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Donald Fires FBI Director who's investigating Russian Election Hacking

How do you still see it as nothing?

I'm actually curious. Even I was upset about the Hillary E-mail investigation outcome, but this is WAY worse.

Hes merely regurgitating what Rush, Sean, and Fox N Friends have claimed. I've watched/listened to hours of republican propaganda over the past week or so and that's been their narrative. "No collusion. Nothingburger. Ok maybe collusion. But it's still a nothingburger cuz collusion with Russia isn't a big deal cuz we say so. Besides, can't we focus on health care and tax reform? Stuff we wished Americans focused on more instead of this story which reflects terribly on this president?"

The hypocritical thing is, the right focused for years on the Benghazi Nothingburger. It was investigated by the house over 10 times. They made clinton testify for what? 12 hours??? And yet republicans still believe clinton had malicious intentions towards Benghazi despite zero evidence advancing that radical belief.

Yet, the New Republic today came out with an article showing trump's money laundering schemes with the Russians rate back to 1984. Trump Tower was only one of two buildings in NYC that allowed shell companies to buy in the tower with little to no regulation or oversight. In the early 2000s, Russian oligarchs approached a bankrup and desperate trump for a money laundering scheme. They basically bailed him out as he acted as a place to hide their money.

We have clear evidence of obstruction of justice. He didn't want Comey sniffing around this meeting of his son and who knows how many Russian oligarchs. Americans in attendance didn't report this meeting for a reason.

Even when trump lied on hannity last week, right wingers continue to drink the trump kool-aid. Remember, junior said that it was a short and quick meeting with the Russian lawyer,nothing else. Well, within 24 hrs we found out that he wasn't telling the truth at all. Any respectable journalist would've been mad as hell for lying on their show. Repubs with brains should've been outaged.

There is real evidence of collusion and the repubs insist that there's nothing to see here. The mere fact that few republican congressmen are defending trump anymore speaks volumes. They can't defend him and his lies anymore but they're too afraid to throw him overboard yet over fear of constituents being more loyal to trump than to them. But without getting the GOP scoring any legislative pts and the longer this Russian thing goes, the more unpopular trump and the GOP will become. The 2018 midterms are going to be a bloodbath for repubs.

The truth is, decades of anti-intellectualism and hate pumped daily by AM radio and Fox News have taken its toll.

The right currently has control of all three branches of government and can't pass anything. Think it's going to get any easier with time???
 
mods please lock and delete this thread.

the worse that will happen is you get blamed for being a russian!

No

I don't think it's policy to delete a thread. So your stupidity will live on in perpetuity so long as the site is up.

Mods, lock this and we'll take this to any other thread Mr. Rudder creates. I will copy and paste right into new messages if I have to.

No need, not locking. No reason, as of now, to do so.
 
mods please lock and delete this thread.

the worse that will happen is you get blamed for being a russian!

No

I don't think it's policy to delete a thread. So your stupidity will live on in perpetuity so long as the site is up.

Mods, lock this and we'll take this to any other thread Mr. Rudder creates. I will copy and paste right into new messages if I have to.

No need, not locking. No reason, as of now, to do so.
 
This Australian reporter nails it in describing the American President at the recent G20 summit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT3gVZS6Eq0&app=desktop
 
Not for a minute would I expect such explicit revelations as the Trump Jr. emails to do away with the "fake news" mantra so favored by the President's most ardent followers. We basically have two echo chambers and the alternate reality created by Trump and "news" organs like Breitbart News is firmly entrenched to stay. The continued effort of the liberal media to cast a spotlight on Russiagate will be seen, not as exposing the truth for all to see, but as an attempted coup by that media...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/life...bccc2e7bfbf_story.html?utm_term=.5df286fe80b6

“People come to news with their own built-in biases — we filter information that way,” said Nikki Usher, associate professor at George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs.

So those who want to see collusion will agree with Mother Jones’s David Corn: “The Trump campaign shielded a foreign adversary that sought to destabilize American democracy.”

Others will shrug it off.

