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The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: No smocking guns. The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: No smocking guns.

02-16-2017 , 10:43 AM
Trump's latest tweet makes zero sense.

Fake News > Democrats? What point is he trying to make here? Is he legitimately losing his mind?
02-16-2017 , 10:43 AM
Congrats idiots. You elected a dictatorial lunatic
02-16-2017 , 10:45 AM
Attorney General Sessions Needs to Recuse Himself
https://law.stanford.edu/2017/02/15/...ecuse-himself/
Quote:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions continues to resist calls to recuse himself from Department of Justice investigations into Russian connections with the Trump campaign and later with the transition team. He should stop resisting and step aside. He has a blatant conflict of interest.

The problem is not just that Sessions was appointed to his current position by Trump and is a close political ally of the President—although that alone probably justifies recusal. The problem is not just that Sessions himself played a prominent role in the campaign. The problem is that he headed the Trump campaign’s national security advisory committee, and in that capacity spoke out publicly in favor of trying to forge closer ties with Russia. Sessions later served on the executive committee of Trump’s transition team.

The New York Times reported yesterday that Trump campaign officials had “repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials.” The Times did not name its sources, described as “four current and former American officials,” and those sources did not name the campaign officials involved, aside from one of Trump’s former campaign chairs, Paul Manafort. So even assuming the story is correct, Sessions may not himself have been in contact with Russian intelligence officials. Furthermore the campaign officials who were in contact with the Russians may not have committed any crimes. But the Department of Justice will need to decide whether and how to continue to investigate those questions, regardless whether—as appears increasingly likely—a separate, bipartisan congressional investigation is also launched into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election.

The conflict of interest this creates for Sessions is extraordinary. At a minimum, Sessions himself—not just the man who appointed him—was deeply involved in the very campaign that is under investigation, he personally helped shape the campaign’s positions on national security, and he publicly supported a friendlier approach toward Russia. It is hard to imagine how his own name—not just the name of the President who appointed him—can fail to surface in this investigation, and hard to imagine how the investigation can fail to touch on, if not Sessions’s own actions, at a minimum the actions of close political associates of his in 2016.
02-16-2017 , 10:45 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Riverman
Trump's latest tweet makes zero sense.

Fake News > Democrats? What point is he trying to make here? Is he legitimately losing his mind?
Not at all, he seems completely rational and sane.

02-16-2017 , 10:46 AM
I mean, I always thought that Russia existed but there we go.
02-16-2017 , 10:47 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by master3004
Congrats idiots. You elected a dictatorial lunatic
It's not just him at this point. The Republicans in Congress are clearly enabling Trump and putting our national security at risk by refusing to investigate the Russian ties and take them seriously.
02-16-2017 , 10:53 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by DTD
Not at all, he seems completely rational and sane.

That tweet is fake news. He only got 304 EVs.
02-16-2017 , 10:54 AM
Gentle reminder that Trump has the nuclear codes.
02-16-2017 , 10:57 AM
He's doing a rally in FL this weekend? Lol

He has got to be insane, it seems like he is totally winging the presidency and 7 billion people are along for the ride.
02-16-2017 , 10:58 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Riverman
Trump's latest tweet makes zero sense.

Fake News > Democrats? What point is he trying to make here? Is he legitimately losing his mind?
This is the end point of American political polarization. From what I see in t_d and elsewhere, people totally buy this logic. Being against Trump = being a Democrat. This means all media except Fox are Democrats. Moderate Republicans who criticise Trump are Democrats. The FBI are Democrats. The civil servants leaking to the press are Democrats. In fact, more or less everyone in the intelligence community, DoJ and state department, unless they were appointed by Trump, are Democrats. Everything that comes out about Trump can be safely ignored because it's a giant conspiracy by the Democrats and the MSM to bring down Trump.

This is why so many scandals can make so little impact on the Republican base's support for Trump.

The only thing that might have a real impact is the actual audio of the Trump campaign colluding with Russian intelligence. Not reports of contact (which we have), or reports of co-operation (which we don't), or even transcripts of the calls, the audio itself. And even then I'm not sure.
02-16-2017 , 11:08 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by DVaut1
I wouldn't call them low-lifes. And Trump is awful and terrible but the underlying point a more coherent, substantive President or commentator might make is that government by intelligence community fiat is like also deeply unhealthy and dangerous and none of this is a good look.

Like, this isn't heros versus bad guys imo. This feels entirely like a civil war inside the Hall of Doom. No one should be cheered by a torrent of unsourced leaks of SIGINT captured conversations crushing a democratically elected government although obviously we have a very clear boundary case here. This whole thing is dangerous in the extreme and the only justification here is that Trump is maniacal and incompetent. I take that one seriously though so I suppose we have no easy answers.

The leakers are bad people, the GOP Congress that ultimately genuflects to Trump at every cross-road are very bad people, incompetent and feeble Democrats are bad people, Trump is maybe worse than them all, but none of this should be celebrated at all. This is just chaotic and unseemly top to bottom imo.

