Hopefully our now soon-to-be former President, also known as Individual-1 in a court filing against Trump’s former fixer/lawyer Michael Cohen by the Southern District of New York in 2018, will soon enough find himself housed in a prison and clothed in an orange jumpsuit.
Ted Lieu has offered harsh criticism of the Mueller investigation following the publication of a Senate report into Russian interference during the 2020 election.
The Democratic Congressman took to Twitter to highlight what he described as a crime committed by the President. He also gave a scathing review of the Special Counsel’s probe.
Lieu was retweeting MSNBC analyst Matthew Miller, who wrote “Trump solicited, welcomed, and benefited from Russian interference” but investigators didn’t find enough evidence for criminal charges.
“It’s a felony campaign finance violation to solicit a foreign power to help your campaign, especially when the foreign power weighed in on such a massive scale,” Lieu said.
It’s a felony campaign finance violation to solicit a foreign power to help your campaign, especially when the foreign power weighed in on such a massive scale. The Mueller team just didn’t have the guts to go there. https://t.co/J8cSjfidGA
President Donald Trump lashed out at former acting Attorney General Sally Yates in a tweet earlier this morning, accusing her of participating in “the greatest political crime of the Century.”
The president accused Yates of “leaking” a conversation with former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who would later plead guilty to a felony count of “willfully and knowingly” making false statements to the FBI, and agreed to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference.
“Ask her under oath. Republicans should start playing the Democrats game!” the president wrote.
Sally Yates has zero credibility. She was a part of the greatest political crime of the Century, and ObamaBiden knew EVERYTHING! Sally Yates leaked the General Flynn conversation? Ask her under oath. Republicans should start playing the Democrats game!
Kayleigh McEnany has claimed that the Russia investigation was a waste of the country’s time and that it was based on a hoax. She was responding to an op-ed from Robert Mueller.
The former Special Counsel wrote an article in The Washington Post defending his probe. He also criticized the President for commuting Roger Stone’s sentence.
The White House Press Secretary spoke to Fox News on Wednesday and highlighted “the fact that he had to defend his taxpayer-wasted investigation on taxpayer dollars, millions and millions wasted on a Russia hoax theory that found no collusion.”
“What did Robert Mueller have to do to justify his investigation, a waste of taxpayer dollars, a waste of America’s time?” she asked.
“He had to come up with process crimes which is exactly what was done in the case of Roger Stone.”
Stone was convicted by a jury on seven counts and sentenced to three years in prison. President Trump and his allies have maintained that Stone was railroaded.
“Adam Schiff was actually right,” McEnany went on. “We do have a two-tiered justice system, he was just wrong on the facts.”
“The two-tiered justice system completely discriminates against the Trump administration.”
By contrast, Mueller has pointed out that “the special counsel’s office identified two principal operations directed at our election: hacking and dumping Clinton campaign emails, and an online social media campaign to disparage the Democratic candidate.”
“Stone was prosecuted and convicted because he committed federal crimes. He remains a convicted felon, and rightly so.”
A top prosecutor involved in Robert Mueller’s probe has admitted investigators could have done more during the special counsel’s investigation into Russia.
Andrew Weissmann was head of the criminal fraud division at the Department of Justice. In his new book, Where Law Ends, he will outline the Mueller investigation’s work.
“I am deeply proud of the work we did and of the unprecedented number of people we indicted and convicted — and in record speed,” Weissmann said.
“But the hard truth is that we made mistakes. We could have done more. ”
“Where Law Ends documents the choices we made, good and bad, for all to see and judge and learn from,” Weissmann said.
“This is the story of our investigation into how our democracy was attacked by Russia and how those who condoned and ignored that assault undermined our ability to uncover the truth.”
“My obligation as a prosecutor was to follow the facts where they led, using all available tools and undeterred by the onslaught of the President’s unique powers to undermine our work,” he said.
Weissman’s apparent admission comes as Robert Mueller openly criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to commute Roger Stone’s prison sentence.
“Stone was prosecuted and convicted because he committed federal crimes. He remains a convicted felon, and rightly so,” Mueller wrote.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) will allow Robert Mueller to testify because he thinks he can discredit Mueller and help Trump, but he has made a big mistake.
Senator Lindsey Graham inadvertently gave his critics a soundbite on Thursday while trying to shame Democrats. The South Carolina Republican was defending himself from Democratic criticism.
Former deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein was testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee about Robert Mueller’s investigation. Graham chairs the committee and he was pursuing the GOP position that the probe was improper.
Democrats blasted their Republican colleagues as “political errand boys” who are “bolstering conspiracy theories” about a plot against the 2016 Trump campaign.
Watch the video:
Sen. Lindsey Graham: "You think I am in Trump's pocket." pic.twitter.com/J9lpf1stdB
— The Hill (@thehill) June 4, 2020
Graham referred specifically to a document that was used as part of the investigation into that campaign. Republicans allege that FISA was abused and aimed at Trump.
“It matters to me whether or not the No. 2 guy at the FBI, Comey, knew that the document was no longer reliable and kept using it,” Graham said.
“You all could care less. That really says a lot,” Graham told Democrats.
“I know you don’t agree with what I’m doing. You think I’m in Trump’s pocket. I get all that. It’s not lost on me of what you think and I’m sad because I like you all.”
“But if you expect me to punt, forget it. We’re not going to punt. We’re not going to have a rule of law for Republicans and a rule of law for Democrats.”
Critics have accused Graham of pursuing unfounded allegations of a plot or coup against the Trump campaign.
Follow Darragh Roche on Twitter
Donald Trump went on a tweeting and retweeting spree on Thursday, sharing praise of himself and criticism of his opponents. The President was particularly keen to highlight former deputy AG Rod Rosenstein.
Rosenstein testified before the Senate on Wednesday. Republicans grilled him as part of their continued push to undermine the Russia probe and the conclusions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Trump simply joined the chorus of those using Rosenstein to attack Mueller.
“Mueller should have never been appointed, although he did prove that I must be the most honest man in America!” Trump tweeted.
Mueller should have never been appointed, although he did prove that I must be the most honest man in America! https://t.co/JjrTV2FKEt
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2020
The President has painted Mueller’s investigation as a conspiracy against him, involving a wide range of officials, Rosenstein among them. Senate Republicans pushed the narrative on Wednesday.
However, the former deputy attorney general defended his decision to appoint Mueller. Then Attorney General Jeff Sessions had recused himself – which led to Rosenstein being in the cross hairs today.
“I was concerned the public would not have confidence in the investigation and that the acting FBI director was not the right person to lead it,”
Rosenstein said.
Donald Trump thinks Covid-19 is a more intelligent adversary than his political opponents. The President appeared to praise the virus’ intellect during a rambling Fox News interview.
Trump spoke to Fox & Friends for around 50 minutes on Friday and covered a wide range of subjects. The hosts asked him about the Department of Justice decision to drop the case against Michael Flynn.
Trump said the move “absolutely” proved
the Russia investigation was a hoax
Democrats are hoping that Mueller’s testimony on Wednesday will show us all the ways you can say there was “collusion” and there was obstruction.
In reality, there was evidence to show that Donald Trump’s campaign conspired with Russia to win the 2016 presidential election. Since then, Donald Trump has done everything imaginable and beyond that to obstruct the facts.
I’ll be watching Robert Mueller’s testimony knowing full well I won’t learn anything that I haven’t read in the report. I just want to watch the Republicans freak out every time Robert Mueller opens his mouth.
However, this is a big deal for the politicians on both sides of the partisan divide, and an even bigger deal for Donald Trump. After all, you don’t corrupt the Department of Justice over trivial things like money laundering. Trump has been doing that with impunity for years, just as Jeffrey Epstein enjoyed decades of tending to his human trafficking business with impunity.
But Trump wasn’t happy with running his criminal enterprise and hosting his cheesy reality show. Donald Trump nursed a grudge against Barack Obama and Putin nursed a grudge against Hillary Clinton – albeit for different reasons. Neither man subscribes to the theory that living well is the best revenge. They wanted to replace Obama and defeat Clinton, again, for very different reasons.
Putin wanted an end to sanctions imposed by the Obama Administration with Clinton’s enthusiastic support. And the road to making that happen involved Donald Trump. Trump wanted to replace Obama, but more importantly, in that scary place that is Trump’s mind, he wanted to monetize the presidential election.
Anyone who read the Mueller report knows it built a solid case for conspiracy between the Trump Campaign and the Russians. Too many Trump people met with too many Russians over too many policy areas of interest to Russia. The only world leader Trump had anything good to say about was Putin. The Republican Party’s mysterious about-face on the Ukraine never did make sense under any theory other than it was on Putin’s wish list.
After Trump finally found his Roy Cohn, the Mueller investigation was shut down quickly. Now, we’re waiting to hear from Mr. Mueller amid two other significant facts.
Jerry Nadler, the Chair of the House Senate Judiciary committee is now on public record saying he believes Trump committed impeachable offenses.
During a Sunday interview on Fox, Jerry Nadler told the audience
“the Mueller report contains very substantial evidence” that President Donald Trump is “guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors” — an impeachable offense.”
“We have to … let Mueller present those facts to the American people, and then see where we go from there, because the administration must be held accountable,”
House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) called out Attorney General Barr and warned Trump that he will be held accountable.
Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) blasted Mitch McConnell for ignoring Robert Mueller and blocking an election security bill in the Senate.
Robert Mueller announced that he is stepping down as special counsel while destroying Trump's claims of no collusion and no obstruction.
Democrats are in talks with Robert Mueller to get him to testify before the House Judiciary Committee within the next two weeks.
Sen. Maize Hirono (D-HI) said that the investigation is not over, even if Lindsey Graham wants it to be over, as she called for Mueller to testify.
