The Mueller Report thread

[Yojimbo]

This is just getting stupid. Now we have to investigate the investigation?

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/3266643002

[Bengalzona]

(03-25-2019, 08:24 PM)Yojimbo Wrote: This is just getting stupid. Now we have to investigate the investigation?

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/3266643002

Trump wants to entertain his followers. He has seen how much attention investigations get and now wants to try one of his own. Who knows, he might even try to call another National Emergency.

Meanwhile, in the flooded towns of Nebraska...

[NATI BENGALS]

I am stunned the con man's hand picked attorney general did exactly what he was picked for.

Pitiful.

The exonerate narrative is already in full effect. And of course Republicans are still doing their best to make sure the American public doesn't get to see the full report.

[*bfine32*]

(03-25-2019, 08:24 PM)Yojimbo Wrote: This is just getting stupid. Now we have to investigate the investigation?

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/3266643002

If one can put personal opinion of Trump aside; they may see Graham raises some good questions about the investigation. Hell he was Barr to testify. I thought that's what the Dems wanted. 

[Dill]

(03-25-2019, 06:32 PM)Stonyhands Wrote: Are you kidding?  You have got be joking.  

White House leaks...as if that’s somehow Trump’s fault.  Undoing of past mistakes when it comes to foreign policy so far has made the world a much safer place than just 3-4 years ago.

I'm surprised you think I'm joking.

And yes, for the most part, the leaking is Trump's fault. The White House is full of people sabotaging each other and/or trying to block Trump's irrational policy moves.  Chaos by all reports there; that's why Tillerson, Kelly and McMaster are gone. No other WH has experienced so many leaks, nor such disturbing ones. Think of his own staffers removing documents from his desk so that he won't cancel the KORUS treaty; they know he will forget all about it if it is out of sight. 

That US adversaries also see this chaos emboldens them.

How is the world a safer place now that Trump has scotched the Iran deal, unchained Saudi Arabia, and let Kim out of his NK box? How how how?

(03-25-2019, 06:32 PM)Stonyhands Wrote: Confusion from our allies...if you haven’t noticed our biggest allies have a lot of issues going on just within their own countries and it has zero to do with Trump.  Trump has done diddly squat to our allie’s except pressure them to start paying for their share of NATO.  He’s acting like a true leader of the free world and not cowering down to anybody, as any President of the US should be.  Sex Scandals were prior to this Presidency.  Name one specific thing Trump has done to stoke racial and gender division that wouldn’t have been done by any other Republican President. 

Of course some of our allies have problems unrelated to Trump. But they also have problems relating to Trump, who has forced them to begin debating a future without an American alliance, or with a very weakened version of it. This creates opportunities for adversaries like Putin, Xi, and Kim.

And how is publicly siding with Putin over the US intel community or stating he believes Kim had nothing to do with Wambier's death "not cowering down to any body" and "acting like a true leader of the free world." 

Have you been following foreign policy at all?
Why America’s Allies Are Terrified of Trump’s Summit With Putin
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/why-americas-allies-are-terrified-of-trumps-summit-with-putin-666822/
NATO allies wonder if the West can withstand the Trump presidency
https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/11/politics/donald-trump-nato-russia-putin/index.html

Sex scandals were known BEFORE he was elected--and made no difference to Trump voters. Still doesn't for most. And he has since sided with women who accused Democrats, calling for them to step down in disgrace, while siding with accused Republicans--e.g., the Alabama judged accused of dating under age girls.  Still ok if the economy is good.

I sincerely doubt any other Republican president would say Mexico sends us rapists, that there were good people on "both sides" of a Klan/Neo-Nazi riot, or call Warren "Pocohantas," or African nations "shithole countries."  I can't imagine hearing such language from any other presidential candidate--not Jeb, Ted, Carly, Rand or Bobby Jindal for sure.

(03-25-2019, 06:32 PM)Stonyhands Wrote: I get being a Democrat you have different ideals for how the country should be ran. Trump hasn’t taken a stance on anything that any other Republican President would not have.  He just runs his mouth and sounds like an idiot.  He’s also did some immoral things I don’t agree with regarding HIS marriage but in no way shape or form has it affected his performance as our President.

Indeed he does.  And EVERY DAY.  

And our allies and adversaries see that too, as do American youth learning about how our government works, what counts in leadership, how important character is (or is not) in those who hold highest office. When we tell them that's all good if the economy is good, we have changed as a nation, and not for the better.

[*bfine32*]

(03-25-2019, 08:28 PM)Bengalzona Wrote: Trump wants to entertain his followers. He has seen how much attention investigations get and now wants to try one of his own. Who knows, he might even try to call another National Emergency.

