The Trump Presidency

[Hawk]

I wouldn't stake my life on the Manafort ledger.

You're laughably all wet otherwise, though.

Like with Flynn . . . he got fired. Manafort got cut loose. Why?

To suggest that birther "evidence" is in any way equivalent is just silly. If that's what you want to go with, fine. You've been consistently wrong about this since day one, so, please continue.

Well, why did Corey Lewandowski get fired?

And, provide me one instance where I was wrong in relation to Russia.

[Hawk]

There is a counterintelligence investigation involving the Trump campaign. Ok with you?

And that relates to espionage how?

Oh, I guess it's just magically inferred.

[Julio3000]

And that relates to espionage how?

Oh, I guess it's just magically inferred.

I'll concede your point about Lewandowski. No way of objectively proving why Manafort was fired.

As to where you're wrong, you stated that the line of inquiry on Russia has been exhausted. That's pretty obviously not the case. I'm not sure how you're going to dispute it.

Republicans, in fact Republicans who have been associated with the Trump campaign, are holding this inquiry. Regardless of its conclusions, it is happening. The director of the FBI has stated that there's a counter intelligence investigation into collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. Testimony has confirmed the ICs assessment that Russia sought to influence the election.

That doesn't exactly speak to the topic being exhausted, does it?

[Hawk]

Regardless of his level of knowledge or level of collusion

Um, what? That's not how it works.

Once we're through pretending that a congratulatory tweet to a purported (but, unproven) GRU subcontracted hacker by a guy that wasn't even a surrogate for Trump is any more admissible than a magazine article that incorrectly stated Obama's birth locale then perhaps the comparison will resound more earnestly.

[57Brave]

No, he didn't.

“The department has no information that supports those tweets.”

perhaps you have an alternate meaning

[sturg33]

Let's go down this path.

Julio - humor me if you don't mind.

Let's all assume Russia is proven in hacking and stealing the emails.

1. What do we do about that?

2. Do we care at all about what was exposed - which supposedly was damning enough to "influence the election"

3. I'm curious as to your punishment for question 1... as I'm sure you'd agree the US has had its hand in multiple foreign elections

[sturg33]

“The department has no information that supports those tweets.”

perhaps you have an alternate meaning

I read that sentence 14 times...

I am not seeing "Trump lied"

[goldfly]

if that isn't a way of saying, he is lying about that

then i can never hear anyone that hated Bills answer about THE blowjob say anything ever again




but i really love the "america gets involved in other elections. so we can't get angry when someone does it to us"

why do we do that to other elections? to help them lean in our favor. so, bringing that up really isn't a good example

yes, it's part of the blowback, it doesn't mean we just go "well, we do it too. oh well"

[Julio3000]

Um, what? That's not how it works.

Once we're through pretending that a congratulatory tweet to a purported (but, unproven) GRU subcontracted hacker by a guy that wasn't even a surrogate for Trump is any more admissible than a magazine article that incorrectly stated Obama's birth locale then perhaps the comparison will resound more earnestly.

Aw, that's cute. I'll just let it hang here that you've made the equivalency between Roger Stone's admitted contacts with (oooh, unproven) GRU hackers and garbage accusations that the 44th president was born in Kenya.

Considering that Republicans have been in control of both houses of congress for years, I imagine that you can provide some testimony that equates Obama birtherism to Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Let's see where it goes.

[sturg33]

if that isn't a way of saying, he is lying about that

then i can never hear anyone that hated Bills answer about THE blowjob say anything ever again




but i really love the "america gets involved in other elections. so we can't get angry when someone does it to us"

why do we do that to other elections? to help them lean in our favor. so, bringing that up really isn't a good example

yes, it's part of the blowback, it doesn't mean we just go "well, we do it too. oh well"

It just further promotes your hypocrisy - not that you needed any more evidence.

If I were Russia - I would do everything I could to get a friendly administration in place.

If I were America, I'd do everything I could to limit their influence.

First thing I'd do if I were the DNC , was come up with a better password and not have such an easily accessible trail of corruption asking to be exposed

[Tapate50]

Color this comment WAY off topic BUT...

Over the past 10 years, I have noticed too much investigating of our own people and reps in the capital. It seems that ultimate power corrupts, ultimately. We spend more resources fighting and investigating our own BULL SHIAT that we can't get together and govern our own nation worth a flat shIat if you ask me. No one can be trusted, and no one seems to trust that these elected officials govern with the common good in mind. Just their own asses to cover and games to play.

It is sickening.

[Hawk]

I'll concede your point about Lewandowski. No way of objectively proving why Manafort was fired.

What we do know is that both individuals continued to quietly work for the campaign even after being 'fired'. I think that speaks loudly, but what do I know?

As to where you're wrong, you stated that the line of inquiry on Russia has been exhausted. That's pretty obviously not the case. I'm not sure how you're going to dispute it.

Republicans, in fact Republicans who have been associated with the Trump campaign, are holding this inquiry. Regardless of its conclusions, it is happening. The director of the FBI has stated that there's a counter intelligence investigation into collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. Testimony has confirmed the ICs assessment that Russia sought to influence the election.

That doesn't exactly speak to the topic being exhausted, does it?

I called the investigation (which actually began under a Democratic DOJ - but let's continue to misrepresent objective truths) a sham, with justifiable cause. It hasn't produced any convictions or presented evidence of any variety which would indicate the influence that Russia supposedly wielded over our electoral process was in any way a game changer. Ascertaining the extent to which Russia was involved in trying to manipulate voters is absolutely worthy of continued investigation, even as it pertains to the Trump White House, but you are grievously mistaken (and I think you know this) if you believe with any measure of sincerity that simply because the Director of the FBI (who was reportedly pissed at Trump's wiretap comments and personally demanded this public hearing [but that's neither here or nor there]) iterated that an investigation was ongoing there is collusion yet to be magically unearthed.