Sen. Hirono said on MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes, “Obviously it’s not over. Lindsey wants it to be over, but it’s not. For example, during his testimony, Barr kept characterizing the discussions he had with Mueller. That’s called hearsay. I like to hear from Mueller himself as to the conversation and what concerns he had about the four-pager that Barr put out. Mueller was so concern, and he asked Barr to put out the summaries that his team had put together. Barr refused to do that.”
Video:
Sen. Hirono told Attorney General Barr to his face that he is a liar, and that he needs to resign. Hirono was correct. Graham has buddied up to Trump, and he is trying to kill the investigation for the president. Lindsey Graham wants this to be over in the worst way, but it’s not over, and it is never going to be over until the American people know the facts about the Trump/Russia relationship and how it impacted the 2016 election.
Democrats are not going to allow a potentially criminal president to walk.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
The Democratic chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee said on Wednesday an agreement had been reached to have Special Counsel Robert Mueller testify to Congress on his probe into Russian election interference and possible attempts by the President Donald Trump to impede the probe.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller complained in a letter to Attorney General William Barr that his four-page summary of Mueller's Russia report "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance" of the investigation's conclusions.
Back in February 2017 at a Black History Month event, President Donald Trump regaled his audience with his insights about famous African Americans’ contributions throughout U.S. history. He identified Frederick Douglass as “an example of somebody’s who’s done a great job and is getting recognized more and more, I notice.”
Shamefully, he hasn’t received any recognition with regard to the release of the Mueller report. I’ve watched a lot of the media coverage and listened to a lot of talking heads, often the same pundits over and over, and not one network seems to have sought Douglass’s expertise.
Wait—what? He’s dead?
Oh, ok. My bad. I really need to stop listening to Trump, who sure made it sound like the major abolitionist, suffrage campaigner, author, orator, and former slave of mid-19th-century America was alive, kicking, and taking more and more names.
Douglass’s passing aside, though, I wonder if he might nonetheless be able to offer some guidance on reading the Mueller report and help Americans decipher where their interests lie when it comes to assessing the importance of Russian interference in our nation’s 2016 Presidential election.
He did, after all, have some important insights into the power of literacy—and into the efficacy of properly reading the power dynamics impacting one’s life.
And it seems, from multiple reports, that the response of many Americans to the Mueller report is less concern over Russia’s influence in determining who the leader and chief decision-maker in the United States will be, than general disgust with our political leaders.
Is that the best way to read and respond to the report? Maybe Douglass can school us a bit on how to read to decipher our political interests.
Most illuminating in this regard, perhaps, is Douglass’ account in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass of his learning to read, or perhaps more precisely his learning of the importance of reading when his master forbids his wife to teach him precisely because “it would forever unfit him to be a slave,” to play his role as worker in the class system of slavery. Douglass recounts the moment when his master scolds his wife for teaching him to read and his concomitant “new and special revelation,” of his political interests, as he comes to understand the denial of literacy as part of “the white man’s power to enslave the black man.” He becomes confident that what the master is saying is true and that the result of the slave’s achievement of literacy will in fact be in some measure the undoing of the system of slavery itself.
Douglass represents reading not just as an act of basically assimilating the meaning of words but as an act of discerning, of grasping, one’s political and economic interests. Douglass doesn’t learn to read the same way his master does but rather reads the master’s statements negatively to decipher the reality of his situation and his political and economic interests, such that we see that ways of reading are politicized and differentially conditioned by one’s position in the larger social power structure.
Douglass writes,
“What he most dreaded, that I most desired. What he most loved, I most hated. That which to him was a great evil, to be carefully shunned, was a great good, to be diligently sought.”
In short, the danger in Trump’s language is that, for the surprisingly impressionable national audience, he degrades our democratic processes and safeguards against tyranny by recasting the fundamentals of democracy as instead the coarse and brutish misdeeds of a dictatorial power grab.
Nonetheless, his complete lack of response and sense of urgency with regard to the first part of Barr’s summary detailing the plot and practices of Russian election interference still must worry us, whether or not his lack of response surprises us.
Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig said on CNN this morning that the statement by Robert Mueller that he is too busy to comply with a request to unseal redacted documents has revealed something big is in the works at the special counsel’s office.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller included a mysterious note in a court filing Tuesday that suggested his team of world-class prosecutors is working on a major project that will soon end.
The filing came in response to a request from the Washington Post to unseal the redacted records in Mueller’s case against Paul Manafort. The former Trump campaign chairman was sentenced to over seven years in prison for crimes uncovered in the special counsel probe. Mueller was supposed to respond to this legal motion by tomorrow.
Instead, Mueller requested in yesterday’s filing that the deadline be extended to April 1. He added that attorneys for the Post did not objected to the delay. So Judge Amy Berman Jackson granted the request.
What caught people’s attention is that Mueller said members of his team who would respond to the Post’s request “face the press of other work and require additional time to consult within the government.”
On CNN, Honig explained how very surprising it is to see Mueller’s team argue that it faces “the press of other work” and requires “additional time to consult within the government” before unsealing the documents.
“When I was raised as a prosecutor, we were raised with the mantra, ‘The government is always ready,’” Honig said. “So even if a judge said to you, ‘You’re starting trial Monday,’ and you knew in your head there’s no way I can do it, you’d always say, ‘The government is always ready.’ So it is very rare to say we can’t get it done in time.”
Honig then speculated on the potential significance of what Mueller could be working on that is taking up so much time, saying:
“It could be a report, it could be more charges. I still think there are other people, other shoes yet to drop, so they could be getting ready for that.”
Mueller’s filing is highly unusual. It is a clear indication that something big is coming, and there are “other shoes yet to drop.”
But what are those “shoes?”
There are two likely possibilities:
There has been extensive speculation for months about both of these topics. In fact, both could be true. And both could require “additional time to consult within the government.”
We have been waiting a long time for indictments to be issued against such likely suspects as Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner. Does Mueller’s request for a delay mean that he is finally ready to unseal indictments against the president’s own family? It’s very possible.
It also may be that they are finishing a report from the special counsel that will be released by the end of March, and they need to consult with Attorney General William Barr once it is finished.
Nobody knows for sure what is going on, but we can be sure that Mueller and his team are busy doing something important, and when we find out what it is there will be shock waves felt all throughout Washington, D.C. and the entire world.
CLICK HERE to watch the Honig interview on CNN
Trump Tower Moscow shows Trump was chasing a lucrative business deal in Russia at the same time that President Vladimir Putin's government, according to U.S. intelligence agencies, was conducting a hacking and propaganda campaign to boost his candidacy
Under guidelines set out by the Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Robert Mueller must submit a report on his findings of criminal conduct to Attorney General William Barr. He may or may not release the so-called “criminal report” to Congress and to the public.
But former federal prosecutor Nelson Cunningham wrote for The Daily Beast that the Mueller will issue a second report that can’t be shielded from either Congress or the public. And this report will deal with counterintelligence findings and whether or not there was collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
“From the very beginning, Mueller has worn two hats and borne two missions relating to the Russia investigation,” wrote Cunningham, a former prosecutor and former White House counsel.
“The most public and familiar one is as a criminal investigator under the special counsel regulations,” he continued. “But Mueller has also carried a second charge, as a counterintelligence expert, with a much broader charge to determine and report the scope of any interference and any links to the Trump campaign — what Trump himself might refer to as ‘collusion.’”
The Russia probe first began as a counterintelligence investigation. Later Mueller was given the additional task of uncovering whether any crimes were committed.
The central mission of a counterintelligence investigation is to produce a report, Cunningham argued, which will be shared with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and relevant agencies of the 17-member intelligence community.
One of those reports, “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections,” was shared in early January 2017 with incoming President Donald Trump.
That particular report publicly revealed that Vladimir Putin had personally directed efforts to undermine Hillary Clinton’s campaign to aide Trump, and Mueller’s counterintelligence report would also become public.
Cunningham wrote:
“Significantly, unlike a final criminal report, a Mueller counterintelligence report cannot be bottled up. By
The Associated Press (AP) is reporting this morning that Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are beginning several new investigations into Donald Trump as they prepare for “a post-Robert Mueller world.”
No matter what happens with Mueller’s final Russia report, a half-dozen House committee chairmen are planning to “flood the administration with document requests, calls for testimony and subpoenas.”
The Democrats’ planned investigations will go way beyond the scope of Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference and collusion in the 2016 Trump campaign.
Because Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, appeared before two House committees last week with explosive testimony about alleged Trump crimes, they now have much more information, and new avenues to investigate.
The increased oversight by House committees will likely uncover new information about possible Trump “high crimes” that could lead to impeachment proceedings.
In the absence of that, at the very least, the hearings will provide the American public a chance to see for the first time the extent of Trump malfeasance before and during his time in office.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic House leaders have been cautious about impeachment, saying they first want to investigate for themselves, and also receive Mueller’s report and evidence files.
Here are some of the committee investigations that are currently or will soon be underway in the House:
House Intelligence Committee
Under new chairman Adam Schiff, the committee is reopening its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The Republicans in charge closed the probe last year, saying there was nothing further to investigate.
Last month Schiff announced that he is starting a new investigation into not only Russian interference but also into Trump’s foreign financial interests.
The intelligence committee interviewed Michael Cohen Thursday. Afterwards, Schiff announced that the committee will hold an open hearing later this month with Felix Sater, a Russia-born Trump business associate who is a former felon and reputed mobster. Sater worked with Cohen on the deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen is returning to finish his interview on Wednesday.
House Oversight and Reform Committee
Chairman Elijah Cummings said after Cohen testified on Wednesday that he will call in several people mentioned in Cohen’s testimony. They will include Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg and two of Trump’s children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump.
Last Friday Cummings told the White House to give his committee documents related to Jared Kushner’s security clearances by Monday. The New York Times has reported that Trump ordered security officials to give Kushner a clearance over the objections of intelligence agencies.
Last Tuesday, Cummings’ committee voted to subpoena Trump administration officials over family separations at the southern border under the “zero tolerance” immigration policy.
