go without a fight, and he supporters (read followers) will not be happy with an impeachment. The Republicans can't afford to lose that block.
 
PyramidHead said:
This might sound silly, but what about an arrest? If Trump has actually broken laws instead of just behaving in a way unfit for the office, couldn't he just be put on trial and convicted by a jury of people who aren't House Republicans?
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I'm pretty sure that he has immunity for any actions taken in his duties as president. And he'd still be president even if he was convicted, anyway. The only way to remove him is through Congress.
 
Artemus said:
PyramidHead said:
This might sound silly, but what about an arrest? If Trump has actually broken laws instead of just behaving in a way unfit for the office, couldn't he just be put on trial and convicted by a jury of people who aren't House Republicans?
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I'm pretty sure that he has immunity for any actions taken in his duties as president. And he'd still be president even if he was convicted, anyway. The only way to remove him is through Congress.
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The first part seems suspicious. I highly doubt he can do whatever he wants without legal repercussions just because he is President. But you're right that being convicted of a crime wouldn't automatically remove him from office.
 
Spicer just said that Trump's tweet this morning about Comey was not a threat, it was a statement of fact. (CNN breaking news banner, no good link yet.) The damage-control spin is hilarious.
 
Artemus said:
Spicer just said that Trump's tweet this morning about Comey was not a threat, it was a statement of fact. (CNN breaking news banner, no good link yet.) The damage-control spin is hilarious.
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Too many action movies? The interesting thing was we were worried that Trump would be dysfunctional. I don't think we were expecting the entire White House to be dysfunctional as a result of it. Honestly, what is Spicer going to say that isn't going to sound crazy as he has been told to make Trump not look like an idiot, other than "I Quit!"?
 
PyramidHead said:
Artemus said:
I'm pretty sure that he has immunity for any actions taken in his duties as president. And he'd still be president even if he was convicted, anyway. The only way to remove him is through Congress.
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The first part seems suspicious. I highly doubt he can do whatever he wants without legal repercussions just because he is President. But you're right that being convicted of a crime wouldn't automatically remove him from office.
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I was thinking of Congressional immunity, actually, which is outlined in the constitution. According to the first response to this question on Quora, the same is not in place for presidents. Interesting.

ETA: But he likely could pardon himself if convicted, which we all know Trump would do in an instant.
 
Artemus said:
I'm pretty sure that he has immunity for any actions taken in his duties as president.
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Yeah, he was throwing that around a few weeks ago. Someone wanted to sue him for something he said on the campaign trail, inciting violence against protesters or something.
His people insisted that he had immunity.
But it turns out that he only has immunity as president, for things he does as president. He's still subject to lawsuits, and I would assume arrests, for anything he did as a private citizen before he was inaugurated.
 
Keith&Co. said:
Artemus said:
I'm pretty sure that he has immunity for any actions taken in his duties as president.
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Yeah, he was throwing that around a few weeks ago. Someone wanted to sue him for something he said on the campaign trail, inciting violence against protesters or something.
His people insisted that he had immunity.
But it turns out that he only has immunity as president, for things he does as president. He's still subject to lawsuits, and I would assume arrests, for anything he did as a private citizen before he was inaugurated.
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Yes, which is why he settled the University Lawsuit. Fuck, that feels like it was 20 years ago now.
 
Spicer, "not a threat". And then "The President has nothing further to say on that."

We'll see.

Meanwhile, did Trump indicate he is taping stuff? Does this include all meetings? Hello subpoena!

I can't imagine Trump trying to play a game of Poker. Goes all in on the ante, saying he has awesome cards, before they are even dealt.
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
Spicer, "not a threat". And then "The President has nothing further to say on that."

We'll see.

Meanwhile, did Trump indicate he is taping stuff? Does this include all meetings? Hello subpoena!

I can't imagine Trump trying to play a game of Poker. Goes all in on the ante, saying he has awesome cards, before they are even dealt.
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And then the look on his face when he says he wins and his lawyer can't prevent the other players from seeing his hand...
 
Horatio Parker said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
There is currently a federal grand jury. They are looking into Flynn right now.
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Can't wait til Trump starts tweeting about the grand jury...
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He'll say something like:
[Cheetolini]
Fake grand jury, Influenced by fake news, etc.....sad
Who are these unelected grand juries and why do they hate Trump, etc..
[/Cheetolini]

Later,
ElectEngr
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
Artemus said:
Spicer just said that Trump's tweet this morning about Comey was not a threat, it was a statement of fact. (CNN breaking news banner, no good link yet.) The damage-control spin is hilarious.
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Too many action movies? The interesting thing was we were worried that Trump would be dysfunctional. I don't think we were expecting the entire White House to be dysfunctional as a result of it. Honestly, what is Spicer going to say that isn't going to sound crazy as he has been told to make Trump not look like an idiot, other than "I Quit!"?
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Not to toot my own horn, but I most definitely called this. I expected the same shit show we saw for his campaign, and boy does he deliver in spades. Look, 3/4 of his administration have absolutely little to no experience in government, much less the little part of it they're expected to run. 1/8 of them couldn't get clearance, and the other 1/8th were put into place intentionally to cause damage to the institution they're supposed to serve. Anyone on the Trump train early that had expertise or integrity is long gone, anyone left over from the Obama administration with any professionalism or knowledge wisely jumped ship or got fired.

The only real bright spots I saw were McMasters and Mattis, and even they seem to have lost their luster within this administration. They're probably tired from being awoken at 2am with questions about the strength of the dollar or what time 'Fox and Friends' is on.
 
Of course, replacements being considered have strong ties to Republicans, making it a partisan position much more likely.

Meanwhile, the President is tweeting like a mobster, threatening former FBI directors, and the Republicans still won't engage against this President. They really are trying for a one party solution to the nation's problems. There's a part of me that thinks our checks and balances are too strong and can weather this assault, but the entire god damn GOP has lost even the pretext of believing in rule of law and in democracy, frankly. We should expect no better from a party that MUST name everything "Liberty" this and "Freedom" that.

Every time I think I can't be more disgusted, this present GOP finds a way. Trump I can understand - he is what he is. This Republican party though, they're really trying out for the Machiavellian Bond villain role.
 
Rayschism said:
braces_for_impact said:
Of course, replacements being considered have strong ties to Republicans, making it a partisan position much more likely.
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No different than anybody else.
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I'm sorry, but I find your constant false equivalency and teenage angst at any institution of governance annoying. All political parties face issues involving partisanship and other challenges as well, but to be blunt, if Clinton had won the election we wouldn't be in this dark shadowy place. "Everyone does it" neither requires depth of analysis nor nuance, and while it may be popular within certain crowds, it's attitudes like that that helped toss this election to Trump.
 
braces_for_impact said:
Of course, replacements being considered have strong ties to Republicans, making it a partisan position much more likely.
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It is more than just partisanship, though...if Comey is to be believed.

Allegedly Trump tried to extract a "loyalty pledge" out of him, which if true appears to have played a role in his dismissal. That is deeply disturbing, but what is more disturbing is that Trump has possibly gained such pledges from other high ranking members of his administration. Meaning that when it comes down to upholding the law or siding with Trump, they've promised to kiss the ring rather than uphold and defend the Constitution.

This isn't just "party before country," then. It is Trump before all else.
 
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