US Politics

[pigseye]

Pretty much the way I see it too,

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/04/judge-in-paul-manafort-case-criticizes-robert-mueller-probe.html

• The judge said the charges against Manafort do not have anything to do with Russian interference in the 2016 election or potential collusion with Russians by the Trump campaign.
• The judge also strongly suggested that Mueller exceeded the scope of his special counsel office's authorization by charging Manafort with crimes that have nothing to do with Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election or possible Trump campaign collusion with Russians.

Edited May 5, 2018 by pigseye
z

[The Unknown Poster]

17 hours ago, pigseye said:

Pretty much the way I see it too,

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/04/judge-in-paul-manafort-case-criticizes-robert-mueller-probe.html

• The judge said the charges against Manafort do not have anything to do with Russian interference in the 2016 election or potential collusion with Russians by the Trump campaign.
• The judge also strongly suggested that Mueller exceeded the scope of his special counsel office's authorization by charging Manafort with crimes that have nothing to do with Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election or possible Trump campaign collusion with Russians.

I believe Mueller’s mandate allowed him to persue any crimes he uncovers during his investigation. So it wouldn’t really matter if it was directly related to Russian collusion. 

The trump people like to talk about collusion but mueller was appointed because of the firing of Comey which by trumps own admission was an attempt to end the collusion investigation. 

This particular judge has a history of being tougher on the side he goes for. Of course the importance of the work of the special prosecutor should not be muddied by side tracks. So if the judge feels this isn’t in Mueller’s perview so be it, move on  

interestingly one aspect of the judhe’s questioning seemed to be that mueller pitched the Cohen stuff to NY but handled manafort himself.  probably a specific strategy there  

And didn’t manafort’s partner already plead guilty anyway? Lol

 

 

 

[iHeart]

sounds like McCain is planning his funeral

http://www.tmz.com/2018/05/05/john-mccain-funeral-donald-trump-mike-pence/

basically the jist of this article is that Trump isn't invited but Pence is

[Mark F]

Quote

 

Aides to Donald Trump, the US president, hired an Israeli private intelligence agency to orchestrate a “dirty ops” campaign against key individuals from the Obama administration who helped negotiate the Iran nuclear deal, the Observercan reveal.

People in the Trump camp contacted private investigators in May last year to “get dirt” on Ben Rhodes, who had been one of Barack Obama’s top national security advisers, and Colin Kahl, deputy assistant to Obama, as part of an elaborate attempt to discredit the deal.

 

Let's see if we can provoke Iran into restarting it's nuclear weapons program shall we?

That's what's needed for peace in the middle east. Nuclear armed Iran.

 Maybe we can even start another war. Cause there hasn't been enough misery yet in the middle east.

 

Edited May 5, 2018 by Mark F

[The Unknown Poster]

I’ve always wondered how this is legal 

 

[bustamente]

7 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

I’ve always wondered how this is legal 

 

Clearly being POTUS is a hobby, golfing is his real job, probably cheats at that to.

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

3 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

I’ve always wondered how this is legal 

 

Does he charge his security detail and other personnel when they go to his property? Or does he get them free lodging?

[Rich]

11 minutes ago, wanna-b-fanboy said:

Does he charge his security detail and other personnel when they go to his property? Or does he get them free lodging?

Paid for by the US tax payer 

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

48 minutes ago, Rich said:

Paid for by the US tax payer 

Wow... that is certainly a conflict of interest... How is that not illegal?

[Mark F]

1 hour ago, wanna-b-fanboy said:

Wow... that is certainly a conflict of interest... How is that not illegal?

"When the President does it, it's not illegal"

........     R.M. Nixon. 

Edited May 6, 2018 by Mark F

[The Unknown Poster]

3 hours ago, Rich said:

Paid for by the US tax payer 

Exactly. I never begrudge the president (or PM) their security detail etc. But he was critical of Obama’s golfing and trump hasn’t spent so many days at golf courses it’s ridiculous. 

Ans they’re HIS!  So he’s making money. Being president is just another scam for him. 

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

1 hour ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Ans they’re HIS!  So he’s making money. Being president is just another scam for him. 

Never thought i would live to see the day that a president is elected that treats the presidency as a side-hustle.

Edited May 7, 2018 by wanna-b-fanboy

[The Unknown Poster]

Admission of guilt 

 

[Mark F]

unreal. This is horrifying.

