The umpteenth pawn

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

Trump Team’s Ties To Russia Face Sharper Scrutiny Amid New House Probe And Explosive Reports
Pressure grows for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from investigations into the scandal.

So let's see. The guy whose meetings with Russians the FBI is supposed to be investigating as part of their larger inquiry into the Trump campaign's ties to the Kremlin, is now being put in a position where he would be able to exert control over the FBI? How's that for a move, eh?

So when specifically asked about any possible contacts with Russian officials, Sessions says, "I did not have communications with the Russians” - and his spokeszombie says, "He was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign - not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee". That's disingenuous and in no way exonerates Sessions at all.

Lying under oath. He should be prosecuted. Perjury, after all, is what did Bill Clinton in. It's about time this racist midget is held to account. He's terrorized elderly black voters, disrespected women, and pushes an agenda of mass incarceration - I say give him the opportunity to experience a little of his own tough love.

So let's see now...

* Paul Manafort, former campaign aid - helped pro-Russian Ukrainian dictator, Viktor Yanukovich get elected. Is being investigated by the FBI for his dealings with Russia.
* Michael Flynn, now resigned, for lying about his discussions with Russia. Promised lifting of sanctions, suggesting he had agreement from Trump...
* Multiple intelligence sources reporting Russia has kompromat on Trump.
* In vindication of the Christopher Steele dossier, Trump avoided discussing the Crimean annexation and even encouraged other Repubs to avoid the topic as well.
* Trump has expressed disdain for NATO all during the campaign.
* Now, his attorney general is caught with his hand in the cookie jar as well... and his resignation is likely.

Time to do the math already, no? Trump's administration seems to be moved around like pawns on a chessboard.

I wonder how many freaking times can Ryan and McConnell be faced with another scandal in their beloved Republican administration without showing some balls and say enough is enough. If they continue to back the Drumfpster and continue this charade of a presidency, how do they ever think they will be able to do anything with their so-called agenda?

Comments

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

At first I read this as "the trumpteenth pawn", and I suspect I wasn't wrong. :-)

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

Paul Manafort: A scuzzy guy who worked for scuzzier guys. I don't know if he did anything that rises to the level of crime, per se, but even if it was all 100% legal, it was still a scuzzy thing to do. Kicking this guy to the curb was a big part of what got Trump elected.

Michael Flynn: It looks like he did nothing illegal. It was just gross stupidity to lie about it. Which, as a NSC, is supremely disqualifying.

kompromat: Almost all reports of this are so dubiously sourced that I find the whole thing utterly unconvincing. If the NYT and the WaPo aren't willing to run with it, chances are that it is just agitprop. The kompromat is this cycle's "missing-birth-certificate-Kenyan-muslim" controversy. When I see the pics of the hookers and blow, then I'll believe it. Until then, it is worthless.

Trump avoided discussing the Crimean annexation: Which puts him fairly squarely in the Barak "I'll have more flexibility after the election, Bro" Obama orbit, as far as these things go. Trump was clearly more dovish than the bellicose Hillary Clinton on most foreign policy during the campaign. How that willingness to compromise and conciliate suddenly became a double plus bad thing for those on the left never fails to amuse me. On the other hand, avoiding talking about something of which he is probably profoundly ignorant isn't exactly a bad idea. As Lincoln said, "it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt." If only he took that advice when....

Trump has expressed disdain for NATO: A lot of this is red meat campaign rhetoric mixed liberally with a general ignorance of what he was talking about. In short, not to be taken seriously. But there is also a grain of truth there. The large part of the US has resented weight on its coat tails, vis a vis EU military commitment, for a generation. Is this a natural win for Russia, though? Not if the EU takes the criticism seriously and beefs up its military commitment to NATO, which is what Trump's rhetoric is meant to elicit, after all.

Attorney general is caught with his hand in the cookie jar "Hand in the cookie jar" implies theft or a payoff. So, I'll just ignore that, since I don't think that kind of malfeasance is on the table. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop here, since I find it hard to believe Sessions would lie about something so easily discovered, especially if he was working for the campaign. However, a sitting senator having a meeting with an foreign ambassador doesn't exactly strike me as too nefarious. The ranking member of the Senate Armed services committee met with the Russian ambassador during a period when that committee was focusing on Russian policy? So what? Why wouldn't he just be up front about it? I'd need to see the transcript of the hearing to judge, but if he lied, then he needs to go ASAP. Like Flynn, that kind of stupid, even if it isn't illegal, is disqualifying.

To sum up, other than Manafort who clearly had ties to Putin, I'm still trying to see these "ties to the Kremlin," we're all supposed to be so worried about. All I see is a lot of conjecture without evidence or more evidence (like we need any more!) that Trump's grasp of policy is tentative, at best while his instincts run toward the emotional.

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

I suppose this is no biggie too, then:
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/02/pence-used-personal-email-state-business----and-hacked/98604904/

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

Not knowing the typical security of a governor's email, or the law as it stood in Indiana, I will reserve judgement, except to point out that a Governor of Indiana is not US Secretary of State.

For me, at least, it wasn't about the security of Clinton's email. I assume, as a matter of course, that all US state correspondence is eventually hacked by somebody, no matter how "secure" the system is. What concerned me was how she set up a private server to conduct state business away from the prying eyes of our own government and how apparently cavalier she was about the rules and her smug assumption that we would just trust her that whatever she deleted off of that server was no big deal. It highlighted her "I'm better than you people" attitude. Also, when I read the content of the leaked emails, I was doubly appalled. The first thing any competent attorney will tell you is never put anything on an email that you wouldn't want to see on the front page of the NYT. In fact, lawyer friends of mine, who are long time Democrats and well to the left of me politically, said that was when they washed their hands of her campaign and decided to write in Bernie. They live in NYC, so like my NJ vote for "None of the Above," it made no difference whatsoever. Multiply us out across the country, especially in the Midwest, though?

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

I find it hard to believe Sessions would lie about something so easily discovered

So why did he resign?

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

He didn't resign?

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

Correction: Recused himself.

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

There are two reasons to recuse yourself as a prosecutor or a judge.

1.) You are directly involved with the parties or are yourself a party and must, according to the law, recuse yourself.
2.) It is politically necessary or, at least, politically expedient to avoid giving any leverage to political opponents.

I think Sessions recusal is mostly of the second variety, but he is casting it as necessary since he was associated with the Trump campaign. Eh. It looks like the whole thing is a giant nothingburger. But by all means let's keep worrying at it because eventually someone will contradict themselves in their 3rd deposition and then your get to convict them of perjury and hang their head on your wall.

[oportet.livejournal.com]

Their so-called agenda only has a chance because of Trump - so I assume Ryan and McConnell will put up with anything and everything, as many times as it takes, with a smile (real or fake).

Until Trump does something incredibly stupid (does - not says, not tweets, not thinks out loud, not implies) - continuing to be ball-less would be in their agendas and their political careers best interests.

[luvdovz.livejournal.com]

Something stupid, like what. Take health care off of a few million people?

[oportet.livejournal.com]

Something that would result in a net loss in votes for their party (as for your example, I'm guessing that would be borderline - besides, they were up front with that idea, and won with it)