Senate The US Politics discussion

Looks like there's a possible loophole for McCabe's pension - a Democratic House Rep is offering him a job for 'a couple of days'.

 

Trump is cornered in a major way right now. The Mueller investigation is likely about to advance into his inner circle (i.e. Don Jr./Kushner), along with an obstruction of justice investigation that is apparently just about done. The investigation keeps widening and deepening and shows no end in sight (nor should it, really, given the extent of Trump's shady dealings and behavior, and those of his many associates). On the other side, a Democratic takeover of the House seems likely right now. That could change, but I think that's what's going to happen in November. If and when Adam Schiff becomes chairman of the Intelligence committee, he's going to be the 180 degree opposite of Devin Nunes. Real oversight is going to happen, both from him and elsewhere in the House.

This may well be the last chance Trump has to meaningfully obstruct the investigation. It should be noted though that if Mueller is fired, the investigation likely just goes back to the FBI, possibly with much of Mueller's team in tow with it. The only real difference could be that the FBI leaks a lot, while Mueller's team is silent.

I think so, though perhaps not immediately. I think something Trump doesn’t understand or want to believe is that he’s fighting an impossible battle. Most everything is going to come out eventually. There’s no way around it. He may or may not face criminal and/or immediate political consequences for his actions and those of his subordinates, but a near-complete accounting is just about inevitable.

 

McCabe was fired theoretically for leaking damaging information about Clinton.

Trump is tweeting that he was caught helping her. Either this guy is so dumb he can't even comprehend the reason his cronies fired McCabe or he knows his idiot fans will believe anything.

 

It’s both. Unfortunately, the GOP leadership has so far covered for him. Even the loss of multiple seats nationwide hasn’t changed their behavior.

At this point I’m not sure what, if anything, will.

 

They will until they don't, and then a few will be hailed as courageous for doing what was politically impossible not to. After all, vociferous defender of the Confederate flag Nikki Halley is still praised as having some sort of moral courage for suggesting, on the heels of an explicitly neo-Nazi terrorist attack that prominently featured the use of a Confeederate flag, that maybe the symbol wasn't the best branding any more.

 

That didn’t take long

Looks like you may be proven right, @KnightWriter. I’m insanely jealous that he has those memos and I don’t.

 

I wonder if they'll rush the FBI Inspector General's report out to try to justify McCabe's firing. I complain a lot, but hopefully the FBI isn't that corrupt. Sessions definitely is (firing someone at 10PM on a Friday night), and its hard not to believe the worst when Trump then gloats about it in a tweet. Normally that tweet would look incriminating, but its just another in a long line of corrupt, guilty behavior. As usual it'll probably all come down to November. Unless Trump tries something even worse (like a war) to divert attention from all this.

 

The likelihood of a war is rising, IMHO.

If Trump decertifies the Iran deal, then I expect some kind of military action by late summer, probably in coordination with the Israelis. And it will not go well. For anyone.

 

One thing he is right about.

 

Fake News: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/1998-trump-people-quote/

 

In schadenfreude news

The GOP dude who called a shooting survivor student a lesbian skinhead dropped out of his race.

 

Have to share this:

 

Good.

 

Looks like Lindsey Graham is trying to assert himself again.

Now, is he for real, or this just a political stunt?

 

That reminds me of the court case against a German neo-nazi cell that murdered a whole bunch of people. The sole survivor of the group was originally defended by the attorneys Heer, Sturm and Stahl. You really couldn't have found more fitting names than that.

He isn't the only one making comments like that. Trey Gowdy also made a comment of that kind, after already having made positive statements about the investigation a few weeks ago (and that is Mr. BENGHAZI!!1! himself). Even more surprising, Joe Walsh also said that if Trump would fire Mueller he should be impeached immediately. Coming from someone who is one of the biggest Trump-shills you could find, that is quite the statement. The only level above someone like Walsh turning on Trump would be if Sean Hannity or one of Trump's children turned on him.

Then again, you can say a lot of stuff, doesn't mean you will act on it should the situation arrive. Going "this is outrageous, someone should do something about it!" is usually enough to shift the blame for not having acted onto somebody else. After all, you wanted to act, but there just weren't enough votes for it.

 

Good to know he's for universal healthcare....

 

And America will go from isolated to pariah.

And all to undo the legacy of Obama. Next up, golfing with Kim Jong Un.

 

Undoing whatever Obama did has been the Republican plan of action since 2009. He was already being categorized as the worst President ever before he took office. Republicans openly said their mission was to oppose Obama at every turn. You reap what you sow.

 

Damn.

 

What I find shocking is the access to PM data. I don't care what the data was being used for--the fact that FB were selling it is pretty incredible.

 

A tech company which is immoral and disregards privacy concerns, you say?

 

Next you'll tell me they performed unethical psychological experiments on users without their knowledge or consent.

 

It's a naive position, I know. My CS honours was in data mining, so I know how powerful these techniques can be, but it's almost as if the way apps ask for permissions , it's deliberately designed to mislead users into thinking apps only have access to what you give them.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/18/politics/kushner-nyc-property-flipping/index.html

Kushner is vulnerable to state charges here, underscoring again how a pardon doesn't help many of Trump's subordinates. I'm almost certain I walked by at least one of those buildings when I was in Astoria last month.