You are not logged in.
Speaking out Jimmy Carter says Trump only won the election because Russia 'interfered on his behalf' Former President Jimmy Carter suggested Friday that President Donald Trump is an illegitimate president because of Russia's election meddling.
Offline
Like button can go here
Today's testimony came with very few surpirses and the amount of fake news is quite high with many a claim.
Three ways Mueller says Trump is lying about he content of his report
With just a minimum of 5 Key takeaways from Mueller's testimony before congress
Offline
Like button can go here
SpaceNut,
Maybe you didn't get the memo, but it's over. Time to let it go.
Offline
Like button can go here
Wel Barr was directed to get to the bottom of why the investigation was started into Russian interferrence in our ellection it was not meant to be about what did Trump do for his part. That is what gets found when an investigation finds it. The gop is also still active with trying to find the beginning and they believe its the Steele report and what that followed up on which is in this case about both parties as they both did have a hand in its generation.
Mueller’s Ignorance Of Fusion GPS Proves His Investigation Was A Sham
As indicated before he was told he could not say and that is what we got from mueller. The Department of Justice and the FBI should be responsive to questions on this particular issues. Fusion GPS is a privately owned business which walked the grey line for both parties in the dirt finding pattern.
Offline
Like button can go here
The GOP tried to discredit Mueller by 2 paths: (1) biased investigators, and (2) a supposedly-discredited opposition research item called the Steele dossier, invariably claimed to have been funded by the Democrats.
(1) The biased investigators were fired by Mueller as soon as he became aware of them. That is exactly as it should be. So much for that objection. GOP grasping at straws, that one. That they still do grasp at it, is evidence of how desperate they are to put Mueller to bed. Which means Mueller was onto something.
(2) What is NOT properly reported is that Fusion GPS was originally hired by a conservative GOP group that was anti-Trump during the primaries. Fusion GPS hired Christopher Steele to do some of the Russia-related opposition stuff, because he was familiar with Russian sources, being ex-MI-6. When Trump clinched the nomination, this opposition research stalled for lack of funds and interest, not completed. THAT is never mentioned when GOP types scream about the Democrats and "their" Steele dossier.
The Democrats did indeed get wind of this, and hired Fusion GPS to finish that piece of opposition research for them. Fusion re-hired Steele, and it was pretty much completed. However, there is no evidence the Democrats actually used this opposition research, because the only folks heard talking about the "pee-pee tape" were late night comedians, not any of the candidates.
Mueller's connection to the Steele dossier is tenuous indeed, because its use for a warrant long preceeded his appointment as Special Counsel. So much for that argument. It was used as part (only part!) of the stuff shown a FISA judge to get a warrant to surveil Trump campaign figures. This was the FBI counterintelligence investigation going on under Comey as FBI director.
The standard for obtaining a warrant like that is "reason to believe", not "proof". So whether the Steele dossier is accurate or not is irrelevant (something really galling to the GOP, since they claim it was flawed, and therefore that made the FISA warrant the wrong thing to do, which is arrant nonsense). There was "reason to believe" investigation further was warranted. That's all that was needed.
A lot of us think Mueller was too hamstrung by a DOJ memo (only a memo) saying a sitting president cannot be indicted. That's another issue that needs exploration and clarification, because a sitting president must not be above the law!
Whether we agree or disagree with his decision not to indict for obstruction, what he did was document lots of crimes and potential crimes for Congress and the American people. THAT is the purpose for his 448 pages of report, yet no charges except for Russian operatives and some Trump underlings.
What the report documents in Vol 1 is that there was no conspiracy (not "collusion" but conspiracy, a very narrowly-defined crime) between Trump, his underlings, and Russia, to influence the election in 2016. The same volume documents numerous troubling close connections and a very troubling willingness to cooperate with Russian operatives to affect the election. That's not conspiracy, but it is unacceptable. And in popular terms (not legal definitions) that IS collusion.