“There’s been so much negative coverage of this administration — arguably, rightfully so — that it’s hard for most people to know what counts,” Usher said. “News junkies are obsessed with it, but a lot of others are going to tune it out.”

Or blame the messenger.

One conservative radio host, Robert Leonard, told CNN’s Brian Stelter that his conservative friends in Iowa “are very angry — they think the Trump/Russia deal is a coup attempt by the media. They don’t understand why the media is trying to oust our duly elected president.”
 
At the same time, although the fake news mantra, and the alternate universe occupied by Trump supporters, is here to stay, those folks should also understand that the Trump Jr. meeting is likely to be just the tip of the iceberg. If we all now know what we know, we can only imagine how much more Robert Mueller knows, and will continue to uncover. As John McCain said after this latest revelation, there will be many more shoes to drop. To say the Russian investigation is over is a pretty foolish observation. It's hardly begun. If the President truly wants to precipitate a Constitutional crisis, he can always have the Justice Department fire Mueller. I still kinda expect he will in fact do that, if he feels it's gotten to the point where he truly has nothing left to lose. And that most certainly would lead to a Constitutional crisis I believe. We shall see.

In the meantime, Mueller is on the Trump Jr. meeting now, and he has identified the mystery 8th individual present at that meeting:

http://www.newsweek.com/trump-jr-russia-meeting-mueller-638426
 
One conservative radio host, Robert Leonard, told CNN’s Brian Stelter that his conservative friends in Iowa “are very angry — they think the Trump/Russia deal is a coup attempt by the media. They don’t understand why the media is trying to oust our duly elected president.”

These losers have always been among us. They consider Eisenhower a commie, deny the moon landing, and think that trump died for our sins. They're white noise and should be ignored. No amount of reporting or facts will change their opinion.

We should however, focus on those democrats, independents, and moderate repubs who were unmotivated by Hillary and are becoming disenchanted with the Trump sleaze and GOP impotence. The POTUS is rolling at a 39 percent approval rating despite a relatively strong economy, no wars, and no real significant civil unrest. That's terrible. Trump is one War or recession away from seeing the bottom fall out.

The dnc should really ramp up their propaganda to win excite the base and pick off vulnerable repub voters.
 
These losers have always been among us. They consider Eisenhower a commie, deny the moon landing, and think that trump died for our sins. They're white noise and should be ignored. No amount of reporting or facts will change their opinion.

We should however, focus on those democrats, independents, and moderate repubs who were unmotivated by Hillary and are becoming disenchanted with the Trump sleaze and GOP impotence. The POTUS is rolling at a 39 percent approval rating despite a relatively strong economy, no wars, and no real significant civil unrest. That's terrible. Trump is one War or recession away from seeing the bottom fall out.

The dnc should really ramp up their propaganda to win excite the base and pick off vulnerable repub voters.

It's a great time to strike, but I don't think Warren is more concerned with keeping the more liberal(Bernie) of her party in line than pull moderates to the left.
 
Mueller's probe has expanded to include Trump's finances:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...o-expand-probe-to-trump-business-transactions

And, in an interview with The NY Times Wednesday, during which Trump trashed his own Justice Department, Trump indicated Mueller would be crossing "a red line" if his investigation expanded into Trump family finances. Which I take to mean he would be delving into areas that Trump very much wants to remain hidden. The closer Mueller focuses on such areas, the more likely Mueller will be fired.

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-mueller-red-line-finances-2017-7

And, if you really look closely, Trump's claim that he has nothing to do with Russia, overlooks how much certain Russians have invested in his properties.

Trump's Russian Laundromat:

https://newrepublic.com/article/143...ses-dirty-money-international-crime-syndicate

The above link is long and is a detailed look at the extent to which Russia, under Putin, is basically the largest criminal syndicate in the world. If you really want an education on Trump and the Russians, read that link....
 
A couple of interesting developments reported Thursday night by the Washington Post and The NY Times.

One, the President is exploring his powers of pardon. Can he pardon family, staff, and can he even pardon himself?