House Judiciary Committee
New Chairman Jerrold Nadler wants to look at Mueller’s report when it becomes available and then decide if his committee should begin impeachment proceedings.
Nadler said that his committee is determined to “ask critical questions, gather all the information, judiciously assess the evidence, and make sure that the facts are not hidden from the American people.”
House Ways and Means Committee
Chairman Richard Neal is expected to try to obtain Trump’s tax returns, which the law says his committee has a right to see. If he does request the returns, he can look forward to a lengthy court battle with the Treasury Department.
House Financial Services Committee
Chairman Maxine Waters is focusing on Deutsche Bank, the German firm that has loaned Trump hundreds of millions of dollars over the years. She said this past week that the bank is cooperating with requests for documents. Deutsche Bank has been convicted in the past of illegal money laundering activities.
Waters is working closely with Schiff, and both of them have said they want to investigate whether Russians used laundered money for real estate transactions with the Trump Organization.
Waters said she is also interested in looking at Trump’s criminal charitable foundation that is being shut down by the New York Attorney General. She is also investigating White House budget director Mick Mulvaney’s tenure at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She has said Mulvaney may be called to testify.
House Foreign Affairs Committee
Chairman Eliot Engel is also working with Schiff and his committee to review Trump’s encounters with and connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He is investigating, for example, the private meeting between Trump and Putin in Helsinki last year.
The two committees have worked with House lawyers to figure out the appropriate way to investigate that meeting. That could include getting information from a translator who attended.
Engel has said that the committee will hold hearings “on the mysteries swirling around Trump’s bizarre relationship with Putin and his cronies, and how those dark dealings affect our national security.”
The committee is also looking at the administration’s policy toward Saudi Arabia and response to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The above list of House committee investigations points out the extent of the trouble that Donald Trump is in, no matter what happens with special counsel Mueller‘s investigation and final report.
Any one of the items on the list should be enough to uncover Trump “high crimes” that will logically
lead to impeachment proceedings.
According to prepared testimony published by POLITICO, Michael Cohen today will directly contradict at least two written statements Donald Trump made to special counsel Robert Mueller last November.
Trump’s longtime personal attorney and “fixer” will testify on Wednesday that he was in the room when Donald Trump, Jr. informed his father about the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russian operatives.
He also says in the prepared statement that Trump knew his longtime associate Roger Stone “was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails.”
Trump told the special counsel in writing in November that Stone had not told him about his contacts with WikiLeaks, and the president also told Mueller that he was not told about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between his son, son-in-law and campaign chairman with a Russian lawyer promising damaging information about Hillary Clinton.
Cohen will testify that Trump lied to Mueller on both counts, and that the president was involved in
colluding with Russia.
By Lawrence Hurley
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday rejected a challenge brought by an associate of Roger Stone, the indicted long-time advisor to President Donald Trump, to the legality of the Justice Department‘s 2017 appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
In doing so, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a lower court’s decision to hold Andrew Miller in contempt for refusing to comply with a grand jury subpoena that was served on him by Mueller, who is investigating potential conspiracy between Trump‘s 2016 campaign and Russia.
The court concluded that Mueller’s appointment by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the Justice Department‘s No. 2 official, was lawful under the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution that lays out presidential powers on appointing certain public officials.
Miller’s lawyer had argued that the appointment was unlawful because Mueller was not named by the president and approved by the U.S. Senate. That argument depended on Mueller being viewed as what is known as a “principal officer” who must be confirmed by the Senate.
The appeals court agreed with the Justice Department that Mueller is an “inferior officer,” a lower-level official who is under the direction of Rosenstein like other government lawyers.
Stone, a self-proclaimed “dirty trickster” and
Republican
More than any other figure indicted by Robert Mueller so far Roger Stone loves to talk to the press. Like his longtime friend Donald Trump, Stone loves to be the center of attention. So one of his biggest fears is that the judge in his case — Amy Berman Jackson — will issue a gag order prohibiting him from discussing his case publicly or talking to the media.
But if Jackson does issue such a gag order (which is likely, considering that she has done it before, to Paul Manafort and Rick Gates) Stone has a plan to allow him to get around it. The fact that he has such a plan shows that his highest priority is getting publicity for his “cause” which appears to be creating chaos in America.
Gag orders are not something that defense attorneys like to deal with, as pointed out by CNN legal analyst Mark Geragos, who tweeted:
“Such gag orders are often more of a burden on the defense than the prosecution, since prosecutors typically issue a press release or hold a press conference to announce the charges and then go mum about the case — at least officially.”
Such gag orders are often more of a burden on the defense than the prosecution, since prosecutors typically issue a press release or hold a press conference to announce the charges and then go mum about the case — at least officially – https://t.co/oKDwwfyOHS via @politico
Wacky conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi filed a lawsuit in Washington on Sunday against special counsel Robert Mueller, the Department of Justice, the FBI, the NSA and the CIA.
The suit alleges that Mueller and other federal agencies surveilled him illegally as part of the special counsel’s investigation into contacts between Russia and the Trump 2016 presidential campaign.
Corsi’s lawsuit also says that the special counsel’s office leaked confidential information about Corsi’s testimony in front of the grand jury Mueller had called as part of his inquiry.
The document makes the following claim:
“Defendant Mueller and his prosecutorial and media staff, acting in their official capacity and personally, illegally released grand jury information to harm Plaintiff Corsi by attempting to destroy his reputation and personal and professional well-being and livelihood, thus also attempting to drive him into bankruptcy.”
Mike Pence thought he could avoid controversy, and stay far enough away from Trump’s criminal scandals to inherit the presidency after Trump’s ouster. He even thinks that is God’s will.
The problem with this thinking is that it would mean Pence had to avoid not just controversy, but also criminal behavior. But it seems it hasn’t worked out that way.
By associating himself with Donald Trump, Pence got his hands very dirty, and now many more people have figured that out, thanks to Robert Mueller.
Special Counsel Mueller released his heavily redacted 13-page sentencing memo for Michael Flynn on Tuesday night, he did NOT redact one key piece of information. The memo clearly states that the Trump transition team was heavily involved in Flynn’s illegal dealings with Russia.
And, as everyone now remembers, the person in charge of that transition team was none other than vice president-elect Mike Pence.
Earlier this year Mueller obtained all of the transition team’s emails, and that’s when the speculation started that both Pence and Jared Kushner — another transition team member — were in deep trouble.
Now that we know Flynn has sung like a canary to Mueller about all the dirty deeds of the transition team, things have gotten even worse for both Pence and Kushner.
Many people are now also remembering when the new vice president went on national television and declared to the world that Michael Flynn was clean as a whistle, and innocent of all charges.
However, before Pence did this, Congressman Elijah Cummings had notified Pence in writing that Flynn had committed perjury and lied about his contacts with foreign governments, especially Turkey.
Thanks to Mueller’s memo we know that Pence, while defending Flynn on TV, knew that the new National Security Adviser had also committed perjury and lied about his contacts with Russia.
In other words, the vice president has been caught in numerous lies, not only to the American people, but also to federal law enforcement authorities. It is very likely that the redacted portions of Mueller’s memo mention the name Mike Pence, and not in a good way.
Michael Flynn committed numerous crimes, and Mike Pence did everything possible to cover up those crimes, possibly because he was implicated in them also. In fact, Pence could face the same criminal charges that Mueller brought against Flynn.
Is Mike Pence about to be indicted in Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation?
A GOP source tells Jon Cooper it is a possibility.#TrumpRussia https://t.co/ufVml1Hbcm
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) December 1, 2018
Since Flynn met with Mueller’s team of crack prosecutors 19 times, there is nothing they don’t know about Flynn’s — and Pence’s — possible criminal behavior.
So what does all this mean? The implications might be much greater than most people realize. As one commentator said on Twitter:
“You know, if Mueller takes out Trump and Pence, we won’t have to worry about the GOP anymore. All their heads will simultaneously implode the first time they have to say “President Pelosi.”
You know, if Mueller takes out Trump and Pence, we won’t have to worry about the GOP anymore. All their heads will simultaneously implode the first time they have to say “President Pelosi.”
Former federal prosecutor Peter Zeidenberg says that special counsel Robert Mueller is building a “conspiracy case that will ensnare Donald Trump and his family.”
In a column published in USA Today Zeidenberg predicts that Mueller will soon lay out his case proving the existence of an illegal conspiracy between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russian operatives and friends of Vladimir Putin.
When he does this, Zeidenberg says, Mueller will “ensnare the president’s family.”
Former Trump personal attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen’s latest guilty plea supports this conclusion. Cohen admitted to lying to Congress about a deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. The deal was being negotiated while Trump was campaigning for the Republican Party’s nomination for the presidency, but Trump always denied it. If he had told the truth, it is likely that he would never have secured the GOP nomination, let alone the presidency.
Zeidenberg points out that with Cohen’s testimony Mueller now has evidence proving a motive to conspire with Russia to interfere in the election.
“The putative Moscow project helps provide motive for Trump to have curried favor with Putin.”
“Once Trump repeatedly and publicly denied having any business interests in Russia, Putin had leverage over Trump, because he knew this claim was an easily disprovable lie.”
Cohen also regularly briefed members of the Trump family — including Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump — with updates on the project.
According to Zeidenberg, these family members are now implicated in the conspiracy. He probably has additional evidence of this that will support Cohen’s testimony.
And to make the situation even more dire for the Trump family, they can be charged with felonies if they falsely told investigators that they knew little or nothing about Trump Tower Moscow. They may have lied to the FBI, to the special counsel investigators, and even to Congressional committees.
In his article, Zeidenberg points out:
“It appears that the Mueller investigation is reaching its endgame. After a two-month hiatus for the midterms, special counsel Robert Mueller‘s team is prepared to once again show its work. These developments are ominous for President Donald Trump. In short order, expect to see a case of conspiracy to interfere with the 2016 election to be laid out in court.”