Also not a crime but entirely unacceptable is the unwillingness on the part of Trump and his underlings to report to the FBI these attempts by Russia to influence the election, which is a crime for any foreign national to do (something more than a dozen Russian operatives were indeed indicted for). Not reporting is not actually a crime. But reporting foreign interference is expected. It is unacceptable for Trump and his underlings not to have reported this to the FBI, pure and simple.
Vol 2 documents some 10 instances of very likely obstruction-of-justice crimes by Trump or his underlings. This is where the DOJ memo prevented indictments, or even a statement that such crimes were indeed actually committed. However, the documentary evidence presented in the report speaks for itself. Of the 10, at least a few would be impeachable offenses. Anybody not in the Oval Office who did these things would be arrested, indicted, convicted, and jailed. That much is clear.
Between the unacceptable behaviors documented in volume 1, and the likely-impeachable behaviors documented in vol 2, it is clear that further Congressional investigation is more-than-warranted (that was Mueller's real purpose in writing these volumes, although he can't queer the deal and say that in public). And we have all seen those further investigations obstructed at every possible turn, in real time. IMHO using the official designation "impeachment-related proceedings" to force the testimonies and the disclosure of documents is the next step.
Whether an actual impeachment process should take place this close to an election is arguable. There's upsides and downsides both ways. However, the facts must be uncovered and presented to the American people, which is why investigations cannot stop now. This is necessary either way: if by election, they need the facts to vote wisely; if by impeachment, they need the facts to force their senators in the GOP-dominated senate to vote for the good of the country, not party advantage, something we have not seen at all so far.
GW
Last edited by GW Johnson (2019-07-28 14:09:23)
GW Johnson
McGregor, Texas
"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew, especially one dead from a bad management decision"
Offline
Like button can go here
Are you seriously contending that the Chinese and Saudis didn't try to influence the election outcome via support for Hillary Clinton? - or that if they did, the Democrats reported them to the authorities?
Steele lied to the FBI - why wasn't he prosecuted?
Was Steele's involvement approved of by the UK government? If so, that is interference by a foreign government.
What was the role of CIA director John Brennan who has claimed unconvincingly that he was unaware of the Steele allegations until a very late date?
This whole thing stinks to high heaven. But you choose to speak of "the pee pee tape" as though it actually exists. Where is the evidence it exists?
Are you really going to impeach a President for obstructing an illegitimate and loaded legal harrassment campaign against him that was proved to be complete bilge water.
Mueller had a financial dispute with one of Trump's firm. That alone should have made him disqualify himself.
How he came to appointed pro-Clinton Democrats to investigage Trump has never been established. Surely the first thing you would do is get your investigators to fill out a questionnaire for such a sensitive investigation, to ensure they are impartial.
Mueller admitted in testimony he was a friend of Comey's.
The GOP tried to discredit Mueller by 2 paths: (1) biased investigators, and (2) a supposedly-discredited opposition research item called the Steele dossier, invariably claimed to have been funded by the Democrats.
(1) The biased investigators were fired by Mueller as soon as he became aware of them. That is exactly as it should be. So much for that objection. GOP grasping at straws, that one. That they still do grasp at it, is evidence of how desperate they are to put Mueller to bed. Which means Mueller was onto something.
(2) What is NOT properly reported is that Fusion GPS was originally hired by a conservative GOP group that was anti-Trump during the primaries. Fusion GPS hired Christopher Steele to do some of the Russia-related opposition stuff, because he was familiar with Russian sources, being ex-MI-6. When Trump clinched the nomination, this opposition research stalled for lack of funds and interest, not completed. THAT is never mentioned when GOP types scream about the Democrats and "their" Steele dossier.
The Democrats did indeed get wind of this, and hired Fusion GPS to finish that piece of opposition research for them. Fusion re-hired Steele, and it was pretty much completed. However, there is no evidence the Democrats actually used this opposition research, because the only folks heard talking about the "pee-pee tape" were late night comedians, not any of the candidates.