Meanwhile, in the flooded towns of Nebraska...

I hear Barr and Melania met in a plane on the tarmac and discussed grandkids the night before the release. 

[Bengalzona]

(03-25-2019, 08:33 PM)bfine32 Wrote: I hear Barr and Melania met in a plane on the tarmac and discussed grandkids the night before the release. 

I heard they arrested a job-stealing immigrant today. They found 63 jobs in his basement.

[SunsetBengal]

(03-25-2019, 08:28 PM)Bengalzona Wrote: Trump wants to entertain his followers. He has seen how much attention investigations get and now wants to try one of his own. Who knows, he might even try to call another National Emergency.

Meanwhile, in the flooded towns of Nebraska...

Meh, I don't know.  The whole FISA scam that was used to start this whole mess definitely needs to be investigated.  If it turns out the former highest level FBI personnel turned in false info, in order to gain the FISA warrant, weather knowingly or by failing to vet the info, that's pretty serious stuff.  

[*bfine32*]

(03-25-2019, 08:37 PM)Bengalzona Wrote: I heard they arrested a job-stealing immigrant today. They found 63 jobs in his basement.

At least mine was on subject. 

[GMDino]

At least the POTUS Re-election committee is taking the high road.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/25/trump-campaign-issues-memo-to-tv-producers-after-mueller-report.html

Quote:Trump’s re-election campaign sent a memo to television producers on Monday instructing them to “employ basic journalistic standards when booking” six current or former government officials that the campaign said “made outlandish, false claims, without evidence” while on air.


The memo names:

• Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
• Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the chair of the House Judiciary Committee
• Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez
• John Brennan, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency
• Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the chair of the House Intelligence Committee
• Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who has floated a potential bid for president
  

Read the full document: Trump campaign memo to television producers
In a statement, Swalwell said that the “only person who has been caught lying about Russia is Donald Trump.”

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“If he thinks I’ve made a false statement, he can sue me. And I’ll beat him in court,” Swalwell said.


The others targeted in the memo either declined to comment or did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC.


The Trump campaign letter comes a day after Attorney General William Barr told lawmakers that special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence of conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

The two-page letter, which was distributed to producers for all the networks and cable outlets, cited comments that the guests made on air alleging that there was evidence of collusion.


“Moving forward, we ask that you employ basic journalistic standards when booking such guests to appear anywhere in your universe of productions,” wrote Tim Murtaugh, the campaign’s director of communications, in the memo. The campaign wrote that the producers should “begin by asking” the following question:


Does this guest warrant further appearances in our programming, given the outrageous and unsupported claims made in the past?


“At a minimum, if these guests do reappear, you should replay the prior statements and challenge them to provide the evidence which promoted them to make wild claims in the first place,” Murtaugh wrote.


Trump and those around him have faced scrutiny for their own comments made on air. Shortly after Trump took office, top advisor Kellyanne Conway defended statements made by then-White House press secretary Sean Spicer by saying during an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd that Spicer used “alternative facts.”


In August, Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani told Todd that “truth isn’t truth” in a segment concerning whether the president should sit for an interview with Mueller. Giuliani later clarified that his statement “was not meant as a pontification on moral theology but one referring to the situation where two people make precisely contradictory statements.”

Quote:
[/url]Rudy Giuliani

@RudyGiuliani




My statement was not meant as a pontification on moral theology but one referring to the situation where two people make precisely contradictory statements, the classic “he said,she said” puzzle. Sometimes further inquiry can reveal the truth other times it doesn’t.

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7:48 AM - Aug 20, 2018
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Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of MSNBC, CNBC and NBC.

[GMDino]

And luckily the GOP isn't overreacting either.  

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/03/25/adam-schiff-asked-resign-intelligence-committee/3271815002/

Quote:WASHINGTON – As the nation learned special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia, Republicans celebrated and took aim at many of the president's foes. 



One of the biggest targets thus far: Rep. Adam Schiff, who heads the powerful House Intelligence Committee. 


"Adam Schiff should resign," White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said on Fox News Monday morning. "He has no right as somebody who has been peddling a lie day after day after day unchallenged." She added Democratic-led investigation in the House would "never have the credibility of the Mueller investigation." 


Attorney General William Barr issued a four-page summary of Mueller's report on Sunday, declaring that Mueller's 22-month inquiry had not found that President Donald Trump or his campaign conspired with Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election. 


But, on the issue of whether Trump had sought to thwart the investigation, Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined that the president's conduct did constitute a crime because Mueller's team did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump had obstructed justice. 


Republicans took the findings as a victory lap and called out Schiff by name repeatedly on Monday.


