The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: No smocking guns. - Page 1814 - Politics and Economics

But you can't be confident you got an accurate picture of what's going on in the White House from that article. With a bunch of unattributed gossip, you almost certainly didn't, but you were given no information to deduce who was trying to influence your opinion to their view of events.

If the choices are reprinting Kellyanne Conway's background dirt and Bannon's gossip given to you off the record, Huckabee propaganda, or nothing, then news outlets should do nothing. There's honestly no real qualitative difference between Conway off the record and Huckabee/Spicer at the podium, it's just bull**** with a different pretense.

OBVIOUSLY if Conway is saying, hey, here's a scoop, off the record, if it comes from me I'll be fired, then perhaps they should print it anonymously sourced. Hard to say. CNN owes it to its readers to justify why they gave anonymity. It's far more likely these people like Conway and Bannon are super powerful highly paid/experienced media spin agents just plying anonymity because it's convenient and more useful for them, and CNN is acquiescing in exchange for access/scoops. That's decidedly a bad journalism practice; that's how the media gets gamed doing the interests and bidding of the powerful and spreading propaganda uncritically.

If your beat is the White House, you have contacts and sources. By past history you could be able to tell with a pretty good degree of certainty whether their information was credible. Finding out what's happening in the white house in response to Don Jr. is a totally reasonable assignment.

Your sources wouldn't talk to you at all if you insisted upon using their identities. Thus there is no story except for Sarah's propaganda. Maybe someday that's all we'll be able to get. Especially if people on both political sides are united in making that happen.

Meantime, you shouldn't conflate "off the record" with anonymous statements. Stuff that is off the record is agreed upon not to be reported.

07-12-2017 , 06:03 PM

#45327

wheatrich

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we're already at this stage huh

07-12-2017 , 06:05 PM

#45328

simplicitus

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Video shows Trump with associates tied to email controversy

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/12/politi...tes/index.html

(Video from June 2013 dinner in Vegas)

07-12-2017 , 06:07 PM

#45329

simplicitus

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What was the exact language Trump used when he said he had no ties to Russia?

07-12-2017 , 06:10 PM

#45330

goofyballer

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Quote:

Originally Posted by wheatrich

we're already at this stage huh

Meh, I think Frum's changing the words a bit here to make it sound worse

Reuters article

Quote:

In the interview, Trump said he did not fault his son for holding the meeting. "I think many people would have held that meeting," the president said.

That is not saying "I see no wrong in working with Putin to tip an American election"

07-12-2017 , 06:12 PM

#45331

einbert

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American abolitionist and freedom fighter John Brown:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)
https://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-state-...-prelude/16595

07-12-2017 , 06:16 PM

#45332

ScreaminAsian

For President

Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 33,333

Known for: Pottawatomie massacre

Cause of death: Execution by hanging

no thanks

07-12-2017 , 06:16 PM

#45333

aflametotheground

old hand

Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 1,851

There is a nice timeline to these things. 4 hrs after the date and time of the russia meeting is confirmed in the email Trump comes out to do a presser where hes teasing that he has dirt on clinton soon to come. A bit later in July at the convention the language on ukraine-russia policy is amended to be more light on russia. At the day the Trump camp is at its lowest with the access hollywood they get clinton wikileaks.

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watc...e-994447939696

07-12-2017 , 06:17 PM

#45334

ScreaminAsian

For President

Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 33,333

lmao senator lankford, who is on the senate committee investigating russian intervention, just said this email doesn't bring anything new to the table, and we already knew all about it
-situation room w jim acosta

07-12-2017 , 06:21 PM

#45335

einbert

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ScreaminAsian

Known for: Pottawatomie massacre

Cause of death: Execution by hanging

no thanks

Sadly, he wasn't much of a tactician.

07-12-2017 , 06:22 PM

#45336

einbert

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The Declaration of Independence war + rebellion was much more organized and well thought out and had resources behind it. Same with the Civil War but Lincoln had to fade a freakin' election in the middle of it plus beat the South just to win.

07-12-2017 , 06:23 PM

#45337

wheatrich

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Quote:

Originally Posted by goofyballer

M

That is not saying "I see no wrong in working with Putin to tip an American election"

indeed, what I get for not looking up the dude that thought Iraq was a ****ing good idea.

07-12-2017 , 06:25 PM

#45338

DVaut1

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Quote:

That is not saying "I see no wrong in working with Putin to tip an American election"

It's likely Trump will be saying pretty much that by next week. One or two more revelations of obvious collusion. "Yeah we did it, what of it?" would honestly be Trump's 'smartest' move right now: rip off the band-aid and just start taunting people. The GOP would fall into line.

07-12-2017 , 06:25 PM

#45339

Rococo

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I thought einbert was supposed to quit spamming this thread with quotes from his favorite heroes. In any case, if anyone is deeply interested in John Brown, Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks is an interesting novel.

07-12-2017 , 06:30 PM

#45340

goofyballer

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Quote:

Originally Posted by DVaut1

Yeah, I re-posted your Iran-Contra takes in P7 because they were fire. Let's just wait until that actually happens to spike the football.

07-12-2017 , 06:45 PM

#45341

Rococo

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Quote:

Originally Posted by DVaut1

The GOP would fall into line.

This should be the subtitle of this entire thread.

The GOP's response to Trump over the last 12 months has been a complete disgrace. Romney is perhaps the only guy who has shown any consistent backbone re Trump, and even he has gone wobbly a few times.

07-12-2017 , 06:52 PM

#45342

einbert

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GOP is trying to destroy democracy. And right now they're succeeding. Make no mistake about it.

07-12-2017 , 06:52 PM

#45343

fxwacgesvrhdtf

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Posts: n/a

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperUberBob

Chris Wray is probably going to be confirmed as the new FBI Director.

Any chance he fires Mueller and puts a stop to the investigation?

0. Mostly because Mueller doesn't report to him, he reports to Rosenstein, who would be Wray's boss.

07-12-2017 , 06:55 PM

#45344

einbert

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The FBI cannot impeach Trump. Mueller cannot impeach Trump.

07-12-2017 , 06:56 PM

#45345

Adebisi

veteran

Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2,965

Quote:

Originally Posted by einbert

GOP is trying to destroy democracy. And right now they're succeeding. Make no mistake about it.

Corporations destroyed democracy a long time ago.

07-12-2017 , 07:12 PM

#45346

m_reed05

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Yea james woods is a first rate deplorable, his Twitter is riddled with proof. I was next to him in wsop event a few weeks ago. He tries to be just the nicest guy at the table. I was desperately looking for an opportunity for my first live slowroll but it never came.