Mueller's connection to the Steele dossier is tenuous indeed, because its use for a warrant long preceeded his appointment as Special Counsel. So much for that argument. It was used as part (only part!) of the stuff shown a FISA judge to get a warrant to surveil Trump campaign figures. This was the FBI counterintelligence investigation going on under Comey as FBI director.
The standard for obtaining a warrant like that is "reason to believe", not "proof". So whether the Steele dossier is accurate or not is irrelevant (something really galling to the GOP, since they claim it was flawed, and therefore that made the FISA warrant the wrong thing to do, which is arrant nonsense). There was "reason to believe" investigation further was warranted. That's all that was needed.
A lot of us think Mueller was too hamstrung by a DOJ memo (only a memo) saying a sitting president cannot be indicted. That's another issue that needs exploration and clarification, because a sitting president must not be above the law!
Whether we agree or disagree with his decision not to indict for obstruction, what he did was document lots of crimes and potential crimes for Congress and the American people. THAT is the purpose for his 448 pages of report, yet no charges except for Russian operatives and some Trump underlings.
What the report documents in Vol 1 is that there was no conspiracy (not "collusion" but conspiracy, a very narrowly-defined crime) between Trump, his underlings, and Russia, to influence the election in 2016. The same volume documents numerous troubling close connections and a very troubling willingness to cooperate with Russian operatives to affect the election. That's not conspiracy, but it is unacceptable. And in popular terms (not legal definitions) that IS collusion.
Also not a crime but entirely unacceptable is the unwillingness on the part of Trump and his underlings to report to the FBI these attempts by Russia to influence the election, which is a crime for any foreign national to do (something more than a dozen Russian operatives were indeed indicted for). Not reporting is not actually a crime. But reporting foreign interference is expected. It is unacceptable for Trump and his underlings not to have reported this to the FBI, pure and simple.
Vol 2 documents some 10 instances of very likely obstruction-of-justice crimes by Trump or his underlings. This is where the DOJ memo prevented indictments, or even a statement that such crimes were indeed actually committed. However, the documentary evidence presented in the report speaks for itself. Of the 10, at least a few would be impeachable offenses. Anybody not in the Oval Office who did these things would be arrested, indicted, convicted, and jailed. That much is clear.
Between the unacceptable behaviors documented in volume 1, and the likely-impeachable behaviors documented in vol 2, it is clear that further Congressional investigation is more-than-warranted (that was Mueller's real purpose in writing these volumes, although he can't queer the deal and say that in public). And we have all seen those further investigations obstructed at every possible turn, in real time. IMHO using the official designation "impeachment-related proceedings" to force the testimonies and the disclosure of documents is the next step.
Whether an actual impeachment process should take place this close to an election is arguable. There's upsides and downsides both ways. However, the facts must be uncovered and presented to the American people, which is why investigations cannot stop now. This is necessary either way: if by election, they need the facts to vote wisely; if by impeachment, they need the facts to force their senators in the GOP-dominated senate to vote for the good of the country, not party advantage, something we have not seen at all so far.
GW
Let's Go to Mars...Google on: Fast Track to Mars blogspot.com
Offline
Like button can go here
Where is the Chinese and Saudis and help documented for Clinton from real sites not false conspiracy and such fake news dominated?
