Now that the final Mueller report is out showing that there is no more "collusion delusion", the Attorney General has testified under oath to the Senate, the last event of any significance would be the possible testimony of Robert Mueller. As much as the Democrats are going to push the "Barr is hiding something" rhetoric, it simply doesn't have the legs to remain a real issue. In the grand scheme of things, Barr is irrelevant to 90% of people in this country, and I doubt very seriously anyone believes that the redacted Grand Jury information has any relevant bombshells worth making a big fuss about.
So a hearing featuring testimony of Robert Mueller would be a fitting end to the collusion delusion, and a grand beginning of next step of logical oversight. After four investigations, we now find out that there was never, at any time, any actual evidence of ANY American (much less anyone associated with Trump) who was a Russian agent, conspired with Russian actors involved in criminal actions, or even aided and abetted any Russians as it pertained to our election.
The question quickly becomes, why did it take us over two years and four investigations to come to this conclusion when common sense should have been enough? Who pushed for this faux investigation in the first place? Who is responsible for the overall hoax? Was it simply incompetence? Was it partisanship and bias? Or was it actually something more sinister and possibly even illegal? These are legitimate questions, and polling suggests that people want to have answers.
Mueller might be able to answer a select few of these questions to some degree, but I suspect that he didn't bother with most of these. Not that it was his job to police his own, but it seems odd that one would spend this sort of time, money, and resources on a continuous dead end without considering any alternative reasons for what was happening.
Democrats will attempt to "change the subject" of course, just as they have been doing. Collusion has been replaced by obstruction so seamlessly, you would have thought that Mueller was brought in specifically to start an investigation into whether or not the President would try to obstruct that very investigation. Of course, that is not only untrue, but nonsensical.
But after two years of screaming collusion, collusion, collusion, they still want their pound of flesh and will never admit that they were wrong. Their best chance at this would be to continue down the "obstruction" path, which can only really be pursued through some sort of impeachment hearings. But they have lukewarm support for that idea even within their own ranks. Overall the vast majority of the country does not want impeachment hearings. It could be politically damaging for the Democrats and a huge distraction for the 2020 Democratic Presidential race.
Moreover, the further away we get from the release of the Mueller report and the closer we get to the 2020 election, the more that support will waver. It's pretty much now or never, and I don't believe Pelosi and others at the top of the Democratic heap are going to go there. If there is no collusion, and obstruction falls to the trash heap, what is left for Democrats to complain about?
43 comments:
Dems should be careful about what they wish for. Republicans will be asking Mueller questions too.
Not so fast.
We are former federal prosecutors. We served under both Republican and Democratic administrations at different levels of the federal system: as line attorneys, supervisors, special prosecutors, United States Attorneys, and senior officials at the Department of Justice. The offices in which we served were small, medium, and large; urban, suburban, and rural; and located in all parts of our country.
Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting President, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice.
The Mueller report describes several acts that satisfy all of the elements for an obstruction charge: conduct that obstructed or attempted to obstruct the truth-finding process, as to which the evidence of corrupt intent and connection to pending proceedings is overwhelming. These include:
· The President’s efforts to fire Mueller and to falsify evidence about that effort;
· The President’s efforts to limit the scope of Mueller’s investigation to exclude his conduct; and
· The President’s efforts to prevent witnesses from cooperating with investigators probing him and his campaign.
Attempts to fire Mueller and then create false evidence
Despite being advised by then-White House Counsel Don McGahn that he could face legal jeopardy for doing so, Trump directed McGahn on multiple occasions to fire Mueller or to gin up false conflicts of interest as a pretext for getting rid of the Special Counsel. When these acts began to come into public view, Trump made “repeated efforts to have McGahn deny the story” — going so far as to tell McGahn to write a letter “for our files” falsely denying that Trump had directed Mueller’s termination.
Firing Mueller would have seriously impeded the investigation of the President and his associates — obstruction in its most literal sense. Directing the creation of false government records in order to prevent or discredit truthful testimony is similarly unlawful. The Special Counsel’s report states: “Substantial evidence indicates that in repeatedly urging McGahn to dispute that he was ordered to have the Special Counsel terminated, the President acted for the purpose of influencing McGahn’s account in order to deflect or prevent scrutiny of the President’s conduct toward the investigation.”