 

[The Unknown Poster]

17 hours ago, Mark F said:

unreal. This is horrifying.

 

The problem is, the Mentos guy didnt also have a gun.  Or the store clerk.  They could have had a Mexican stand off over the mentos. 

 

[Mark F]

My new theory is that in addition to Putin, Israel has something to hold over Trump's head. They have an extremely good intelligence service.

 

[The Unknown Poster]

43 minutes ago, Mark F said:

My new theory is that in addition to Putin, Israel has something to hold over Trump's head. They have an extremely good intelligence service.

 

Probably many people and nations do.  Just look at his reaction to all the women that have accused him of sexual harassment/assault and even the ones who claim a consensual relationship.  He lies and lies and lies.

If anyone has any evidence of him sleeping with someone, they know he will do anything to avoid it coming out.  And the Steel dossier, everything that can be proven has been proven true and nothing has been proven false.  And its not just sex and hookers and whatever, his business dealings...he can't have anyone who knows anything going to authorities. 

If the Stormy lawsuit proceeds, Trump is in big trouble because if he wants to keep lying, he's going to be subject to a deposition and whats he going to do then?  Lie under oath?

The biggest thing with Rudy is him saying Trump wont speak to Mueller because of a "perjury trap".  How is telling the truth a perjury trap?  It isnt, unless you have already lied like crazy or you know you will keep lying.  It doesnt even matter what Trump has said in tweets or interviews.  When he sits down under oath or with the FBI, he just has to tell the truth then and no perjury.  Rudy treats this like its an accepted normal thing that Trump cannot speak without perjuring himself.  Its absurd.

[Mark F]

5 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Probably many people and nations do.

good point.

he can't stop talking. Who knows what he's said, and to whom.

 

[The Unknown Poster]

 

[bustamente]

Micheal Cohen might want to start signing like a canary the walls are starting to close in on him.

[The Unknown Poster]

Russian Oligarch with close ties to Putin funnels $500,000 to Cohen to the same account he paid the Stormy hush money. Perfectly legitimate I’m sure 

 

Edited May 8, 2018 by The Unknown Poster

[The Unknown Poster]

not good. 

 

[bustamente]

Everything goes back to Trump not releasing his tax returns, he knows releasing them would tell everybody his real worth and where his money comes from.

[The Unknown Poster]

Im surprised they thought they could keep this a secret.  And of course, we can assume Mueller knows (he apparently met the plane of the Russian Oligarch and questioned him).  But hilarious that it's the lawyer for a woman Trump lies about sleeping with that is relentlessly pursuing all this.  he should have just admitted it and released her from the NDA.  Its now the least of his worries.

What seems to be the case is, Cohen set up this fake business to accept money from people and companies, likely for the benefit of Trump.  We dont know for sure if the money passed directly to Trump or if it was a slush fund for dirty tricks (like with Nixon) or if it was a slush fund for pay offs.  We know Stormy was paid by this company.  So money IN for access to the president and money OUT for shutting people up.  Man, that stinks.

These companies that are linked all have different excuses too.  The smelliest is the attempt by the Russian and the American-based arm of the same company denying they have any link.  I believe it was Cohen's own bank filings that lists the American cousin as the CEO of the company that is called the US based branch of the Russian Oligarch. 

Let's unpack this (its complicated):

Cohen received $500,000 from Columbus Nova whose CEO is Andrew Intrater.  He's American but his cousin is Russian Oligarch Viktor Vekselberg who has close ties to Putin.  Intrater was also a member of Trump's Inauguration committee and donated generously to the Inauguration fund, Trump Victory Fund and Republican National Committee. 

Columbus Nova claims it has no connection to Russian-based Renova Group which is owned by Vekselberg.  But on an FEC filing, Intrater is listed as head of "Renova US Management".

These payments increased after Trump was elected. Novartis, another company that gave money to Cohen, tried to distance itself by saying it was a previous CEO that made the deal of $100,000 per MONTH paid to Cohen. 

This is shady pay for play slush fund ****. 

But remember, no connection whatsoever ever to Russia, right?

Oh and guess who was wiped from Columbus Nova's website today?  Their CEO Andrew Intrater.  Nothing to see here.

 

Edited May 9, 2018 by The Unknown Poster

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

We need a little levity... 

Here is by far the best analogy for this presidency, that I have seen:

 

Edited May 9, 2018 by wanna-b-fanboy