Seems that we want Fusion GPS to be held accountable for a crime when they are the service provider for even 2012 Mitt Romney...and others https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_GPS
House Intelligence Committee investigation
On October 4, 2017, Chairman Devin Nunes of the House Intelligence Committee issued subpoenas to the management of the company, demanding documents and testimony in late October and early November 2017. According to a Democratic committee source, the subpoenas were issued unilaterally by the Republican majority of the committee. On October 18, 2017, the House Intelligence Committee held a private meeting with two executives of Fusion GPS, Peter Fritsch, and Thomas Catan. The purpose was to seek information about their creation of "the opposition-research dossier that makes salacious claims about President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia."On October 23, 2017, Fusion GPS filed for a court injunction against Nunes' subpoena seeking the firm's bank records for a period of more than two years, arguing it would damage and possibly destroy the business as well as violate their First Amendment rights
Now I see where Trump is getting this... but that is the difference in one is a business tax return and the other is Trumps..
with the fake news claims https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fusion … at-to-know
Offline
Like button can go here
Well first off Hillary Clinton's closest aide is Huma Abedin. Her parents were Saudi nationals who published a pro-Sharia magazine to which Huma contributed. This is all established fact, but the lib-left media have no interest in it...
Second, look at all the huge donations to the Clinton Foundation. Have a read of this Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_F … n_entities
and this NYT (yes NYT) article on Saudi connections:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/us/p … arity.html
The Clinton Foundation racket is one of the worst examples of political corruption ever recorded in the US.
And here's an article on earlier China-Clinton connections.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Unit … ontroversy
Where is the Chinese and Saudis and help documented for Clinton from real sites not false conspiracy and such fake news dominated?
Let's Go to Mars...Google on: Fast Track to Mars blogspot.com
Offline
Like button can go here
January 20, 1993, when Bill Clinton was inaugurated as the 42nd President of the United States, and ended on January 20, 2001 years cover when American jobs were fleeing to cut cost of production and when the auto industry was looking for the foriegn cars to be made here as a balancing of what was being sold here. The Electronic industry was still heading overses due to the hazard substances which were being regulate since they were killing employees....
Fake news has circulated that :
“There is probable cause that the Clinton Foundation has run afoul of IRS rules regarding tax-exempt charitable organizations was reopened as Feds received whistleblower evidence Jan 24, 2018 - The FBI's latest probe into the foundation may seem like a political witch hunt and was reportedly re-opened an investigation of the foundation's alleged "pay-to-play" politics.
It runs ambitious programs and raises money on an ongoing basis to fund its projects with those donations such areas as HIV/AIDS, climate change, healthy children, economic development, and Haiti earthquake relief, along with a variety of other initiatives.
Of course the fake news
The charges against the foundation have ranged from ridiculous to serious. Two days after the initial reports of the Trump administration's new probe, multiple conservative websites falsely claimed that 22 of the foundation's employees had been arrested. There were no arrests. With donations coming from Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman, have donated millions to the Clinton Foundation all from human rights violating countries.
With more conspiracy on the uranium one deal as well from The Washington Post all of which was debunked...of which Fox news is just as bad for fake news.....
Offline
Like button can go here
Louis,
Any requests to apply basic logic or due process of law shall fall on deaf ears. This isn't about sound governance policy and it certainly isn't about following the law, as the Democrats ignore the law in its entirety whenever it doesn't suit their belief system. They're only interested in power. The Democrats' primary problem has been that once they do get power, they don't do anything useful with it, unless helping America's enemies or economic competitors counts as doing something useful. That's the real reason Democrats keep getting voted out of office by ordinary Americans. Neither the Russians, nor any other obvious fraud that the Democrats will try to perpetrate against the American people, is even tangentially related to election results.
Any admission of that would be to admit that President Trump was elected because he had valid points to make that resonated with the people who elected him and that his opposition basically has nothing approaching a valid response. If any politician the Democrat had actually understood that and acted upon it, then their next election outcome would be guaranteed. The Democrats are still transfixed by the politics of division, deceit, and spite. The ugly truth is that the Democrats' recent behaviors have no redeeming qualities and they need to make a change for the better.
Offline
Like button can go here
A federal judge ruled this afternoon that the Justice Department has to turn over Robert Mueller's grand jury evidence to the House Judiciary Committee.
Offline
Like button can go here
There's now a DOJ investigation (or investigations?) of how the Russia investigation got originally started, which morphed into the Mueller probe. How this new DOJ thing got started is just as questionable as the original Russia investigation, as both seem at face value to be improperly-politicized efforts to destroy the other side.
