In Oval Office just now, Trump is asked by reporters:
Does it make you more likely to fire Rosenstein? Do you still have confidence in him?
"You figure that one out," Trump responded
In Oval Office just now, Trump is asked by reporters:
Does it make you more likely to fire Rosenstein? Do you still have confidence in him?
"You figure that one out," Trump responded
McCain rebukes Republicans: Attacking FBI serves 'only Putin'
By ELANA SCHOR 02/02/2018 12:31 PM EST
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Friday delivered a subtle but stinging rebuke to House Republicans over their move to release a classified memo alleging misconduct at the FBI, urging President Donald Trump and other Republicans to stop "manufacturing partisan sideshows" that benefit Russia.
The statement from McCain, who is away from Washington undergoing treatment for brain cancer, came minutes after Trump signed off on the release of the memo crafted by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee. McCain directly connected his fellow Republicans' campaign to undercut the FBI with Russian President Vladimir Putin's meddling in the 2016 election.
"The latest attacks on the FBI and Department of Justice serve no American interests — no party's, no president's, only Putin's," McCain said. The Arizonan, a longtime Russia hawk who helped shape a bipartisan package of sanctions against Moscow last year, added that "Special Counsel [Robert] Mueller's investigation must proceed unimpeded."
What are the contents of the memo?
They're underwhelming because you don't believe them, or the allegations are underwhelming even if true?
That's the worst lookin' hat I ever saw!
On the other hand, reading this thing myself, I can't exactly see where national security and intelligence gathering methods have been compromised. It's pretty straight forward, and basically just a snynopsis of stuff we already knew or suspected. So I think the outrage from that standpoint is a bit overblown as well.
They're in an interesting spot. No one wants to publicly come out against Trump in a way that would endanger their electoral chances, but I think a sizable amount of them would be fine with Pence replacing him because they could get the same policies passed through while being able to advertise "responsibility" and "normalcy," which the press would eat right up. It's clear many of them dislike Trump's erratic nature as a demented, spoiled, inattentive dipshit, but they love the rubber stamp on the things they can manage to get through Congress. It's certainly a dichotomy.The GOP are scared out of their minds. Trump owns them. They know if he goes down, legally or for whatever reason, he splinters the party.
They're in an interesting spot. No one wants to publicly come out against Trump in a way that would endanger their electoral chances, but I think a sizable amount of them would be fine with Pence replacing him because they could get the same policies passed through while being able to advertise "responsibility" and "normalcy," which the press would eat right up. It's clear many of them dislike Trump's erratic nature as a demented, spoiled, inattentive dipshit, but they love the rubber stamp on the things they can manage to get through Congress. It's certainly a dichotomy.
I've now read it for myself, and tried to stay away from the news spin about it.
I don't see anything particularly earth shattering in this. Yes, if true it's troubling that the Steele dossier, a document paid for and created on behalf of the DNC and Clinton campaign (at least the part that forms the dossier in question), would be used as "essential" grounds to obtain a FISA warrant on an American citizen....particularly one who was connected to a rival campaign. This information should have been disclosed to the judge who issued the original warrant.
That said, knowing how these warrants are issued, I can only assume that we're not getting a complete picture of all the information that was contained in the warrant application. If the Steele dossier represented the entirety, or even a good part, of the rationale for obtaining the warrant, that would be one thing. But I suspect there was more intelligence than that (at least I hope so). And the fact that the information may have been collected by someone with bias doesn't necessarily mean that the warrant would be invalid. Warrants are often issued based on information from biased, less than savoury sources (though that's why it would be troubling if the judge was not informed of the source of the dossier).
So yeah, I'm not sure there's much to this, other than Trump using it as a pretext to start firing people.
On the other hand, reading this thing myself, I can't exactly see where national security and intelligence gathering methods have been compromised. It's pretty straight forward, and basically just a snynopsis of stuff we already knew or suspected. So I think the outrage from that standpoint is a bit overblown as well.
So what we have here is selective information, released to the public without context for partisan purposes. Which also describes every leak that's come out about this matter....and those leaks are the basis for pretty much everything else we know, or think we know, about what's going on with this investigation.
Couple things here. First, the Steele Dossier was first financed by a conservative outfit, and later by HRC campaign.
Nearly everything that has been said about Trump and Russia has come true.
Nick, I feel you are playing the Deep game
Meh. I don't think voters pays as much attention to this stuff as we think they do. As important as this is, it's pretty DC insider stuff. The people who hate Trump, hate him. Nothing is going to change that. And his 40% base is obviously sticking with him no matter what.
Fusion GPS was sourced by conservatives first. Steele wasn't hired until after the switch to the DNC.
All of this is meaningless, of course. Opposition research is a bipartisan effort.
The important point is that the research did not originate with the Clinton campaign — it was already out there. Other distinctions make no difference.
It enables a superficial dismissal — you’re right in that most wont dig deeply into this stuff, but given it’s a news item, and we are dominated by a 24-Hour news cycle, it’s a nugget someone can latch onto. And given that I saw U2 twice last summer with more people than swung the 2016 election, every single vote counts. We’ve been bombarded with 1,000 NYT think pieces about the mind of the Trump voter, and all they need — and, yes, this goes both ways — is a modicum if doubt, or a sense that the other side (or, better, shadowy Deep State) is out to get them. That’s motivating.
Former Hippies Put in Horrible Position of Rooting for F.B.I.
Andy Borowitz
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Former hippies across the United States have been put in the unbearable position of rooting for the F.B.I., hippies have confirmed.
From Vermont to California, erstwhile hippies bemoaned a nightmare scenario that has forced them to side with a law-enforcement agency they have despised since the Summer of Love.
“I always dreamed I’d spend my retirement surrounded by my grandchildren, telling them that the F.B.I. were fascist pigs,” Carol Foyler, a former hippie who lives in Santa Cruz, said. “That dream has been shot to hell.”
Her husband, Mick, nodded his head in sad agreement. “We were so happy when pot was legalized in California,” he said. “But the fact that we’re now on the same side as the F.B.I. has ruined even that.”
Now in their seventies, the Foylers are spending their days doing things they never dreamed possible when they traipsed through the mud at Woodstock: going door to door in Santa Cruz, asking other former freaks to sign a pro-F.B.I. petition.
“Donald Trump has wrecked America’s standing around the world, spread misogyny and bigotry, ravaged the environment, and endorsed a child molester,” Carol said. “But making people like us support the F.B.I. is the most unforgivable thing he’s done.”