“Defenders of the president have, despite the obvious progress of the Mueller investigation —
more than 30 indictments
Many people are very worried about Robert Mueller and his Russia investigation. Some people are worried that Donald Trump will undercut Mueller by issuing pardons. As Jason Easley from PoliticusUSA wrote yesterday:
“Democrats have been expecting that Trump would try to abuse the pardon power to obstruct justice since the Mueller investigation began. House Democrats are more than ready for Trump if he pardons Paul Manafort. It is clear that Trump is attempting to suffocate Robert Mueller’s investigation before Democrats have a chance to take power in January.”
Many people have also been worried that Trump appointed acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker for the purpose of stifling (or ending) Mueller’s investigation.
One aspect of this is the belief that Whitaker, as the acting head of the U.S. Department of Justice, has the power to prevent Mueller’s final Russia report from going public.
We know that Trump and other Republicans want to bury Mueller’s findings, but will they be able to use Whitaker to do that?
According to legal observers, that will not be easy to do. And in fact Mueller yesterday made clear that he plans to publicize his findings with respect to the case against Paul Manafort. His team filed a status report on Monday which included this language:
“The government will file a detailed sentencing submission to the Probation Department and the Court in advance of sentencing that sets forth the nature of the defendant’s crimes and lies, including those after signing the plea agreement herein.”
Yesterday’s Manafort news shows that there is a golden opportunity for Robert Mueller to address several aspects of the Russia investigation through a court filing. And he said he would do that with respect to Manafort when he wrote he “will file a detailed sentencing submission.”
In the past Mueller has released extensive grand jury information to the public in the form of extremely long and detailed indictment documents. These are called Mueller’s “speaking indictments.”
The Manafort document will similarly detail his lies and provide the public with a large amount of information. It won’t be an “indictment,” but it will be a very long, detailed, written narrative of the special counsel’s findings that will become a part of public record. And Matthew Whitaker won’t be able to stop Mueller from making this information public.
The reason this is important is that Paul Manafort is the central figure in the entire Mueller probe into collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. For example:
Paul Manafort had extensive Ukrainian lobbying connections, where he worked with allies and associates of Vladimir Putin and Russian oligarchs.
As Trump’s campaign chairman for five months in 2016 he was present during key moments when alleged collusion took place, such as the 2016 Trump Tower meeting involving Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer meeting about “dirt” on Hillary Clinton.
Manafort also is very close to his former lobbying partner Roger Stone, and they may have information Mueller can use to
prove the connection between Russian hackers, Wikileaks, and the Trump campaign.
President Donald Trump on Thursday tore into Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, saying that investigators have “gone absolutely nuts” and that they are “a disgrace” to the country.
“The inner workings of the Mueller investigation are a total mess. They have found no collusion and have gone absolutely nuts,” Trump tweeted. “They are screaming and shouting at people, horribly threatening them to come up with the answers they want. They are a disgrace to our Nation and don’t care how many lives the(y) ruin.”
He then focused his ire on Mueller, a former FBI director. He once again accused Mueller of having conflicts of interest, but provided no evidence to support his accusation. Mueller is a lifelong Republican and served under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
“These are Angry People, including the highly conflicted Bob Mueller, who worked for Obama for 8 years. They won’t even look at all of the bad acts and crimes on the other side,” he said. “A TOTAL WITCH HUNT LIKE NO OTHER IN AMERICAN HISTORY!”
The inner workings of the Mueller investigation are a total mess. They have found no collusion and have gone absolutely nuts. They are screaming and shouting at people, horribly threatening them to come up with the answers they want. They are a disgrace to our Nation and don’t…
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has become the new darling of the right-wing. And he strengthened his position Tuesday night by saying that if he becomes chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee he would “totally” investigate the FBI for the way it handled two major investigations:
“The oversight function will be very much front and center,” Graham said in an appearance on CNN.
Graham has seniority and thus is well-positioned to take over the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee if circumstances allow it. The current Chairman, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, may decide to leave Judiciary and become chairman of the Senate Finance Committee instead.
Graham in recent months has emerged as one of President Donald Trump’s strongest advocates in Congress. Previously they had been at odds after competing against each other in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries.
This is not the first time that the South Carolina senator has expressed his desire to look into previous FBI investigations. On several occasions he has suggested that a second special counsel should be appointed to look into GOP allegations of bias within the nation’s top law enforcement agency.
Also on Tuesday Graham said that he would support any bill in Congress that was introduced to protect special counsel Robert Mueller and his probe into Russian election interference. He also said, however, that he doesn’t believe there’s a need for it.
“I don’t see any movement to get rid of Mueller,” Graham said. “But it probably would be good to have this legislation in place just for the future.”
Last April Graham co-sponsored a bill to protect the Mueller investigation. His proposed legislation would codify Department of Justice regulations which say that only a senior official can fire Mueller or another special counsel.
Many members of Congress, including all Democrats and some Republicans, have been calling for legislation to protect the special counsel over the past week. This new development came about after President Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions and replaced him with acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.
Whitaker’s appointment has been extremely controversial. Some people believe it is illegal. Others say he has a conflict and must recuse himself from oversight of the special counsel’s investigation.
Whitaker had previously authored strongly-worded opinion pieces in which he argued for stifling Mueller’s funding and curbing the scope of his investigation.
In saying there is no need for legislation to protect Mueller Graham was echoing the words of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said the same thing last week. McConnell, however,
said he would not support legislation to protect Mueller
A California man accused by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office of operating an online auction service for stolen identities was sentenced to one year in prison on Wednesday in a federal district court.
K.T. McFarland's statement revised an earlier assertion to FBI agents that sanctions on Russia did not come up when she spoke to Flynn in December 2016 about his calls with Sergey Kislyak when he was the Russian ambassador to the United States, the newspaper said, quoting unidentified people familiar with the matter.
Rep, Adam Schiff (D-CA) said that Trump and his lawyers are terrified that Paul Manafort is cooperating with Robert Mueller.
The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll is in line with other recent polling that shows Trump‘s attacks on Mueller are backfiring.
63 percent of Americans support Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, with 52 percent saying they support it strongly; 29 percent oppose the probe.
Opinions on Mueller’s work also break down on partisan lines, with 61 percent of Republicans opposing the probe but an even larger 85 percent of Democrats expressing support. Among independents, however, a two-thirds majority of 67 percent back the investigation.
Trump has complained that Manafort was treated unfairly by Mueller’s prosecutors, and after a jury convicted Manafort earlier this month the president tweeted that he felt “very badly” for him.
But 67 percent of Americans think Mueller’s case against Manafort was justified, while 17 percent say it was unjustified, according to the poll.
The American people also oppose pardoning Manafort by a more than 3-1 margin.
Trump’s disapproval rating has risen to 60%. Not only are Democrats and Independents strongly against him, but the number of Republicans appears to be shrinking. Trump may be hitting the Republican Party with a double whammy. He is shrinking the size and potential appeal of the Republican Party while strengthening the political opposition to the GOP.
To Impeach or Not To Impeach
Before talks broke down, Paul Manafort was trying to cut a plea deal with Robert Mueller, in a sign that the rumblings about a pardon coming from the White House weren't good enough for Trump's former campaign chairman.
During an interview on The Rachel Maddow Show, Michael Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis, said that Cohen has information that Special Counsel Robert Mueller should be very interested in hearing.
The parallels between Watergate and the Russia scandal are growing as Michael Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, is getting advice from the man who brought down Nixon, John Dean.
While speaking with reporters as he left the White House, Trump blew up all of his administration's excuses for the FBI firings and revoking Brennan's security clearance by admitting that he is doing all of this to discredit Robert Mueller.
The NRA's problems might be even worse than imagined as legal experts say that Mueller already has their tax returns, according to MSNBC's Ari Melber.
Trump's lawyers are trying to prevent a presidential interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller because they are worried about Trump facing counts of witness tampering and obstruction of justice.
The House Freedom Caucus thought that they were helping Trump by trying to impeach Rod Rosenstein, instead, they made it easier for Trump to be impeached.
We’ve been reporting for some time that Donald Trump, Jr. could be sent to jail, and now it seems that his father may finally be realizing this himself.
The Washington Post and CNN have both reported that President Trump has privately been expressing increasing fears that his son Donald Trump Jr. may be in legal trouble. They say that Trump’s desperate posts on Twitter recently have been caused by these fears that the special counsel’s investigation may soon ensnare his namesake.
The president stepped up his social media attacks on Mueller last week and on Wednesday sent a tweet saying that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop the Mueller investigation “right now.” On Friday he sent over 20 unhinged tweets, reflecting his increased desperation.
The Post reported Saturday that Trump has told some of his advisers that he doesn’t believe his son broke any laws intentionally, but said he could have broken them accidentally.
“The president does not believe his son purposefully broke the law, but is fearful nonetheless that Trump Jr. inadvertently may have wandered into legal jeopardy,” the Post article said.
Don Jr. is in trouble partly because he set up the infamous Trump Tower meeting with a Kremlin attorney in June 2016, specifically for the purpose of getting damaging information about Hillary Clinton to help his father win the presidency.
He admitted this to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but then he also lied under oath and told the committee that his father didn’t know anything about the meeting ahead of time. (Note:
he may have told other lies to the committee also
Robert Mueller responded to Trump's interview conditions, and he is not going to agree to let the president only answer questions in writing.
Former US Attorney Barbara McQuade discussed how Rudy Giuliani got prosecutors closer to be able to charge the Trumps with the crime of conspiracy.
Robert Mueller is investigating Trump's tweets, so the president responded by attacking the Special Counsel on Twitter.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) delivered the message to Michael Cohen that now is the time to cooperate with Robert Mueller.