Doesn't matter. The more of these investigations there are, the more wrongdoers will eventually get exposed, and from both sides of the aisle. I'm all for that (remember, I'm an independent, not a Democrat, and not a Republican). Quite frankly, I'm sick and tired of two things in DC: (1) party advantage trumping doing the people's business properly, and (2) a system of elections, regulations, and taxation that is totally corrupted by big money.
All that being said, the House impeachment inquiry is picking up momentum. I think, based on what I see and read, that this inquiry will spark a formal impeachment proceeding "fairly soon". I'm guessing there will be a full house vote on formal articles of impeachment somewhere around this year's end. Followed quickly (as Constitutionally required) by a Senate trial. Even McConnell has alerted that body about what is coming.
Depending upon what these particular House committees are able to uncover, and just how credible it is, the number of Republican Senators defecting from a unified party-line defense of Trump in the Senate appears likely to increase. That makes the possibility of a Senate impeachment trial conviction less improbably remote. We'll see.
Meanwhile, between now and the 2020 election, this impeachment effort, and the others into folks from both sides, will be bearing fruit. All of this is going to influence the 2020 election in some way. Probably quite seriously, and properly so. It's not just Mr. Trump, there's a whole lot of rascals I'd like to see turned out.
Remember: there's always de facto term limits if you vote out the incumbents. Given today's corrupt, hyper-politicized, and do-nothing-for-the-people environment, it's hard to see how you could go wrong by just voting for the "other guy", no matter who he/she is.
BTW, that same "de facto term limits" option applies to the other democracies besides America. You ALL can do that! Take back your countries! I hope we Americans can take back ours.
GW
Last edited by GW Johnson (2019-10-26 10:54:12)
GW Johnson
McGregor, Texas
"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew, especially one dead from a bad management decision"
Offline
Like button can go here
Seem Rudy Giulian butt dials and confesses to comitting a crime to NBC reporters
This is comical to say the least.
Offline
Like button can go here
Roger Stone Is Convicted of Impeding Investigators in a Bid to Protect Trump
Roger Stone has been indicted by a grand jury on charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, who alleges that the longtime Donald Trump associate sought stolen emails from WikiLeaks...Roger Stone is a man whose influence cannot be denied in the American political scene. He has been an active participant as a political consultant, lobbyist, strategist and conspiracy theorist well known for his use of Opposition Research for Republican. Roger Stone, who remains a strong defender of the President, has emphatically pled NOT GUILTY and has vowed to fight to clear his name. Two solid years of the fake news media falsely predicting Stone would be charged with Russian Collusion or Treason. A federal jury on Friday convicted longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone of tampering with a witness and lying to Congress about his efforts to learn of hacked DNC...
Offline
Like button can go here
SpaceNut,
It's very interesting how anyone who is a Democrat can lie to Congress (Lerner / Clinton / Holder), destroy evidence of their crimes (Lerner / Clinton), obstruct justice (Lerner / Clinton / Holder), and spy on political rivals (Comey / Clapper / McCabe / Brennan) without consequence... So long as you have a "D" after your name.
Offline
Like button can go here
This time the GOP of the house are doing the questioning House is investigating whether Trump lied to Mueller, its general counsel told a federal appeals court
The request followed closely on the heels of Friday’s conviction of longtime Trump friend Roger Stone. Testimony and evidence at his trial appeared to cast doubt on written replies from Trump to Mueller about the president’s knowledge about attempts by his 2016 campaign to learn more about the release of hacked Democratic emails by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.
“The House is trying to determine whether the current president should remain in office. This is unbelievably serious and it’s happening right now, very fast.” “We have at least two people who have already been convicted of lying to Congress. And what are they lying about? They’re lying about things that go directly to the Mueller report,”
Offline
Like button can go here
But the Mueller report has nothing to do with the impeachment investigation.
