I'm sure that Mueller wishes that Avennati would keep quiet, and not because he is worried that Avennati will steal his thunder.

The bolded really is a question of how much you trust Avennati to do things the right way. For me, and I suspect for Mueller, the answer is "not much."

Why, do you have reason to suspect Avenatti is getting leaks delivered to him from the special counsel? I don't know what you mean by "the right way" unless you know something we don't.

Rococo is probaby right, Avennati probably can't help and could possibly hurt.

Last nights episode of The Circus was so damn good. Watch it if you haven't.

I suppose you mean help/hurt Mueller in making his case. Avenatti helps me because he's getting the media to hurry up and also because **** Trump.

Well, "defaming" him is not the same thing as "reporting on" him. Also lol @ the notion that anyone working for the Daily Caller is a "journalist."

So Trump basically pulled the pin on am unnecessary grenade and threw it into the region to appease his evangelical sycophants and now he seriously talks about wanting to receive the Nobel peace prize. **** that guy.

I certainly do not have inside information. And I have no reason to believe that the SC is leaking information to Avennati.

By "the right way", I mean (i) he is not paying for the information or otherwise offering inducements for the information; (ii) he is not knowingly flouting court orders or encouraging others to do so; (iii) he is not accepting and publicizing information that he knows has been obtained illegally; (iv) he is satisfying himself that the sources of his information are reputable and reliable; (v) he is not publicizing or spinning information that he suspects for whatever reason is inaccurate, just so he can stay in the news cycle; and (vi) he is not publicizing information that he knows is in the possession of the SC and that the SC has reasons for not wanting to be publicly disclosed.

I'll put it this way. If Trump goes down because of information that was publicly disclosed in the first instance by Avennati, then he was going down no matter what. The chances that Trump goes down, and that Avennati is the "but for" cause of his downfall, are very close to zero.

I do think he kinda helps by making it a public discussion, and by getting Trumps team flustered and having them say stupid/contradicting stuff in public that could be used against them in the future.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...=.692d132ec824

Ginsburg, Sotomayor and Breyer voted against.

Three Democrats voted against liberty. They don't believe I have the right to gamble on the internet.

Remember that.

Yep, this is a problem.

I don't think there's any solution for 2018. But the 2020 nominee really needs to push back against the media more forcefully.

Yup. I have basically no worry that Avanatti will interfere with Mueller's investigation. What could interfere is the upcoming Manafort trial, because they will have to turn a good number of cards face up. None of Mueller's people are leaking to Avanatti and he's keeping Trump's crimes out in the open while Mueller is waiting to deliver the shock and awe instead of winning small skirmishes. Also, Trump and his people, like Giuliani, can't help themselves from lying and taking inconsistent positions to counter Avanatti.

I would be in no way surprised if Avanantti sues the Daily Caller. I suspect they will change their editorial process and actually fact check any material they attempt to smear him with.

Mueller and his team, for obvious reasons, have been very tight lipped. The public still has a right to know, and if the means by which we learn it is from a publicity hound of a lawyer then so be it as long as everything he brings to the table is true.

i'm gonna vote onion

Commerce Sec always be closing.

That's a good point. Avennati may inspire them to commit more crimes as well like destroying evidence and because they are all so incredibly stupid they won't get away with anything, other than by just being fascists and suppressing Mueller's findings.

I can see it going any number of ways, but one thing is letting Trump/the right set the narrative unanswered because of "higher ground" or just focussing on the job at hand has failed. I don't know if playing his game like Avenatti is doing will work out better, but if you look at the lack of pushback on the birther thing, the eye-rolling response to the email and Benghazi bull**** and even what is happening now with the polling, staying quiet about the **** that is being uncovered or letting lies float unanswered is not a working strategy.

Mueller can't be the puncher/counter puncher and should not be. Whether it helps his case or not is not the only issue. My biggest concern is they are able to smear Avenatti and make it look like he untrustworthy and on a hit job path which will taint public perception of actual evidence that comes out. The question is, even if that is the case and the right gains some traction with it, is the alternative better or worse than not publicizing the misdeeds?

I dunno micro. If everyone who has info about Trump's illicit dealings came forward, the country would be in a better place. This doesn't just go for people like Avenatti, but especially applies to the people engaged with Trump (Rs in Congress, WH staff, etc.) who look the other way and/or obstruct investigations, and allow national security or the welfare of the American people to be put at risk.

When Trump gives classified information to the Russians in the Oval Office, we need to know about it. When he kicks the AG and VP out of the room to try to intimidate the FBI director into a compromising position, we need to know. When he secretly meets with Putin alone without an interpreter or his NSA or Chief of Staff in the back of a summit for hours, we need to know. And these are just some examples of shady **** that came out because of diligent citizens and reporters. I'm sure there's much much more that happens without our knowledge. People could speak up and help us all put together the whole picture. Something like confirming the entire dossier would be groundbreaking.

Let's also remember that team Mueller is still working with incomplete information, and public/media reports have probably pointed them in the right direction on several occasions. This is a big benefit of having someone like Avenatti digging around.

Mueller has restrictions as well. We, the people, do not.

Melania Trump undergoes kidney surgery at Walter Reed medical center

I said kiddilies, diddle I?

(For any Star Trek TNG degens here)

Our House,

I reckon so. I'm not in love with Avennati though myself. I guess more good than harm. Since the Mueller findings could conceivably be buried by the admin and congress it's good to have more stuff public.

hurr durr

Remember that.

Be Renal

This is one concern, but not the only one.

People talking about the public's right to know are completely missing the point of my concerns about Avennati. Of course the public has a right to know. And after Mueller is done, Avennati can tweet whatever he wants and it won't bother me a bit. But I do not like someone who seemingly relishes being a cowboy and a celebrity trying to run a parallel investigation to the SC.

And I am skeptical that Avennati has helped point the SC in the right direction. Mueller, and the people he has hired, are likely much better at running professional, thorough investigations than Avennati is.

I will readily admit that I quite weary of the intersection of celebrity and politics. And I want to throat punch every person who tells me that the Democrats need to find a celebrity of their own to run for president.

Perhaps that is triggering my gag reflex on Avennati.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unlawf...nt_Act_of_2006

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which shut down online poker in America in 2006 was crafted by Republicans, tacked onto a must-pass Safe Port bill by Republicans, passed through a Republican controlled House and a Republican controlled Senate and signed by a Republican president.

The Republicans don't believe we have the right to gamble on the Internet.

Remember that.