Attempts to limit the Mueller investigation
The report describes multiple efforts by the president to curtail the scope of the Special Counsel’s investigation.
First, the President repeatedly pressured then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reverse his legally-mandated decision to recuse himself from the investigation. The President’s stated reason was that he wanted an attorney general who would “protect” him, including from the Special Counsel investigation. He also directed then-White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to fire Sessions and Priebus refused.
Second, after McGahn told the President that he could not contact Sessions himself to discuss the investigation, Trump went outside the White House, instructing his former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, to carry a demand to Sessions to direct Mueller to confine his investigation to future elections. Lewandowski tried and failed to contact Sessions in private. After a second meeting with Trump, Lewandowski passed Trump’s message to senior White House official Rick Dearborn, who Lewandowski thought would be a better messenger because of his prior relationship with Sessions. Dearborn did not pass along Trump’s message.
As the report explains, “[s]ubstantial evidence indicates that the President’s effort to have Sessions limit the scope of the Special Counsel’s investigation to future election interference was intended to prevent further investigative scrutiny of the President’s and his campaign’s conduct” — in other words, the President employed a private citizen to try to get the Attorney General to limit the scope of an ongoing investigation into the President and his associates.
All of this conduct — trying to control and impede the investigation against the President by leveraging his authority over others — is similar to conduct we have seen charged against other public officials and people in powerful positions.
CNN dumps 100 + employees as network struggles from hate Trump lies.
All of this conduct — trying to control and impede the investigation against the President by leveraging his authority over others — is similar to conduct we have seen charged against other public officials and people in powerful positions.
You are in favor of expanding the authority of the President beyond the Constitution limits for reasons beyond comprehension.
Funny Roger is no longer screaming collusion. Good little parrot.
Yes Roger is falling for the Talking Points Memo...
A great blogger once wrote:
Collusion has been replaced by obstruction so seamlessly, you would have thought that Mueller was brought in specifically to start an investigation into whether or not the President would try to obstruct that very investigation. Of course, that is not only untrue, but nonsensical.
Oh wait, that was me!
Nonsensical is what pushes Roger along!
But unless Democrats decide to try to "impeach" the President over obstruction, this whole thing is going away. Democrats will just look more and more and more desperate trying to keep it in the news.
Roger
Why are you in favor of forcing children to kick small dogs? That is such a mean thing to do? Why are you such a mean person?
Kamala now saying Stacy Abrams won her election. Good grief, what is in the water in California?
And AOC is overwhelmed and confused by a garbage disposal.
Geeezu
MyballsMay 7, 2019 at 8:30 AM
Funny Roger is no longer screaming collusion. Good little parrot."
Roger also predicted that inflation was to Soar by now and the next great Recession/Depression would be here.
Collusion is a call word used by the government in his attempt to terminate all investigations into his actions, before and after the election.
You are just a mouthpiece for the President
@trustrestored
Great list of DA’s who have put in writing they are fully willing to abuse their office against their political enemies. Still think we don’t live in a banana republic?
OK everyone I need your help because I just moved into this apartment a few months ago and I just flipped a switch and it made that noise and it scared the daylights out of me,” Ocasio-Cortez can be heard saying in footage.
“I am told this is a garbage disposal. I’ve never seen a garbage disposal. I never had one in any place I’ve ever lived,” she later said.
Wow, Speaker Pro-tem Luddite Cortez
@christianllamar
500 former federal prosecutors
(now 566) think an American citizen should be maliciously prosecuted for crimes they DID NOT commit. How many of them are in the American Bar Association? There are many more like Mueller-Rosenstein-Comey-McCabe-Yates-Boente in the Justice System.
CREEPY Joe takes 30 + point lead over Crazy Bernie.
Sorry girls you in the bottom of the polling including Crossdresser Butt Boy.
You are just a mouthpiece for the President
At least we don't tell children to kick small dogs. It's insane that you support such behavior.
btw Roger...