The Democrats have tried to impeach almost every Republican President since Eisenhower, so this isn't really surprising. I don't know why people are giving them any attention.
Use what is abundant and build to last
Offline
Like button can go here
It carried charges which are blocked while in office but can be punishable once relieved of the post.
Offline
Like button can go here
Offline
Like button can go here
why the FBI's probe of Trump campaign faced problems from the start and appeared that Obama did not do anything so as to entrap those involved..
FBI officials worried that Crossfire Hurricane was too sensitive and secretive as the FBI was trying to stay out of politics.
Offline
Like button can go here
Strzok claims anti-Trump texts protected by 1st Amendment, administration violated his rights
Former FBI agent Peter Strzok, who is suing the government in a bid for reinstatement, argued in a court filing in Washington, D.C., federal district court on Monday that his politically charged anti-Trump messages were protected by the First Amendment -- even though he sent them on bureau-issued phones while playing leading roles in the probes into both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump
Highlights from the new Mueller FBI investigation documents from key witness interviews advisers to President Donald Trump -- including Stephen Miller, Sarah Sanders, Rob Porter, Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort and others -- told then-special counsel Robert Mueller regarding Russian interference and the President's attempts to obstruct the investigation.
Offline
Like button can go here
Justice Dept. Investigating Years-Old Leaks and Appears Focused on Comey
This is the second time the Justice Department has investigated leaks potentially involving Mr. Comey, Trump has repeatedly pressured the Justice Department to investigate his perceived enemies. In 2018, he told the White House counsel at the time, Donald F. McGahn II, to prosecute Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Comey. Mr. McGahn refused, telling the president that he did not have the authority to order investigations and that doing so could prompt abuse-of-power accusations. Mr. Trump had also discussed the appointment of a second special counsel to conduct the investigations he sought.
Offline
Like button can go here
The reverse GOP Trump lead investigation has turned up Justice Dept. won’t charge Andrew McCabe, the former FBI official who authorized the investigation of President Trump
Trump reached out to remove those who were not loyal to him politically back then and is still going at it..
Offline
Like button can go here
Resulting from presidential tweets and not wanting to go against the presidents wishes Former Justice Department officials call on William Barr to resign
More than 1,100 former federal prosecutors and Justice Department officials are calling on Attorney General William Barr to resign following reports Barr and President Donald Trump intervened in the criminal prosecution of Trump’s friend Roger Stone.
‘Something has to be done’: Trump’s quest to rewrite history of the Russia probe
Offline
Like button can go here
SpaceNut,
The history of the Russia probe is that it was a farce perpetrated by Democrat politicians and media hacks against the American people for purely partisan political purposes. Since none of the investigations of the criminal activities of the Obama administration were ever prosecuted, it's an absolute joke that the Democrats suddenly became interested in faithfully executing our laws. If selling guns to drug cartel members doesn't qualify as both an illegal and anti-American activity, then I'm not sure what would ever qualify.
Former President Obama asserted executive privilege on a near constant basis to impede Congressional investigations into such illegal activities, yet no attempt was made to impeach him. President Trump merely says things that Democrats don't like and they were jabbering about fomenting a coup against him before he was ever sworn into office.
Not one single person who was prosecuted by the Mueller investigation had one single thing to do with the Presidential election, which was supposedly the cover story for the Democrats' subversive activities against our duly elected President. Every last person who was prosecuted was prosecuted for something they did years before the election, in several cases before they ever met President Trump, or something they said to Congress, such as "I met so-and-so on a Tuesday, but it was really Wednesday". Former FBI Director Mueller's report stated that not one person from President Trump's election campaign cooperated or colluded with the Russians.
The Democrats have made a mockery of the sham the farce that their warped ideology believes to represent some form of justice. They used our Justice Department to attack their political opposition because they couldn't win the election. The reckoning for their seditious activities is on its way, come November.
Offline
Like button can go here