Video:
Rep. Swalwell said on MSNBC’s Deadline: White House:
We were as thorough as you could be on the democratic side without having subpoena power and without having Republicans across the table from us on these interviews who showed the same interest. And so, you know, we asked all of the questions that the public would expect us to ask, but the problem was that you know, Donald Trump, Jr., when asked about the Trump Tower meeting and conversations with his father, he refused to answer any of them. And when we asked chairman Conaway way who was presiding on the Republican side to subpoena Donald Trump, Jr., and force him to answer, they never forced him to do that. They were able to essentially answer the questions they wanted to answer and just walk away from the ones that got too close. But, you know, frankly, Nicolle, when I hear Michael Cohen through these sources say that Donald Trump knew about the meeting, that’s like telling us that the sun sets in the west.
We always knew that Donald Trump knew about the meeting because all of the evidence suggested that. He was very close with the family that had asked Donald Trump, Jr., to set up the meeting. He was one floor above where the meeting took place. Donald Trump, Jr., and his father talked about Donald Trump, jr.’s work on behalf of the campaign throughout the pendency of the campaign. And of course, there were the actions Donald Trump took after the meeting was exposed in his efforts to try and cover up the meeting by trying to dictate the statement that Donald Trump, Jr., gave to the press. It’s not really a surprise, but now is the time for Michael Cohen to cooperate with Bob Mueller. And if this was a real investigation on the house side, we would be bringing Michael Cohen and Donald Trump, Jr., back in. But unfortunately, the Republicans prematurely and irresponsibly ended our investigation. So this is all on Mueller now.
Tick-tock, Michael Cohen. Rep. Swalwell was correct. The longer that Trump’s former lawyer waits, the worse the consequences are going to be. There is a debate ongoing but Cohen’s motivations, but the easiest and most logical explanation is that Cohen is trying to save his own skin. Like any criminal who flips, Cohen is likely trying to send the signal that he can deliver the big fish (Trump), but time is running out, and if he wants to get the best deal possible, he needs to start talking now.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Rachel Maddow confirmed CNN's reporting that Michael Cohen said that Trump signed off on infamous Trump Tower meeting with the Russians and that Cohen is willing to tell Special Counsel Robert Mueller what he knows.
Trump's National Security Advisor, John Bolton, said in a statement that Trump would not be meeting with Putin again until the "witch hunt" is over.
Democrats are turning up the pressure as Americans across the country are demanding to see Trump's tax returns after his summit fiasco with Putin.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) told MSNBC that the battle to get testimony or the notes of the translator from Trump's private meeting with Putin isn't over and that Special Counsel Robert Mueller may be able to get the translator's notes.
Trump took to Twitter to suck up to Putin and tell him that his World Cup was the best ever ahead of their summit meeting.
House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) had a message for House Republicans and Trump. It doesn't matter how much they try to hide information, Bob Mueller knows.
Trump's House Republican defenders are making a new move to shut down the Mueller investigation by impeaching Rod Rosenstein.
In a court filing, Special Counsel Robert Mueller showed that even while locked up in jail, Paul Manafort is continuing to commit crimes by sending and receiving emails.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is calling on Special Counsel Robert Mueller to subpoena both President Donald Trump and his Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Paul Manafort being ordered to jail is another sign that Mueller in ending Trump’s world.
Video:
As NBC’s Pete Williams pointed out the calculus has now changed for Manafort, “Does that change his thinking about his strategy so far which has been to aggressively fight the government’s case. Will this cause him to reconsider and begin to enter into plea negotiations? I can’t answer that question but its to be noted this does change the circumstances now. The charges were filed by Robert Mueller in October. They have been adding to this case bit by bit. The latest charge they added was one of the things that happened in this hearing today was he was arraigned on new charges of witness tampering. That’s what led the judge to revoke his bail saying he agreed when he was let out on bail that he wouldn’t violate any laws. Now he’s charged with violating witness tampering laws even though his lawyer said what he did didn’t amount to the kind of witness tampering that Mueller was talking about. I think that’s the question. Does it change his calculus on how to go forward.”
Trump is doing his usual song and dance of downplaying his relationship with Paul Manafort in an effort to distance himself, but Manafort getting sent to jail is not only bad for Trump politically, but it also a sign of how much more is at stake for Trump beyond his presidency. Robert Mueller busted Manafort for crimes beyond the campaign. Mueller has the potential to not just end the Trump presidency, but to blow up his entire life. Trump’s family could end up in prison. If Mueller finds financial crimes, Trump’s money and his businesses could be gone.
Paul Manafort getting sent to jail is a reminder that the Special Counsel is likely to end Trump’s world.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
ABC News has just reported that Trump attorney/fixer Michael Cohen’s lawyers have quit and he will now start cooperating with federal prosecutors in New York, and possibly with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
At 10:26 a.m. today ABC posted the following news item:
“As attorneys for Michael Cohen rush to meet Judge Kimba Wood’s Friday deadline to complete a privilege review of over 3.7 million documents seized in the April 9 raids of Cohen’s New York properties and law office, a source representing this matter has disclosed to ABC News that the law firm handling the case for Cohen is not expected to represent him going forward.”
“To date, Cohen has been represented by Stephen Ryan and Todd Harrison of the Washington and New York firm, McDermott, Will & Emery LLP. No replacement counsel has been identified as of this time.”
“Cohen, now with no legal representation, is likely to cooperate with federal prosecutors in New York, sources said. This development, which is believed to be imminent, will likely hit the White House, family members, staffers and counsels hard.”
On a day when he is still basking in what he believes was a triumphant summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, President Donald Trump will no doubt be very upset if it is indeed true that Cohen has flipped and is cooperating with the special counsel’s probe.
Ultimately the news is not a surprise in that we have previously reported that not only is Cohen likely to flip but he also probably has tapes of his private conversations with President Trump. When the FBI raided Cohen‘s offices and hotel room it was expected that they had obtained mountains of evidence, and much of it might incriminate both Cohen and Trump since they had worked closely together on Trump’s shady deals for decades.
If the FBI and Department of Justice have in their files documentary evidence proving that Cohen has committed numerous federal and state crimes, then there is very little doubt that they have already held discussions with Cohen’s lawyers about cutting a deal with the prosecutors.
This is a developing story, and it is not clear what will happen next. But the fact the Cohen’s lawyers have quit and he is currently without counsel is an indication that there will soon be some very big announcements in this case. And if events play out as anticipated, these announcements will be very bad news for the President of the United States
Mueller's indictment of Manafort for witness tampering should scare Trump's mass media witness tamperer Sean Hannity.
Robert Mueller filed a superseding indictment against Paul Manafort for obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The New York Times is reporting today that two of Paul Manafort’s closest associates turned on him and gave evidence to Robert Mueller leading to the special counsel filing new charges of witness tampering against President Trump‘s former campaign chairman.
The associates are veteran journalists who had previously worked with Manafort in the Ukraine, where they had extensive and lucrative client relationships with the leaders there who had close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the Times, the journalists helped Manafort with important consulting and lobbying work he had been hired to do while attempting to help save the reputation of former Putin friend Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.
The work in question was funded by Manafort with a $2.4 million transfer of funds from a foreign bank account, according to the Times.
It is not known what caused the two journalists and former business associates to turn on Manafort. It is known, however, that because they did turn against their former associate Mueller had the evidence he needed to file the new charges of witness tampering against him.
Normally what happens in these situations is that the prosecutors confront potential witnesses with evidence showing them that they can also be charged with crimes. In order to avoid their own jail time they often “flip” and agree to give testimony in exchange for the lenient treatment. That is probably what happened here, according to reports.
The journalists reportedly told Mueller that starting in February they were contacted by Manafort who in various ways attempted to influence what they told the special counsel. The charges filed by Mueller said that Manafort was trying to cover up the illegal work he had done in the Ukraine, and had attempted to coerce witnesses to change their testimony to support the lies he had been telling Mueller‘s team.
The work in the Ukraine was the subject of several of the indictments issued by Mueller against Manafort last fall. The charges included tax fraud, bank fraud and money laundering, among other things. Manafort has so far pleaded innocent to all charges, although there is speculation that with the latest witness tampering charges this may change. Many believe he will “flip” soon and cooperate with the prosecutors in their investigation of Donald Trump‘s alleged crimes.
Manafort has to appear in court Friday and the judge will decide whether or not to revoke his bail and force him to
spend the time remaining until his criminal trials are over in jail
Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee called on American voters to “throw the bums out” of Congress during appearances on Sunday morning talk shows. He was referring to Republican leaders who he accused of trying to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has been more vocal lately in his criticisms of President Trump, calling out the president for saying the Russia investigation is “phony” and also blaming him for higher gas prices.
After Trump tweeted that the Mueller probe is a “phony Russia Collusion Witch Hunt” Schumer responded very quickly, also on Twitter. The Senate Majority Leader wrote:
“I hate repeating myself Mr. President, but let me remind you again: Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation has either indicted or secured guilty pleas from 19 people and three companies — that we know of.”
I hate repeating myself Mr. President, but let me remind you again: Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation has either indicted or secured guilty pleas from 19 people and three companies — that we know of. https://t.co/OOb5mfy1dR
MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace, host of Deadline: White House, has had it with Donald Trump’s propaganda, and has reached a point of utter frustration, as a direct result of it, so much so that she refused to share with her viewers any more of the plethora of Tweets Trump spewed Friday morning regarding the Russian investigation.
And you know what, folks? Other conservative media personalities would do well to follow Wallace’s lead. While it appears the majority of conservatives feel just fine repeating Trump’s utter bullsh$t, there will be a price to pay, sooner or later. That price is called credibility, folks.
Simply put: Repeating Trump’s lies and persistent propaganda to the public through our airwaves about this investigation is not only insulting every American’s intelligence, but is also being purposefully put out for public consumption by Mr. Trump with one goal: to cast doubt on the Special Counsel’s findings, which are now looking that findings of guilt are imminent for Trump and those associated with his campaign.
That is, given the plethora of news of late, it appears Mueller will find Trump guilty of obstruction of justice, conspiracy against the United States, or both.