It's not part of Congress's oversight to investigate Donald Trump's personal life from before he was President. That is simply a constitutional fact.
Oh, and blinding hatred is not a valid constitutional reason for Congress to make an exception in this case.
You are claiming that the President is a small doggie?
The Democrats are going to pursue further investigations. He will not be able to stop the Speaker to pursue the congressional authority to monitor the President.
You keep defending a dog with rabies. That's an insane behavior.
The law gives the chairman of the investigational committee to see the tax returns of the President.
You are in favor of expanding the authority of the President beyond the Constitution limits for reasons beyond comprehension.
no alky.
we're in favor of actually following the constitution. the article II powers... and all the rest of it.
you otoh, cheered when captain pen & phone declared himself your dear leader. the congressional black caucasians willfully abdicated their congressional power and begged 0linsky to take some more.
it took the USSC to unanimously overturn skeets a dozen times, and then trump spends his first six months on the job shitcanning a veritable mountain of 0linsky's executive orders.
trump nor anyone in his administration has declared any extra or unconstitutional executive powers.
not one fucking time, despite your accusations of him having done so.
tell your 500+ former prosecutors suffering from TDS to go fuck themselves. they're entitled to their opinions. opinions that do not matter one fucking bit.
trump said i'd get tired of winning. so far i haven't, because watching him trigger you every fucking day never gets old.
At least we don't tell children to kick small dogs.
But you encourage the likes of the KKK, Nazi's and white supremacists to continue without the President voicing that these Americans are despicable and will support him with their votes because he accepts their hatred as his own....!!!
No it does not. He must have a unchallengeable reason to see someone's tax return. Political hatred is not one.
He will not be able to stop the Speaker to pursue the congressional authority to monitor the President.
actually sport, he most certainly can.
all he has to do is follow the 0linsky tradition of ignoring congressional subpoenas. skeets did everything but give the finger to congressional republicans. so i guess paybacks are a bitch.
so impeach the motherfucker, alky.
go for it.
.
Blogger Roger Amick said...
The law gives the chairman of the investigational committee to see the tax returns of the President.
no it doesn't alky. stop lying.
read the law. CH has posted it here on multiple occasions.
At least we don't tell children to kick small dogs. It's insane that you support such behavior.
the alky has added the abuse of small dogs to his repertoire?
i knew he was a big fan of illegal beaner rapists and murderers, but the small dog thing is a bridge too far.
no it doesn't alky. stop lying.
The law as written is easy enough for you to understand it....asshole
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6103
@RyanAFournier
If Barr is investigating Democrats and they call for him to resign, isn’t that obstruction of justice?
After two years of gaslighting the public while it blew smoke up America’s ass, the Jacobin news media enjoyed its final feeding frenzy with the release of the 400-page Mueller report. They expected 1000 pounds of raw filet mignon, but it turned out to be tofu fried in olestra. The ensuing fugue of hyperventilating hysteria was also duly expected and William Barr stoically endured their hebephrenic peevings at the release ceremony — a press conference which itself offended the media.
The threats and raving continued all the livelong day and far into the peeper-filled night with CNN’s Chris Cuomo blustering “It’s time to rumble,” and the lugubrious hack David Gergen muttering soulfully, “This was not fake news,” and The Times’ Maggie Haberman fuming that the White House had played the “Nazi anthem” Edelweiss — very fake news, it turned out, since the tune was written for Rodgers’ and Hammerstein’s 1959 Broadway show, The Sound of Music (and sung by the anti-Nazi hero Baron von Trapp). Meanwhile Rachel Maddow had the balls to confab in prime time with disgraced former FBI mandarin Andy McCabe, officially identified as a liar by his own colleagues at the agency. What a circus of perfidious freakery!
Understand that the Mueller Report itself was the mendacious conclusion to a deceitful investigation, the purpose of which was to conceal the criminal conduct of US government officials meddling in the 2016 election, in collusion with the Hillary Clinton campaign, to derail Mr. Trump’s campaign, and then disable him when he managed to win the election. Mr. Mueller was theoretically trying to save the FBI’s reputation, but he may have only succeeded in injuring it more gravely.