For all intents and purposes the Russian conspiracy theory died today. You will obviously continue to propagate a different version of the reality, but if there was something ... today might have been the day where it ceased being the something we didn't know anything about.

[57Brave]

I read that sentence 14 times...

I am not seeing "Trump lied"

I asked what you read from Comey's statement.
Of course he didn't say "Trump lied" this is the halls of Congress where diplomacy and comity rules the day. Not the Celebrity Apprentice.

On another note, will be interesting to see the (D) approach to SCOTUS nomination

[goldfly]

lol, hypocrisy

sure

haha

[57Brave]

I thought Benghazi deserved a hearing. A hearing
What you meant to say was the politicization of hearings.

Benghazi or any number of Clinton 42 "investigations"

[Hawk]

Aw, that's cute. I'll just let it hang here that you've made the equivalency between Roger Stone's admitted contacts with (oooh, unproven) GRU hackers and garbage accusations that the 44th president was born in Kenya.

Considering that Republicans have been in control of both houses of congress for years, I imagine that you can provide some testimony that equates Obama birtherism to Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Let's see where it goes.

The point is that it's all garbage.

I have no idea what you are going on about otherwise.

Although observing you have a PTSD outburst over birtherism was entirely worth the sidebar.

[goldfly]

The FBI director placed a criminal investigation at the doorstep of The White House and said agents would pursue it “no matter how long that takes.”

F.B.I. Is Investigating Trump’s Russia Ties, Comey Confirms

WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, took the extraordinary step on Monday of announcing that the F.B.I. is investigating whether members of President Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election.

Mr. Comey’s remarks before the House Intelligence Committee created a treacherous political moment for Mr. Trump, who has insisted that “Russia is fake news” that was cooked up by his political opponents to undermine his presidency. Mr. Comey placed a criminal investigation at the doorstep of the White House and said agents would pursue it “no matter how long that takes.”

Mr. Comey also dismissed Mr. Trump’s claim that he was wiretapped by his predecessor during the campaign, a sensational but unfounded accusation that has served as a distraction in the public debate over Russian election interference.

The New York Times and other news organizations have reported the existence of the investigation into the Trump campaign and its relationship with Russia, but the White House dismissed those reports as politically motivated and rallied political allies to rebut them. Mr. Comey’s testimony on Monday was the first public acknowledgment of the case. The F.B.I. typically discloses its investigations only in the rare circumstances when officials believe it is in the public interest.

“This is one of those circumstances,” Mr. Comey said.

Counterintelligence investigations are among the F.B.I.’s most difficult and time-consuming cases, meaning the cloud of a federal investigation could hang over the Trump administration for years.

American intelligence agencies concluded in January that the President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia personally ordered a covert effort to hurt Hillary Clinton’s chances and aid Mr. Trump. That included the hacking of political targets including the Democratic National Committee and releasing embarrassing emails through the website WikiLeaks.

Mr. Comey said the F.B.I. was “investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government, and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts.”

American officials have said that they have so far found no proof of that, but current and former officials say they have uncovered evidence that Mr. Trump’s associates were in repeated contact with Russian officials — including people tied to Russian intelligence.

Roger J. Stone Jr., a longtime adviser to Mr. Trump, has acknowledged communicating with Guccifer 2.0, an online persona believed to be a front for Russian intelligence officials involved in disseminating hacked Democratic emails. Mr. Stone has denied that there was anything improper about the contact, and he was one of many, including political operatives and journalists, to communicate with the hackers.

Last July, the month that WikiLeaks began releasing the hacked emails, Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to Mr. Trump, visited Moscow for a speaking engagement. Mr. Page has declined to say whom he met there, but he has said they were mostly scholars.

Michael T. Flynn, a Trump campaign adviser who went on to be his national security adviser, was paid more than $65,000 by companies linked to Russia in 2015, including an American branch of a cybersecurity firm believed to have ties to Russia’s intelligence services, according to congressional investigators. Mr. Flynn was forced to resign after misrepresenting his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

Democrats listed those Russian connections and others as they painted Mr. Trump as a candidate who adopted pro-Russia views and courted Russian interests.

“Is it possible that all of these events and reports are completely unrelated and nothing more than an entirely unhappy coincidence?” said Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the committee’s top Democrat. “Yes, it is possible. But it is also possible, maybe more than possible, that they are not coincidental, not disconnected and not unrelated.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/20/u...smtyp=cur&_r=0

[Hawk]

“The department has no information that supports those tweets.”

perhaps you have an alternate meaning

Yeah, that the FBI hasn't finished their investigation.

I mean isn't that interpretation the order of the day?

[goldfly]

Presssec insists President's weekly golf outings are different than Obama's but won't say why because Trump's entitled to privacy

[57Brave]

Tough day to be a Trump apologist huh Hawk ?

#snowflake
..............

kidding aside, the problem to be clear isn't that Russia tried to influence our election -- I think it naive to believe this is the first time.
The question is did they conspire with Americans to influence an election.
I think in sport it is called "tampering"

It is very possible Trump was in the dark about what his underlings were doing on his behalf.
Unless of course Alexander Butterfield exposes the tapes.

Unless you lived through both it is hard to explain how these events are eerily similar