More: Justice Department offers no clue when Mueller's full report could be released as pressure intensifies
[/url]

Quote:
TPM Livewire@TPMLiveWire




Kellyanne Conway calls on Adam Schiff to resign

5
8:36 AM - Mar 25, 2019

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. asked for him to step down from his post leading the House Intelligence Committee. 
"I am calling on him to leave the committee as chairman," McCarthy told Fox News, firing off a number of concerns, including his past comments on evidence of possible Russian collusion with the Trump campaign.

Quote:
Kevin McCarthy

@GOPLeader




After two years of manufactured outrage on this issue, it’s time we move on for the good of the nation.

It’s also time for @RepAdamSchiff to apologize for deceiving the American people. He has proven himself unfit to chair the House Intelligence Committee.

3,823
3:20 PM - Mar 25, 2019

"He should apologize to the American public and he should step back from being chair of the intel committee," McCarthy said. 
Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, fired off a number of tweets attacking Schiff, even using the hastag "#FullOfSchiff." 


"Couldn’t agree more with my friend @GOPLeader," he said replying to McCarthy's call for Schiff to leave his committee post. "After spending 2 years lying to the American people about the collusion conspiracy, this truther is STILL doubling down on his lies. He's a hack & serial fraud. If he had an ounce of integrity, he would resign today. #FullOfSchiff"

Quote:
Donald Trump Jr.

@DonaldJTrumpJr




Well, he can always show the American public all the evidence he says he’s seen. That would clear thing up. Otherwise he’s just a disgrace to the position.

Between the lies and the leaks why would anyone in their right mind ever trust The House Intelligence Committee again???
Sebastian Gorka DrG

@SebGorka

@RepAdamSchiff is a LIAR whose lies help our Enemies.

He should resign immediately. https://twitter.com/surabees/status/1110258707995246598 …


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He also questioned why Schiff should not "face any repercussions" for his statements over the years about Trump's connections to Russia. In another tweet, he said Schiff's conduct had erased trust in the committee. 


After Barr's letter on Sunday, Schiff said he accepted Mueller's conclusions but contended that it did not clear Trump of wrongdoing. 


"Mueller did not find sufficient evidence to establish conspiracy, notwithstanding Russian offers to help Trump’s campaign, their acceptance, and a litany of concealed interactions with Russia. I trust Mueller’s prosecutorial judgement, but the country must see the evidence," he said on Twitter.

He added in another post: "Mueller spent two years investigating obstruction of justice and found evidence that 'does not exonerate' Trump. Barr took two days to set aside that evidence. The entire report must be published and evidence provided to Congress so the American people can judge for themselves."


Schiff has not publicly addressed the attacks but other top Democrats have stood up for him, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

"Democrats aren’t going to be intimidated by the White House or Congressional Republicans, we’re not going to be distracted from securing the release of the full Mueller report and the underlying evidence, and we will continue to pursue legitimate oversight because that’s what the Constitution requires," Ashley Etienne, a spokeswoman for Pelosi, told Politico. 


While Trump and other Republicans claimed vindication in the aftermath of Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, many still pointed to unanswered questions about whether the president's actions constituted obstruction of justice.


More: Congressional Democrats question AG William Barr's decision that Trump didn't obstruct justice


Democrats continued to demand the public release of the report, sending a letter late Monday to Barr that demanded Mueller's findings by April 2. 


"Your four-page summary of the Special Counsel’s review is not sufficient for Congress, as a coequal branch of government, to perform [its] critical work," the letter reads. "The release of the full report and the underlying evidence and documents is urgently needed by our committees to perform their duties under the Constitution."

[Bengalzona]

(03-25-2019, 08:38 PM)bfine32 Wrote: At least mine was on subject. 

Subject to what?

[Belsnickel]

(03-25-2019, 08:14 PM)michaelsean Wrote: Thank God he’s a liberal or he’d be ridiculed endlessly about the way he talks by anyone north of KY.

I do like the way he pretends the Mueller report was this little side thing that didn’t pan out.

That's funny you think he (and his comedy compadres) don't get ridiculed in northern states. He lives out in California these days, a long way from Celina, and he has talked about the looks he gets when he opens his mouth. It's pretty funny. They put on a great show.

[Stonyhands]

(03-25-2019, 08:31 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: I am stunned the con man's hand picked attorney general did exactly what he was picked for.

Pitiful.

The exonerate narrative is already in full effect. And of course Republicans are still doing their best to make sure the American public doesn't get to see the full report.

Yes...I’m sure after 2 years of investigation and some indictments Mueller changes his findings and all his evidence to say the exact opposite of what the crazy left fake news media has been pushing for two years. Just because of AG Barr...It couldn’t possibly be because there’s not one shred of evidence to point to Trump colluding with the Russians.