Two, the Presidents lawyers are building a case for undercutting Mueller's investigation. Exploring conflict of interests for both Mueller and Mueller's legal team. Conflict of Interest is one appropriate reason that can be used to fire Mueller. The NY Times interview Wed. night may have been in service toward the aim of eventually firing the Special Council. It's possible Trump may have expected AG Sessions to resign after Trump was highly critical of his AG's recusal from the Russian Probe. White House staff described as "stunned" when Sessions said he was remaining Thursday morning.

A President pardoning himself would seem to be uncharted territory. He definetly seems to be aiming toward firing Mueller, however, and the degree of turmoil that would unleash is unknown. Accepting a pardon is an admission of guilt. Derailing a Special Council investigation would seem to be placing oneself outside the rule of law. Republicans in Congress would have to decide where they truly stand should Mueller be canned. With the President, or with the rule of law. At least, that would appear to be the choice presented should we get to that point.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...056e768a7e5_story.html?utm_term=.10f456bbeb2a

If you have difficulty accessing the Washington Post report, here is a summary from The Atlantic:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politic...ares-war-on-the-mueller-investigation/534447/
 
Trump is mobilizing for a war against the rule of law:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligence...bilizing-for-war-against-the-rule-of-law.html

"Trump has shown himself immune to widespread warnings that certain steps are simply not done. His hiding of tax returns, firing of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (who was investigating Russian financial crimes when he was let go), and ousting of FBI director James Comey were all steps that would seem to immolate his career. Ordering the Department of Justice to fire Mueller, or pardoning the targets of his investigations, would be an open announcement that Trump considers his financial ties to the Russian underworld and state to be beyond any legal accountability. The ominous threats emanating from the White House are that of an administration mobilizing for war against the rule of law."
 
Repubs like Dutch bashing shep smith is just wonderful. Keep the deplorable tears coming! They're delicious and oh so refreshing!

Can't wait until rush and Sean cannibalize other republicans. Hell, rush is coming pretty close to sounding like a liberal today. He disagrees with trump's proposal to leave Obamacare in place and is bashing congress. Will Sean eat Rush tonight???

I always bash big government RINOS!!

i am a libertarian!


mcain, shep those are not libertarian those are big government cronies!
 
I always bash big government RINOS!!

i am a libertarian!


mcain, shep those are not libertarian those are big government cronies!

I'd like to see you reconcile this with your support of the President. Coherently please.
 
I always bash big government RINOS!!

i am a libertarian!


mcain, shep those are not libertarian those are big government cronies!

Republicans are not libertarians. They are not the same thing. And your hybrid libertarian flavored **** is not libertarian.
 
A couple of interesting developments reported Thursday night by the Washington Post and The NY Times.

One, the President is exploring his powers of pardon. Can he pardon family, staff, and can he even pardon himself?

Two, the Presidents lawyers are building a case for undercutting Mueller's investigation. Exploring conflict of interests for both Mueller and Mueller's legal team. Conflict of Interest is one appropriate reason that can be used to fire Mueller. The NY Times interview Wed. night may have been in service toward the aim of eventually firing the Special Council. It's possible Trump may have expected AG Sessions to resign after Trump was highly critical of his AG's recusal from the Russian Probe. White House staff described as "stunned" when Sessions said he was remaining Thursday morning.

A President pardoning himself would seem to be uncharted territory. He definetly seems to be aiming toward firing Mueller, however, and the degree of turmoil that would unleash is unknown. Accepting a pardon is an admission of guilt. Derailing a Special Council investigation would seem to be placing oneself outside the rule of law. Republicans in Congress would have to decide where they truly stand should Mueller be canned. With the President, or with the rule of law. At least, that would appear to be the choice presented should we get to that point.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...056e768a7e5_story.html?utm_term=.10f456bbeb2a

If you have difficulty accessing the Washington Post report, here is a summary from The Atlantic:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politic...ares-war-on-the-mueller-investigation/534447/

Yep.