Somehow the world still spins and the economy hasn't cratered and the world is in no more wars than it was before Trump so I suppose we are showing a surprisingly amount of systemic reliance to historic, holistic incompetence and unprincipled governance. Still early though.
Easy there tiger, a few more posts like this and you might find yourself labeled a Trump loving slappy trumpkin. But I suppose you used enough vagaries in this post and the others like it to plant any flag too deeply. That aside I agree for the most part.

A friend posited yesterday that the entire Trump Saga is a sophisticated psychological operation, and while we were just shooting the **** over drinks, his thesis became less absurd as the bottle emptied.
02-16-2017 , 11:11 AM
loooooool he seriously appointed a guy who gave him 700k to lead an "investigation"

this is real life
02-16-2017 , 11:11 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by einbert
That tweet is fake news. He only got 304 EVs.
Wrong. 2+2=5
02-16-2017 , 11:19 AM
02-16-2017 , 11:33 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kafja
This is the end point of American political polarization. From what I see in t_d and elsewhere, people totally buy this logic. Being against Trump = being a Democrat. This means all media except Fox are Democrats. Moderate Republicans who criticise Trump are Democrats. The FBI are Democrats. The civil servants leaking to the press are Democrats. In fact, more or less everyone in the intelligence community, DoJ and state department, unless they were appointed by Trump, are Democrats. Everything that comes out about Trump can be safely ignored because it's a giant conspiracy by the Democrats and the MSM to bring down Trump.

This is why so many scandals can make so little impact on the Republican base's support for Trump.

The only thing that might have a real impact is the actual audio of the Trump campaign colluding with Russian intelligence. Not reports of contact (which we have), or reports of co-operation (which we don't), or even transcripts of the calls, the audio itself. And even then I'm not sure.

Its just locker room talk
02-16-2017 , 11:33 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Onlydo2days
He's doing a rally in FL this weekend? Lol

He has got to be insane, it seems like he is totally winging the presidency and 7 billion people are along for the ride.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AllTheCheese


At around 2:35 --
I don't know why but I have an unhealthy hatred for Lord. CNN seems to have relegated him to Skype boy now.
02-16-2017 , 11:35 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by otatop
And why would he, so far he's gotten away with everything.
Well he is currently not in jail so you have a point but give the resistance/press some credit. The admin is crumbling.
02-16-2017 , 11:36 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by markksman
Hope Feinberg is squeaky clean but if he is a friend of trump he probably is not and certainly is fully covered by ic resources now.

Trump is really really really really dumb.
Feinberg is a notorious recluse, so he actually is probably fairly clean. He doesn't even use email as a matter of practice. That said, I know a good amount about him and his firm and I am almost positive that he has no experience doing anything resembling an investigation of this nature.
02-16-2017 , 11:53 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Onlydo2days
He's doing a rally in FL this weekend? Lol

He has got to be insane, it seems like he is totally winging the presidency and 7 billion people are along for the ride.
It's a campaign stop. For the 2020 election.

Seriously.

I'm starting to think that their immediate filing for the campaign wasn't actually some grand plan to limit speech against him while maybe expanding his lie-spreading platform. It literally was just because he forced them to do it because the only thing he enjoyed about campaigning was preaching to the choir and having them cheer. It's the best time he's ever had in his life, and he doesn't want to lose it.
02-16-2017 , 11:53 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by HastenDan
Easy there tiger, a few more posts like this and you might find yourself labeled a Trump loving slappy trumpkin. But I suppose you used enough vagaries in this post and the others like it to plant any flag too deeply. That aside I agree for the most part.
"for the most part", i.e. except for the parts critical of Trump, right?
02-16-2017 , 11:56 AM
With today's WSJ story, Trump might get a little nervous next time they want to take him to an undisclosed location. Looks like he may end up in Guantanamo for a little water boarding one of these days.


PairTheBoard
02-16-2017 , 11:57 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyWf
"for the most part", i.e. except for the parts critical of Trump, right?
No.
02-16-2017 , 12:14 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by seattlelou
Well he is currently not in jail so you have a point but give the resistance/press some credit. The admin is crumbling.
My point wasn't that the administration wasn't crumbling, it was that Trump's been just doing whatever the **** he wants for 70 years and it's led to him being POTUS, so why would he smarten up and try to mask his shady **** now?

His hubris is speeding along the process of removing him.
02-16-2017 , 12:14 PM
This mother****er is pimping his rally as if nothing happened

Anyone who laughs at this imbecile needs to reexamine their life, nothing tilts me harder in these propaganda events than the paid laughter
02-16-2017 , 12:17 PM
This Trump meeting with GOP supporters is just terrible. Just celebrity president dick sucking.

Also, some of the people in this meeting are the worst. I mean, they all love Trump, so they must be stupid, but I noticed some high-buffoons, in particular.

Also #2: does Trump even notice the irony of him saying "leakers" and "leaking" repeatedly?

      
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