I’m not stunned. I won’t be stunned when it all comes out that this Russian Collusion hoax is found to have originated with Hillary and Obama’s DOJ. Even now as the same leftist media outlets begin backtracking and finger pointing you still can’t get past your hatred of Trump to see that you were lied to by the very people you still support.

[Stonyhands]

(03-25-2019, 08:55 PM)GMDino Wrote: And luckily the GOP isn't overreacting either.  

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/03/25/adam-schiff-asked-resign-intelligence-committee/3271815002/

What’s going to be hilarious is when they release the full report and it backfires on the left. Just like when they pushed for a whole new FBI investigation into Kavenaugh and yet again strengthened Kavenaugh’s case that Kavenaugh did no wrong.

[Dill]

(03-25-2019, 08:55 PM)GMDino Wrote: And luckily the GOP isn't overreacting either.  

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/03/25/adam-schiff-asked-resign-intelligence-committee/3271815002/

For people who thought this was over, you ain't seen nothing yet.  Listen to Hannity tonight.

He not only wants admission of failure and apologies from all the fake news liberal media who hysterically over-reacted as they did with Richard Jewell, Zimmerman and the kid from Covington and Kavanaugh and Smollet, fake rape allegations at UVA and against the Duke LaCrosse team, he wants recognition that they did Russia's dirty work by accusing a sitting president based upon a fake dossier Russia provided and Hillary paid for, and which the FBI used to trick FISA judges into wiretap warrants.

He shows several montages of commentators asserting "open collusion," etc. in reference to, e.g., the Trump tower meeting and Manfort handing over campaign material to the Russians. So now it is not a lie that Trump people did all that, but a lie that it was collusion. "This corrupt partisan media mob is an integral part of the new radical extreme left-wing version of the Democratic party"(16:00).

He DEMANDS the investigation into Hillary be reopened, and into Comey and top FBI and
CIA leaders and Loretta Lynch, Sally Yates, James Clapper, Susan Rice, ALL THE WAY TO OBAMA. There WAS an attempt to rig the election by deep state officials who refused to indict Hillary for what was OBVIOUSLY a violation of the Espionage Act. "Their day of reckoning MUST NOW COME or this will happen again" (21:00).
"Clear compelling and incontrovertible evidence that she . . . mishandled top secret classified information on a private server that we believe six foreign intelligence agencies broke into."  You know that WE could never get away with what Clinton did in our two-tiered justice system. FISA applications have to be declassified now (24:00). They lied against the law, leaked intel against the law and they tried to rig an election against Trump.

But he praises Fox news commentators and Rush for their refusal to rush to judgment, they were the only ones who did not rush to judgment, who allowed for due process in cases where conservatives(only?) were accused. The voice of reason for two years.

So basically he is flipping every charge leveled at Fox over the last three years and turning it back on MSM. There were factual errors in this editorial, but I don't know if Fox regulars will notice. (E.g., there can be no obstruction if there was no crime; Hillary destroyed subpoenaed emails; Comey was telling Trump the dossier was salacious and unverifiable while using it for warrants.) Mainly interesting though is that the first half of his program accuses dems of rushing to judgement of Trump without sufficient evidence while the second half is rushing to judgment about Hillary et al. with roughly the same or less evidence (depending upon the accused).

Astonishing. Might want to skip the warm up and start around 5:00 or 8:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz53EEa8w8g

[*michaelsean*]

(03-25-2019, 01:02 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I wouldn’t count on the southern district. Chuck has just recently been fired and replaced by Brian. Now Chuck wants to get Brian and Brian wants to get Chuck. No telling what’s going to happen there.

C'mon.  Nobody?

[Belsnickel]

(03-26-2019, 08:27 AM)michaelsean Wrote: C'mon.  Nobody?

Was it supposed to be humorous in some way?

Honestly. I have no idea.

[Belsnickel]

I was listening to NPR this morning and heard Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick talking about this and Graham's asinine new call for a Special Counsel into Obama and Nadler's continuing asshattery. He said what a lot of us have talked about. Polish off the edges of the report. Look at it, get Barr and/or Mueller up on the Hill, and then call it a day. The partisan investigations (which Mueller's was not, it was invoked by a Republican, it was run by a Republican, and it was focusing on a Republican administration) should not go forward. They aren't good for the country.

[*michaelsean*]

(03-26-2019, 08:41 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: Was it supposed to be humorous in some way?

Honestly. I have no idea.

It's a TV show.  Billions.  I figured someone would recognize it.  But no if I made a joke and nobody got it, I would never bring it back.  This is more of just a recognition thing, and I'm just surprised nobody hear watches it.