No amount of normalizing this man as President will counter this reality and Wallace, a well-known Republican and former Communications Director for the Bush White House is having no more of it.
During her broadcast yesterday, Wallace said the following regarding Trump’s latest accusation that a “spy infiltrated his campaign at the direction of our previous President, Barack Obama;”
“It started with Donald Trump making up about the FBI spies implanted in his campaign,” Wallace said. “It exploded to the point where the Justice Department had to brief lawmakers about what actually happened. And finally today, after those classified meetings where the only public statements we’ve heard have shot down the original allegation, the conspiracy theory seems to have been largely debunked for everyone but Donald Trump and his allies.”
Wallace then began to read some of the Tweets Trump placed on Twitter, in what appears to be a lame attempt by him to “make the public doubt the conclusions reached by the Special Counsel,” should guilt be reported by him as many analysts expect.
Trump began his tirade yesterday morning with the following Tweet:
“The Democrats are now alluding to the the concept that having an Informant placed in an opposing party’s campaign is different than having a Spy, as illegal as that may be. But what about an “Informant” who is paid a fortune and who “sets up” way earlier than the Russian Hoax?”
Regardless of what Trump wants to sell this nation as a diversion to the political scandal that is
enormously worse
If you’ve been reading our recent stories about Donald Trump Jr. you know that the noose is tightening around the president’s son and namesake. It is very possible that these stories have caused panic in the White House and they may be an explanation for some of the president’s increasingly erratic behavior.
Every day or two a new report emerges about Don Jr.’s involvement in meetings with Russians or other foreigners trying to illegally influence U.S. elections. A pattern has emerged of Don Jr. trying to sell out the United States while helping to get his father elected president. And now some new evidence has emerged which may be the nail in Jr.’s coffin.
Two weeks ago Don Jr. testified in the U.S. Senate and implicated his father in the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting. Yesterday a senator accused Jr. of lying to Congress during Senate testimony last year, saying he should be prosecuted for perjury. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) recently pointed out that Trump’s son could be a target in the Russia investigation.
Just a week ago the story broke that
in August of 2016 there was a second Trump Tower meeting
During his Sunday madness tweet storm over the Russia investigation, Trump claimed that anyone who supports the Russia investigation is not a real American.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) explained that Mueller is not going to indict Trump and hand the decision over to some jury, but instead, he will turn any findings of criminal activity by the president over to the Deputy Attorney General, which makes Rod Rosenstein a very important part of this process.
Officials at the Department of Justice are warning that House Intelligence Committee chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), is abusing the power of his position to collect government secrets that he can weaponize and use against Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
The New York Times reported, “But increasingly, top officials at the Justice Department have privately expressed concern that the lawmakers are simply mining government secrets for information they can weaponize against those investigating the president, including the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. Mr. Nunes was unconvinced by the warnings about the intelligence and law enforcement source, first issuing a subpoena ordering that the Justice Department comply with his latest records request and then a pointed threat to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions — who is not involved in the case — in contempt of Congress.”
Nunes has been Trump’s stooge in the House from day one. The chairman of Intelligence Committee has abused his investigative authority to first derail the Russia investigation in the House, and now he has moved on to trying amass information that could be used as a justification for firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Nunes isn’t looking for information to use to discredit the Special Counsel report.
Rep. Nunes is first trying to get information on the progress of the investigation, which he will turn over to Trump, and then he is looking for anything that could give Trump a basis for firing Mueller.
Devin Nunes is the mole that is trying to destroy the Russia investigations from within. His abuse of power alone has made him worthy of an investigation, but it is his decision to put Trump and Russia ahead of the United States that is a treasonous crime against his own country.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Rudy Giuliani is digging Trump's political grave by inventing fake quotes about the investigation from Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Trump is so far off the reservation that he is claiming that Republican Special Counsel Robert Mueller is a Democrat who worked for Obama for eight years. Neither of these statements is true.
Video:
Trump said, “But you have a group of investigators that are all Democrats. In some cases, they went to the Hillary Clinton celebration that turned out to be a funeral. So you have all these investigators that are Democrats. In all fairness, Bob Mueller worked for Obama for eight years.”
The Special Counsel is not a Democrat. He is a Republican. Robert Mueller did not work for Obama for eight years. He was replaced as FBI Director by James Comey in 2013. In 2011, Obama asked Mueller to say on beyond his initial ten-year term, and the Senate approved his request.
Trump is in complete meltdown mode, and he is inventing reasons out of thin air for why he can’t sit down for an interview with the Special Counsel. The investigation is not a biased witch hunt against him. The Russia investigation is being run by members of Trump’s own party.
Facts matter. The fact is that Trump is lying and running away from doing an interview with Mueller.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
There is one notable person who:
Robert Mueller isn't playing. As the Trump team was engaged in tense discussions with the Special Counsel, they tried to claim that the president didn't have to speak to Mueller, the Special Counsel replied that he could subpoena the president.
Ivana Trump is famous for being the president’s first wife and for giving him the nickname “The Donald.” It also seems, based on a recent interview, that she may be in agreement with Robert Mueller on something important. She thinks her daughter Ivanka should leave Washington and get out of politics.
“I would prefer if she would move back to New York,” Ivana said, speaking about her daughter. “Politics is a very dirty business. If she went back to running her fashion business she would be her own boss.”
(In the same interview Ivana said that she thinks The Donald should not run for re-election in 2020 but should go play golf instead. Also, she said she would not want to be First Lady, and she feels sorry for Melania.)
In the meantime, MSNBC reported yesterday that “
White House senior advisors Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have gone “underground” amidst special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigations.”
Several rumors continue circulating that Mr. Trump wants to fire the Deputy Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice, Rod Rosenstein, or Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, with reports by major media outlets such as The Washington Post and The New York Times, confirming such speculation.
And despite these speculations, Republicans seem content to march this nation towards a constitutional crisis.
Bipartisan legislation moving slowly through the Senate ultimately will face Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader who does not see a need to pass such legislation when he states:
“I haven’t seen a clear indication yet that we needed to pass something to keep him from being removed because I don’t think that’s going to happen, and that remains my view,” McConnell told reporters.”
According to Roll Call, “the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote in two weeks” on the measure, but also notes the hurdles the bill faces, the “push back by McConnell,” and a “likely veto from Mr. Trump himself,” as noted by several sources.
In addition, House Speaker Paul Ryan, when asked by Chuck Todd on Meet the Press yesterday, whether he would allow the bill to the floor to be voted upon said this:
“I don’t think it’s necessary,” the Wisconsin Republican said during an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” when specifically asked whether he would bring such a bill to the House floor if it passed the Senate. “I don’t think he’s going to fire Mueller.”
At best, the Republicans’ response is tepid when considering this legislation meaning that should this matter be pushed far enough leading the nation into a constitutional crisis, blame can be placed squarely at the republicans’ feet.
Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) who co-sponsored one of the bills to protect Robert Mueller indicates the legislation is “more urgent than ever” in light of Mr. Trump’s comments made about Mueller last Monday after his lawyer and long time friend, Michael Cohen’s properties were raided, and added this:
“I appreciate that all of my Republican colleagues appreciate the risk to the rule of law that an inappropriate, abrupt firing of the special counsel by the President would create,” Coons said. “I am deeply puzzled by the lack of urgency or motivation to take some simple measured steps to address it.”
To be clear: The term constitutional crisis is an oft used phrase in the media, when discussing problematic issues of government, however it has very real ramifications for our country, and its meaning should not be lost.
Most political scientists agree that a constitutional crisis occurs when “a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve.”
For example, if our constitution provides a remedy for a problem which arises, but it is considered by a party or parties within the body politic to not be feasible to follow, a constitutional crisis ensues.
Watch the following video from The Rachel Maddow Show to learn what a constitutional crisis is:
Critics of the proposed legislation by Republicans in the Senate rightfully point out how the bipartisan proposal only protects Mueller. Yet, last week a barrage of speculation occurred when Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders when asked about Rosenstein’s future, cryptically stated she “didn’t have any announcements at this time.”
With much of the media’s focus on Mueller, should Mr. Trump fire Rosenstein he could place someone in that position who would then control the investigation by Mr. Mueller. In effect, that person could even shut the investigation down.
As CNBC reports, if Rosenstein were fired, Solicitor General Noal Francisco would be his replacement. This maneuver should not be taken lightly as Francisco recently “intervened in a Securities and Exchange Commission case and reasserted Trump’s constitutional ability to hire and fire basically all federal authorities.”
The Los Angeles Times reports that Francisco states the following regarding the issue:
“The Constitution gives the president what the framers saw as the traditional means of ensuring accountability: the power to oversee executive officers through removal,” Francisco said in the case, the newspaper reported.”
And this analysis deals specifically with the nation allowing Mueller to do his job so the American people know what occurred during the 2016 presidential election. What happens if Mueller is allowed to conclude? What obstacles does the nation face then?
Greg Sargent, Opinion Writer spells those obstacles out in his Washington Post piece today.
After pointing to the “grave charges” made by former Federal Bureau of Investigations Director, James Comey, during his interview last night, Sargent wonders how much we, the American people, will learn should “Comey’s hints at just how serious Mueller’s findings could end up being on multiple fronts.”
Watch Comey’s interview with USA Today below:
Sargent explains how Mueller due to regulations will file a “confidential report” to the deputy attorney general.
Per those same regulations, according to Sargent, the deputy attorney general is
then supposed to provide
You know Donald Trump is feeling pretty threatened right now. Not only does he have Robert Mueller and Stormy Daniels to worry about, but James Comey’s book comes out on Tuesday.
Trump and the Republican National Committee are doing their best to discredit the former FBI Director, and this morning’s attacks by the president on Twitter are just his latest efforts to do this.
But as usual whenever Trump takes to Twitter he is more likely to communicate that he is losing touch with reality than he is to communicate anything meaningful about Comey or anything else.
To prove this point we are showing below Trump’s Sunday morning tweets.