Along those lines of money laundering, both Trump and Manafort have been involved with laundering Russian money since the early 2000s. Manaford helped to launder money for Russian oligarchs in order to buy off Ukrainian officials to create a pro-Putin Ukraine. It didn't exactly work out. But it has led to some pretty serious crimes. Maddow also blows up Manafort's "reasoning" that he was merely "serving" the Trump campaign by running it without pay despite owing $17 million to Russian oligarchs. Hmmmm... Get Trump elected and the debts will be forgiven???

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/...ardoning-himself-family-members-1005099587908

This seems consistent with Manafort's own daughter's exposing murders that he caused:

http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-manafort-daughter-text-messages-ukraine-2017-3

Manafort did not respond to request for comment from Business Insider. He confirmed to Politico late last month that his daughter Andrea had been hacked, and he corroborated some exchanges while declining to comment on others.

'That money we have is blood money'
In a series of texts reviewed by Business Insider that appear to have been sent by Andrea to her sister, Jessica, in March 2015, Andrea said their father had "no moral or legal compass."

"Don't fool yourself," Andrea wrote to her sister, according to the texts. "That money we have is blood money."

"You know he has killed people in Ukraine? Knowingly," she continued, according to the reviewed texts. "As a tactic to outrage the world and get focus on Ukraine. Remember when there were all those deaths taking place. A while back. About a year ago. Revolts and what not. Do you know whose strategy that was to cause that, to send those people out and get them slaughtered."

Andrea did not respond to a request for comment.

Paul was a top adviser to Yanukovych from 2004 to 2014. Ukrainian authorities have said Yanukovych created the conditions that led to the security forces opening fire. Ukraine's interior minister issued a warrant for Yanukovych's arrest shortly after the uprising. He fled to Russia and was granted asylum.
 
I think we could learn a lot by studying post-Soviet Russian history and how Putin came to power:

The new Russia didn’t get off to a good start. It first had to sell off almost 45,000 businesses that had been owned and run by the communist government. The firms fell into the hands of a few opportunistic men, making many of them billionaires overnight. These men came to be known as the Russian oligarchy — and would later become crucial allies that helped Putin maintain, and expand, his hold on power.

At the same time, Russia’s first president, Boris Yeltsin, was wildly unpopular, with many ordinary Russians seeing him as a weak-willed leader incapable of standing up to the US or protecting his country from terror attacks launched by militants from the breakaway republic of Chechnya. Russia’s economy went into a nosedive, and corruption was rampant.

Enter Vladimir Putin.

The former spy became the deputy mayor of St. Petersburg in 1991. He quickly gained favor with the oligarchy by helping them structure monopolies and restricting licenses to their competitors. Criminal organizations also became very powerful during the post-Soviet chaos, and Putin helped them launder money and set up front companies.

He quickly began to remake the Russian state, enriching the oligarchs who supported him and crushing those who didn’t. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man, was an outspoken critic of Putin, until he was swiftly arrested for corruption and sent to a labor camp in east Russia.

Putin also began to push his worldview outside of Russia’s borders. As a former Soviet spy, Putin was deeply skeptical and paranoid about the West. He was particularly concerned about the possibility of former Soviet republics like Ukraine, Georgia, and the Baltic states joining the NATO military alliance, since that would bring them out of Russia’s sphere of interest and place them squarely in that of the US and its allies.

Putin has also tightened his grip on his own country. With the continued support of criminal organizations, oligarchs, and the Russian security services, Putin has been able to stifle Russia’s free press while gutting its civil institutions and eliminating any semblance of political opposition. Critics such as journalist Anna Politkovskaya and political dissident Denis N. Voronenkov are murdered, their killers never found.

https://www.vox.com/videos/2017/3/27/15052666/putin-russia-spy-president-vladimir

If you want to read about the countless men he has bullied or butchered and press offices he has taken over to promote Fox News like propaganda, read these books:

https://www.amazon.com/Putin-Country-Journey-into-Russia/dp/0374247722 (a great summary)
https://www.amazon.com/New-Tsar-Rei...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=P1NXZGPJFXE72CBVCSY9 (the most exhausting and most detailed)
https://www.amazon.com/Man-Without-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MXKY9TV08QKEBSEQ7K5G (this is a great first hand account)
 
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