The whole wicked business began as a (failed) entrapment scheme using shadowy US Intel “assests” Stefan Halper and Joseph Mifsud to con small fish Papadopoulos and Carter Page into incriminating themselves (they declined to be conned) and moved on to ploys like the much-touted Trump Tower meeting to ensnare Trump Junior and then to several efforts (also failed) to flip Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen — the final product of which was an epic failure to find one instance of real chargeable criminal collusion between anyone connected to Mr. Trump and Russia.
The law gives the chairman of the investigational committee to see the tax returns of the President.
Actually no, Roger. The person attempting to subpoena the tax returns is the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee... using and obscure law that allows that committee to subpoena tax returns if they feel the IRS needs oversight.
The reason why Mnuchin denied it (and will take it to court) is that the Democrats have already declared publicly that they intent to use part of the law in order to break another part of it.
While the law "does" allow them to subpoena tax returns, it does not allow Congress to actually view those tax returns. The law only allows a very small group of people to view them, then only to see if the IRS is indeed doing their jobs, and they are not allowed to disclose ANY information from the individuals tax returns.
So the second that Richard Neal says he wants Trumps tax returns and then starts talking about releasing them to the rest of Congress or even to release them publicly, then he is advocating a violation of a law.
You know... like breaking the law? Being a criminal?
So perhaps you can take your tired old brain and actually read the fucking law... or stop pretending you know squat.
Wow.....James Howard Kunstler.....about as important as the Jacobin POS posted by our Ga loser.....Can't say either adds up tp a flea fart for importance....LOLOLOL An empire of BULLSHIT is an apt description of trump and his followers.....>BWAAAAAAAAAA!
BTW asshole....Jacobin circulation is a whole 40K and Empire of Bullsit stays alive by donations.....total this year.....$11K out of a goal of 40K.....awesome site the loser....makes above top secret look good!!! BWAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
hey fatty
Wow loser.....ad hominem is all you got....
Pot this is kettle your black
LMAO
@paulsperry_
DEVELOPING: Congressional investigators are looking into "a number of false statements" made by Mueller in Volume I of his report where he misrepresented the underlying evidence ostensibly to mirror the FBI's stated pretext for opening investigations on Trump campaign figures
Need Mueller under oath
He has to be sworn in under oath.
Cock sucker and butt fucker Peter has his Campaign slogan.
"America, was never as great as advertised"
Roger AmickMay 7, 2019 at 10:18 AM
The law gives the chairman of the investigational committee to see the tax returns of the President. "
Puppy abuser Roger, please post the US Law with Secific US Code. Ty.
James Comey is in trouble and he knows it
I gotta get more popcorn
Anonymous caliphate4vr said...
James Comey is in trouble and he knows it
BWAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! Sure loser....about as much trouble as an opinion writer can make up.....another POS!!!!
r, please post the US Law with Specific US Co
i did you worthless goat fucking idiot.....Now read it!!!!!
Anonymous Paul Sperry said...
@paulsperry_
DEVELOPING: Congressional investigators are looking into
The goat fucking idiot posts another POS opinion that has no merit probably a bot post as usual the weak minded think it is meaningful.....BWAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
Hey fatty your ad hominem is as misplaced as your mentality
Kevin R. Brock, former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI, was an FBI special agent for 24 years and principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). He is a founder and principal of NewStreet Global Solutions, which consults with private companies and public-safety agencies on strategic mission technologies.
The Art of the Deal!
in 1985, Mr. Trump reported losses of $46.1 million from his core businesses — largely casinos, hotels and retail space in apartment buildings. They continued to lose money every year, totaling $1.17 billion in losses for the decade.
In fact, year after year, Mr. Trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer, The Times found when it compared his results with detailed information the I.R.S. compiles on an annual sampling of high-income earners. His core business losses in 1990 and 1991 — more than $250 million each year — were more than double those of the nearest taxpayers in the I.R.S. information for those years.
Over all, Mr. Trump lost so much money that he was able to avoid paying income taxes for eight of the 10 years. It is not known whether the I.R.S. later required changes after audits.
Teagan huh, bet Trump’s quivering
Moron
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