Worst FBI Director in history?
“Slippery James Comey, a man who always ends up badly and out of whack (he is not smart!), will go down as the WORST FBI Director in history, by far!”
Slippery James Comey, a man who always ends up badly and out of whack (he is not smart!), will go down as the WORST FBI Director in history, by far!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 15, 2018
Still mad about the FBI raid on his lawyer Michael Cohen’s office, and also showing his ignorance about the scope of the attorney-client privilege.
“Attorney Client privilege is now a thing of the past. I have many (too many!) lawyers and they are probably wondering when their offices, and even homes, are going to be raided with everything, including their phones and computers, taken. All lawyers are deflated and concerned!”
Attorney Client privilege is now a thing of the past. I have many (too many!) lawyers and they are probably wondering when their offices, and even homes, are going to be raided with everything, including their phones and computers, taken. All lawyers are deflated and concerned!
The New York Daily News reported yesterday that Michael Cohen owes New York nearly $54,000 in unpaid taxi medallion taxes. This points out a couple of important things.
One is that Cohen may have broken state laws and has legal jeopardy for those possible crimes. The other is that the FBI raid on Cohen’s offices was not just about Donald Trump, but was about obtaining evidence to charge Cohen for crimes he committed.
After hearing about the raid on his lawyer’s office the president went on an anti-FBI rant and tweeted that “the attorney-client privilege is dead” but according to the Washington Post that is not true. This privilege covers confidential communications between a person and his or her lawyer only. The privilege exists so that lawyers won’t be asked to testify against their clients, which makes sense.
But this privilege does not and never has protected lawyers from crimes they themselves commit. Needless to say there is a lot of confusion on this topic showing up in the press, as well as in the president’s tweets.
The Washington Post reported that “Michael Cohen, the longtime attorney of President Trump, is under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations.”
Apparently Cohen also owes New York state unpaid taxes through the lucrative taxi medallions he owns. He has blamed his partner Gene Friedman, a Russian immigrant who has been previously charged with taxi medallion tax fraud by New York.
Talking Points Memo reported that “The Russian-born taxi baron is just one of Cohen’s many business connections to the former Soviet Union who boasts a long rap sheet; Cohen also joined up with his old pal Felix Sater, a convicted felon and former business partner of the President’s, to deliver a Ukraine “peace plan” to the Trump administration earlier this year.”
According to Preet Bharara, a former US attorney in New York, Cohen almost certainly will be charged with crimes. He said the FBI wouldn’t have been able to obtain search warrants for the president’s personal attorney without a great deal of evidence that constitutes “probable cause” for the search.
“I predict, as we saw with Paul Manafort, that if they decided they had enough evidence to engage in a very aggressive, a very aggressive move, that the likelihood that Michael Cohen is going to be charged is high,” Bharara said.
So even though Cohen may know a lot
about Donald Trump’s shady business affairs
During Mr. Trump’s meltdown on Monday night, prior to his meeting with his security team regarding the issue of Syria, the reader might recall a reporter asking Mr. Trump quite an unusual question:
“Why don’t you just fire Mueller?”
If you find this unusual, it might be because it is. Taunting a sitting president to fire the Special Counsel assigned to getting to the bottom of the well established finding that Russia interfered with our election process in 2016, with the “intent of seeing Trump elected to the Oval Office,” seems a bit untoward, if not downright suggestive, right?
As we now reflect back, it is this question which allowed Mr. Trump’s following response:
“Well, I think it’s a disgrace what’s going on. We’ll see what happens. But I think it’s really a sad situation when you look at what happened. And many people have said, “You should fire him.” Again, they found nothing. And in finding nothing, that’s a big statement. If you know the person who’s in charge of the investigation, you know about that. Deputy [Attorney General Rod J.] Rosenstein — Rod Rosenstein — he wrote the letter, very critical, of [former FBI director James B.] Comey.”
As Steve Schmidt, former McCain Lead Strategist said on The Eleventh Hour when asked his opinion by Nicole Wallace, guest host for that night, what his thoughts were regarding Mr. Trump’s behavior, Schmidt responded:
“Well, I thought what we saw today was extremely disturbing, Nicole. We see Donald Trump with his arms crossed, like a dime-store Mussolini, saying that an attack on the country, um, is what the result of a legally executed search warrant on his private attorney.”
This is all old news to us, but what isn’t old is why anyone from the press pool would ask such a question, right?
Given the reported history of Mr. Trump’s disdain for Mr. Comey, Mr. Mueller, Mr. Rosenstein, Mr. Sessions, or anyone from the Justice Department investigating this matter, why the did that reporter ask this specific question?
And apparently, I am not the only one asking why someone would ask such a question.
According to the Washington Post, a Twitter user with the handle @Mister_Hol_Up and others ask the exact same question framing the matter this way:
“I wanna know who the guy is in the press that yells “Why don’t you just fire the guy (Mueller)?”
Answer: The reporter, Jon Decker a radio reporter from Fox News and White House correspondent seems to have goaded the President towards taking the step of firing Special Counsel Mueller.
Appearing on a conservative radio talk show, hosted by conservative commentator, Kevin Miller, Decker conveyed his sense of awe when asking Mr. Trump such a question.
Said Decker:
“And I don’t know if you know this, Kevin, but it was me who actually asked the question to the president, ‘Why don’t you just fire Mueller?’ And the president responded to that, which was pretty remarkable in terms of what he was telling us and obviously telling the rest of the American public.”
I’ll bet.
To be clear: Fox News and the conservative media entertainment complex all seem frothing for Trump to fire Mueller.
Whether it be Trump’s longtime friend, Jeanine Pirro acting like a judge on Fox News network, or Sean Hannity, or any conservative these days, one thing is clear: all seem hell-bent on protecting Mr. Trump from the Mueller probe.
Why?
Could it be that Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s longtime friend and lawyer is also the National Deputy Campaign Finance Manager for the Republican National Committee and that the FBI’s recent raid just might place others in the republican party in peril?
We don’t know.
Reluctant to intervene while denying any need for suggested legislation to protect Mueller as of yesterday, these were some of the responses by GOP lawmakers when asked about the Trump’s recent threat:
Senator John Kennedy (R-LA)
“I think it would provoke some sort of reaction by Congress. I think he knows that,” Kennedy said on CNN’s “New Day,” adding that “the president can’t just fire Mr. Mueller. He’s got to direct Mr. Rosenstein to fire him, and I don’t think Mr. Rosenstein would do it.”
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
“I have “confidence” in the special counsel, and “it would be “I think it would be a massive mistake for the president to do anything to interfere with this investigation,” said Corker, adding, “he knows most every Republican senator feels that way.”suicide for the president to fire Mueller.”
Senator Bob Corker (R-TN)
“I think it would be a massive mistake for the president to do anything to interfere with this investigation,” said Corker, adding, “he knows most every Republican senator feels that way.”
Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC)
He didn’t think “Trump was likely to dismiss either man because he knew “it would be the beginning of the end of his presidency.”
So there we have it. According to the lawmakers above, we are to simply trust Mr. Trump, and I might add, take them at their word, this when they have refused to do anything legislatively to protect the Special Counsel.
Never mind that Mr. Trump has fired Sally Yates, with Andrew McCabe losing his job days before his pension would have kicked in, and believes it the Attorney General’s job to protect him, versus the laws of our land. Remember: He is the “
law and order
Ever since The Washington Post reported two days ago, that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team, in an attempt to interview Mr. Trump, told Trump’s legal team that Trump was being investigated, but that Mr. Mueller “does not consider him a criminal target at this point,” a parade of pundits and analysts have chimed in to provide Americans with an analysis of what this may mean for Mr. Trump.
Much of this discussion has focused on the legal distinction between what Federal prosecutors consider a “subject” and “target,” in an investigation. Still, other discussions have focused on the divisiveness of Mr. Trump’s advisers, with some arguing Mueller’s news “an assurance,” and others rightfully noting how “subjects” often turn into “targets” during the course of an investigation.
My colleague, Sean Colarossi deals with that distinction quite handily in his reporting the night the Post broke the story, while reminding the reader that Mr. Mueller was in fact, preparing a report on Mr. Trump.
Mr. Colarossi’s reporting aligns with the Post’s as they report:
“The special counsel also told Trump’s lawyers that he is preparing a report about the president’s actions while in office and potential obstruction of justice, according to two people with knowledge of the conversations.”
Our house is divided.
Despite Mr. Trump’s continued assault on Robert Mueller, and the investigation he is tasked with, one might be wondering where the Republican profiles in courage are these days. Why the near deafening silence, save the voices such as Senator Flake (R-AZ), Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), or Lindsey Graham (R-SC), or the few others? Yes, the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell publicly expressed his support for Mueller to complete his work, while criticizing Trump for congratulating Vladimir Putin on his “election,” yesterday, he believes it “not necessary” to protect Mueller legislatively.
Earlier this morning Trump resumed his assault by referencing himself in the “third-person” stating in a Tweet:
“Special Counsel is told to find crimes , whether a crime exists or not. I was opposed to the selection of Mueller to be Special Counsel. I am still opposed to it. I think President Trump was right when he said there never should have been a Special Council appointed because (…) there was no probable cause for believing that there was any crime, collusion or otherwise, or obstruction of justice! So stated by Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz.”
Referring to the legal scholar’s op-ed in The Hill, Trump is cleverly attempting to lay the groundwork as the overwhelming majority of analysts agree, in advancing the same argument Dershowtiz makes: Supposedly, the Special Counsel should have never been appointed in the first place because “no evidence of a crime existed.”
While Dershowitz’s opinion is persuasive, he neglects to point out how it was George Papadopoulos who led the Federal Bureau of Investigation to commence investigating the Trump campaign, coupled with Michael Flynn’s voice, Trump’s then appointed National Security Advisor, being heard by our intelligence communities’ surveillance of Russian actors that expanded the investigation.
