I agree with your point, and there are some red-blooded political consultants out there thinking the same: that if they can win total control of the govt. by just picking a sucker of a corrupt figurehead fall-guy who can win the election, if it gets them a couple of years of 2 or 3 branch dominance, and a couple of supreme court appointments, its totally worth it. Expect to see it more until the consequences exceed the gains, or the consequences spread to the backers/benefactors, not just the principals.
I don’t think Trump is smart enough to be the prime mover here, the people who chose him to be the candidate, bankrolled and got him elected are outsourcing the consequences to him while they keep the benefits. What are the chances the legal consequences spread to the Mercers, the Russian oligarchs, etc?
I don’t believe in Mueller as a stern Rhadamanthus who will hold everyone accountable to all their violations of the law. I imagine he’s more likely to think that only the most gross and unquestionable crimes accompanied by irrefutably solid evidence should cause members of government to be prosecuted within the bounds of his investigation.
So I think he will feel free to go after Flynn or Manafort or other minor players who are no longer in the White House or in Trump’s service. Indeed if he doesn’t find someone to charge he will look very bad himself. But I expect serving members of the executive branch and current Trump staff people will be virtually immune to indictment, at least based on Mueller’s own recommendation.
I’d be delighted to be wrong, of course. I don’t have any strong evidence of my own to support this position; it’s just what I expect to happen.
Keith O makes the point that the exact day this meeting with the Russian lawyer with maybe Clintonkompromat happened, was also the first day DT himself tweeted about the 33000 “missing” emails. Probably just coincidence.
It’s very important to note that at the time of the meeting Manafort was the campaign chair.
I really, really hope the FBI/Mueller have already interviewed Manafort prior to this news at least once.
With the GOP controlling all three branches of government, the law has become a very malleable thing. (I’m not a lawyer.)
Menzo
3746
Yeah, but guys, maybe Trump and his cronies broke the law and collaborated with Russia to steal an election, but we all know how bad it would have been if Clinton would have been elected.
[quote]Had Hillary been elected, the Clinton Foundation would be raking in even more millions than it did before. She would be happily selling access, favors and our remaining freedoms out from under us. She would be further eviscerating our military and she would be raising taxes to fund Obamacare even though it is a clear and present disaster. Anyone who doubts that should look up Hillarycare, the monstrosity she designed behind closed doors when her husband was in the White House. Her plan would dictate who could go to medical school, what specialty they would “choose,” and where they would be compelled to practice. Her plan was the U.K.'s NHS on steroids. Her plan was rationed care and death panels from hell.
Had HRC won, she would be implementing thousands of new regulations on businesses to further hamstring the economy. She would let the fascist freaks at the Environmental Protection Agency have their way with every aspect of our daily lives: Our cars, our showerheads, our toilets, our rainwater in our yards, etc. She would, like the EPA under Obama, privilege any species, no matter how insignificant, over humans. Central California has been devastated by the environmentalists’ reverence for the delta smelt! Thousands of farm workers lost their jobs thanks to this lefty decision, turning a lush agricultural valley into a brown wasteland in the name of “going green.” This is the American left today.[/quote]
Any good nonpartisan sources on the Clinton foundation? I’m curious what truth there is to the pay-to-play accusations. I don’t really have a dog in the hunt as I don’t suppose them to be paragons of ethics. (Nor would mind learning they are.)
Not sure what you’re looking for, the NYT’s “raises questions” and “bad optics” crap over the summer and fall turned out to be a big fat nothing. You can just read those articles to find out. FWIW, they get an A rating from Charity Watch.
https://www.charitywatch.org/ratings-and-metrics/clinton-foundation/478
(There was a story in Motherboard* I think on the Clinton Foundation and links to that country’s elites that didn’t get any MSM coverage, and the actions there at least are questionable.)
*Edit: it was Fusion:
If anything, that should surely make her more popular in a country where corporations reign supreme?
In a darkened Oval Office, Donnie weeps bitterly and opens another pint of ice cream. It’ll be fine, he tells himself. Vlad only treats him this way in public to impress his friends. He’ll be back. Won’t he?
https://twitter.com/nycjim/status/884739685179940864
Menzo
3751
So let’s for a second assume it’s all true, and that the meeting did happen and that this lawyer is connected to the Kremlin.
The only reason she’s not already on a plane back to Moscow, and is instead apparently ready to hang Don Jr. out to dry, is because Putin wants to use this opportunity to show Trump just what’s at stake if those sanctions aren’t removed, right?
Putin has his hand on the controls. Just as the White House starts spinning their cover story, another innocent comment like this tears it all apart.
Trump and the people who voted for him have ruined this country. Look at what happened at the G20, the USA was shunned and basically a non-factor.
Timex
3753
Yep.
Here’s a piece by Friedman about how Trump has basically fucked us over in Asia.
Although, to be fair, Benie wanted to do the same, and Clinton then took up that same fool position for political reasons.
That’s why the Peterson Institute for International Economics estimated that U.S. national income would have grown by some $130 billion a year by 2030 with TPP — not huge, just a nice boost for U.S. workers, businesses and diplomats.
I’m sure 90% of that $130 billion would have gone to 15 people, 5 of them named Walton. I’m not convinced.
That’s another thread, though.
No one involved disputes that the meeting happened, by the by.
Trump isn’t actually all that controllable, because of the stupid. It’s more like Putin opened the door to the china shop and led the bull inside. And now he’s standing aside to enjoy the chaos.
Timex
3757
Ya, that’s the thing, Putin knows what he’s doing.
He, unlike the GOP, was never under any impression he could directly “control” Trump. He can certainly manipulate him pretty easily, because Trump is a narcissistic imbecile, but Putin doesn’t need to control him.
Putin benefits from the chaos in the western world that results from Trump being so grossly incompetent.
The Times has the email, and DTJ’s reply: “if it’s what you say I love it”
We all knew The Times had the email the whole time. They know exactly what the Trump playbook is now, issue ever more strained denials. Simply wait out whatever idiotic response is incoming, and then produce the evidence to refute it. It’s quite beautiful.