Instead, for Dershowitz, Mueller must find some guilt, lest the taxpayers go away unhappy all while reinforcing how correct it is for the citizenry to question the political motives of investigators all due to the hyperpartisanship existent in our nation. In other words, according to Dershowitz, the public cannot trust any public official due to that official’s political leaning.
With House Democrats seeking to insert a provision into the upcoming Omnibus Spending Bill ensuring Mueller’s investigation is protected, it appears Republicans want to have it both ways. That is, they express support in public for the investigation, but do not seem to have the fortitude to actually enact any legislation which could protect and preserve the Special Counsel’s work. Why?
According to Greg Sargent from the Washington Post, Senator Corker from Tennessee provides us insight when he tells the Washington Examiner the following:
“The president is, as you know — you’ve seen his numbers among the Republican base — it’s very strong. It’s more than strong, it’s tribal in nature,” said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who decided to retire when his second term concludes at year’s end, after periodically sparring with Trump.*
“People who tell me, who are out on trail, say, look, people don’t ask about issues anymore. They don’t care about issues. They want to know if you’re with Trump or not,” Corker added.”
Admittedly, Republicans “
sponsored
Groupthink, a term coined by social psychologist Irving Janis in 1972, occurs when a group makes faulty decisions leading to a “deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgement.”
Key characteristics of this phenomenon are: excessive optimism coupled with the encouragement of taking greater risks, collective rationalization as members of the group discount warnings, a belief in the rightness of the group’s cause, stereotyped views of those outside the group, an inherent understanding to not question the ‘group’s decisions, self-censorship ensuring deviation from the group’s beliefs or doubts of consensus ignored, a faulty perception that the views expressed by the group are unanimous, and the presence of ‘mind-guards’; individuals within the group protecting members from contradictory information which has the potential to alter one’s views.
History is replete with examples of this phenomenon taking place leading to extremely poor outcomes. Whether being caught off guard regarding the bombing of Peal Harbor, the Bay of Pigs fiasco, to George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq, and some of the most egregious examples such as Jim Jones leading over nine-hundred people to take their own lives, or the tragic space ship Challenger exploding over our Floridian skies?
This makes late last night’s reporting by the Washington Post, that Trump is going to remove yet another adult in the room, General H.R. McMaster as his national security advisor all the more disconcerting. Included in the Post’s report is the premise that Trump while considering McMaster’s replacement, is also set to replace several more high-ranking officials within his administration. While Trump’s Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, issued a statement denying such a move, it should be noted that the report additionally comes from the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, and it has been previously reported that such a move was forthcoming by Nicole Wallace on March 1, 2018.
While it is normal for administrations to have some staffing changes as they mature, it is well-known that Trump has felt constrained by his current Cabinet, and that he is seeking those individuals who share his worldview, specifically his America First, or what many consider his White Nationalist agenda. As reported by the New York Times earlier this week, it is becoming clear that Trump is attempting to surround himself with those who reinforce his views, rather than serve in the traditional advisory role which serves to provide the President with a diverse array of options on any given decision.
Reporting from the New York Times, Mark Landler, Maggie Haberman, and Gardiner Harris state:
“It also suggests that after a year of chaotic on-the-job training, Mr. Trump has developed more confidence in his own instincts and wants aides and cabinet members with whom he has good chemistry and who embrace his positions.
Many may be tempted to ask what the big deal is since Americans have an expectation for presidents to begin developing more confidence, but consider what it taking place globally as we speak. Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a public warning to all Americans regarding Russians attacking our cyber infrastructure. As the Washington Times reports:
“In a separate move, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are warning the public about Russian attempts since at least March 2016 to compromise the energy sector and other critical industries, including water, aviation, critical manufacturing and energy. Accompanying the alert are malware “indicators” to help companies detect Russian intrusions.”
And, lest anyone has forgotten: A former Russian double-agent and his daughter were poisoned over in the United Kingdom leading Prime Minister, Teresa May to expel twenty-three diplomats from the Kingdom due to the nerve agent used, and Russia’s violation of basic Geneva Convention rules by releasing that agent and placing Britain’s citizens at risk.
While the current Administration has finally placed the sanctions Congress passed
overwhelmingly
Yesterday, British Prime Minister Teresa May made clear that the nation of Russia was highly likely responsible, according to their evidence, for the poisoning of a former Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury on March 4. She made clear – before the House of Commons – that the substance either came directly from Russia or was distributed to another actor by Russia, in order to administer the poison. Either way, the Prime Minister’s conclusion was that Russia was most likely responsible.
It has been also reported that Sarah Huckabee Sanders, when questioned extensively about this issue by the press during yesterday’s briefing, specifically about Trump’s feelings about “Russia engaging in a chemical warfare of sorts,” at most, provided affirmation that “the United States stands by its ally (Great Britain) but refused to acknowledge the role Russia played in the poisoning. The most negative thing Sanders seemed able to muster was how the event was an outrage, but avoided pointing the finger at Russia. As a reader and American citizen we all need to be asking one question: Why? Under any other Administration the reaction would have been swift, decisive and declarative.
Rex Tillerson, now former Secretary of State, and about number 51 to leave the revolving door of the Trump Administration, who also learned of his termination via Tweet this morning, made a statement about that particular incident of poisoning on his flight back from Nigeria yesterday while opining about the incident. Reported by the Washington Post, the following was stated:
“U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson cast the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain as part of a “certain unleashing of activity” by Russia that the United States is struggling to understand. He warned that the poisoning would “certainly trigger a response.”
Tillerson went further and stated: “I cannot understand why anyone would take such an action. But this is a substance that is known to us and does not exist widely,” Tillerson told reporters as he flew from Nigeria to Washington. “It is only in the hands of a very, very limited number of parties.” Indeed.
According to the Prime Minister of Britain, the nerve agent Novichock, ” used against ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, was developed by the Soviet Union near the end of the Cold War.”
This morning, Tillerson was fired, and furthermore, The Post is reporting that nobody “was more surprised than Rex Tillerson.”
So please tell me: Why does this President or anyone in his Administration have such difficulty saying anything negative about Russia, its President, or what takes place at the hands of Russians? Why no sanctions? Not a word, it seems, on any single negative development in Russia. Even Vice-President, Mike Pence has marginalized the impact of the Russians meddling in our electoral process. Pence went so far as to argue in an interview with Mike Allen, from Axios, the following:
“The first thing we all agree on is that irrespective of efforts that were made in 2016 by foreign powers, it is the universal conclusion of our intelligence communities that none of those efforts had any effect on the outcome of the 2016 election.”
And yet, those who support this President with unfettered loyalty wonder aloud, what the big deal is should it be proven that Russia, did in fact, interfere with the election and Trump campaign officials assisted? It appears these individuals neglect to realize that if Russia tampered – as it is believed – with our election assisting Donald Trump to becoming President, a debt will need to be paid back to them by the President. Could this lame reaction by the President and his administration regarding what is arguably an act of terror on one of our strongest allies be one such example? Why the difficulty? Why the delay? Even Trump’s comment on the incident, made today, reflects a cognitive dissonance of sorts when he opined on the matter earlier today by saying:
“Washington will condemn Moscow if it agrees with Britain’s findings, adding that he would discuss the incident with May” (Emphasis mine).
If it agrees? With both intelligence apparatuses being considered near equals, what would it take to convince Trump, especially should our intelligence community agree, that Britain’s findings were realistic? Further, what if the intelligence communities agree, but Trump refuses to acknowledge those findings?
Yet, Congressional Republicans have shut down the committee tasked with investigating Russian interference with our election and whether the Trump campaign worked with them during the 2016 cycle, repeating the oft stated words of Trump: “No collusion.” In effect, this Committee has broken with their own intelligence community’s assessment. But wait: That was not this Committee’s reason for being established, was it? No. It surely was not! It was established to get to the bottom of exactly what took place during the 2016 election and how Russia interfered in our election, preventing it from taking place again.
Recently, the head of the NSA again reiterated how this operation of infiltration into our electoral process is ongoing. Also, the State Department was provided resources to counter this effort and to date, not one single penny has been spent. Worse? Mr. Trump has not issued
one single directive
Each time another ex-Trump confidant flips on their former boss and starts cooperating with Mueller, the special counsel gets another building block in its growing case against Trump.
"This is cringe-worthy stuff for a counterintelligence professional. It's the weaponization of classified intelligence for political purposes."
Trump's lawyers are now urging him to refuse an interview with Robert Mueller, citing the president's inability to tell the truth.
"It gins up [Trump's] base and it may help him politically, but legally it’s of no moment. ... I think the Republicans over-promised and under-delivered with their memo."
After the Nunes memo turned out to be an incredible flop, Donald Trump scurried off to his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida on Saturday.
The U.S. Justice Department has backed Special Counsel Robert Mueller over a lawsuit filed against him by Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, and argued that the case should be dismissed.
The president's decision-making is being driven by right-wing conspiracy theorists – not his own intelligence community or law enforcement agencies. Think about how dangerous that is for the country.
The misleading cover story crafted by the administration aboard Air Force One is under intense scrutiny as part of Mueller's investigation.
"They are all going to go down with the ship if they are seen as trying to protect against the truth coming out in this investigation."
Delusional fantasies like this are proof that, behind the scenes, Donald Trump is panicking – and he has good reason to.
All of the interviews shown in the clip took place after Trump reportedly ordered White House counsel to remove Mueller from his post.
"See, the whole plot to destroy the Trump presidency is about a disgruntled former golfer who didn't like his greens fees and he held onto the grudge for years."
Trump made the order last June, but he was forced to back down when the top White House lawyer said he would resign before going through with it.
The congressman shredded his Republican colleagues for trading their integrity for the "momentary sugar high" of protecting Donald Trump.
The White House legal team really doesn't want Donald Trump to be interviewed by Robert Mueller.
"The point was they didn't care what was in the underlying documents. They wanted to make a political statement and feed the beast on Fox News."
