Senate The US Politics discussion

I ****ing hate shopping for and wearing jeans. Mom jeans look awful, low rise are uncomfortable, because of my apron belly, and my ass usually falls out of them. Honestly, I think I prefer wearing men's jeans, but I can never find them in the right length (I'm short)

First world problems... in the US government thread--deal with it.

 

I have a closet full of Levi's 505s. Find your Levi's number and stock up.

 

When did this turn into a jeans thread? Im filing a complaint.

 

I like jeans because they are durable and comfortable and rarely too heavy or too light for southern California. Levi's 501s are my current favorite; the tears of foreign workers are a bonus.

 

This is far too straightforward a post for a conversation that is decidedly not right now, but with all the stuff being reported so far this week, I find myself going back to what I thought a long time ago, which is that Mueller's team was and is assembling the equivalent of the Normandy invasion armada in legal form. Stuff keeps trickling out (like this week), and even with that, I think the Trump team is going to find itself completely overwhelmed by the weight of evidence against itself. I don't know how much that evidence is going to matter, and it's interesting that Alan Dershowitz said that by 2019, things will be back to where they were before a hypothetical Mueller report is published in some form. The reason for this seems obvious -- normalization will take place and everyone will have baked it into their existing views. This happened in Watergate with the tapes, which were a huge deal upon their revelation and then were halfway forgotten at times along the way. They brought Nixon down, but the battle for them almost overshadowed the tapes themselves, until the smoking gun tape was pried out of Nixon's hands.

What I don't think the Trump team is ready for (and can't bring themselves to believe, most particularly Trump himself) is the distinct possibility that Mueller's team knows everything, or so much that there's no meaningful difference between "almost" and "everything." I think "everything" entails a massive, far-reaching criminal conspiracy between members of the Trump campaign (up to and including Donald Trump) and the Russian government, along with certain other agents (like Julian Assange).

 

To add, I don't think Trump realizes how much trouble his kids are in, particularly in New York. Don Jr thinks he'll be indicted so at least he realizes that- but that is only for Russia- there is so much more from the company alone that he is on the hook for. Ivanka likewise isn't going to get far playing the "I didn't know" card about email thanks entirely to her father's "Lock her up!" Chant. And again, she too is on the hook in New York.

And Jared just continues to dig himself a hole.

In truth, this is how I think Trump's presidency will end- a deal that spares his kids jail time in exchange for his immediate resignation. Trump himself just might be untouchable while in power, but those around him are not and he knows that his Tax Return will see the light of day likely before the next Women's March.

Things are not going to get better for Trump. And the economy is teetering. When it goes, so too goes the only protection he has had up until now from Republicans. If they have a chance to dump Trump and install Pence, they will do it. Kasich continues to talk about primarying Trump- he sees the blood in the water. The sharks are coming. And the Senate won't be as warm to him this time. Mitt Romney is coming in, several of Sessions' old buddies aren't too pleased with how that went down, and Trump did the party no favors in the Midterms. Those who realize their days are numbered if they don't stand up to Trump (Susan Collins) will do so. Mitch will try to hold them off, but he's lost his sway and he knows it. Hence why Flake is likely going to get his Mueller bill vote.

 

Holy ****

 

Manafort's Lawyer repeatedly briefed Trump's legal team: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/us/politics/manafort-lawyer-trump-cooperation.html

 

OMG I am BLIND!!!!!

 

I concur. Trump's desire to protect his kids may be his downfall.

 

Sounds great but nope.

 

Its all on the Republican cowards in the Senate. If the Mueller report is overwhelming, House Democrats will submit articles of impeachment and then it dies in the Senate because, well, what else can you say about Republican scum?

 

Isn’t this a violation of legal ethics, given that Manafort had a plea deal? I’m not a lawyer so someone please chime in.

Also, his guts have the most brains. Oh, and he fired Janet Yellen because she wasn’t tall enough.


In regards to Pence taking over, be careful what you wish for. He would be far more effective legislatively than Trump, and although his focus is social issues, a President Pence might very well get the federal 6-week abortion ban bill through the Senate. The House won’t pass it, but it would be a great tool to mobilize the evangelical base.

 

I'm all for any plea deal with Trump that would wall him up permanently inside the Trump Tower without internet or phone access.

 

Well, I work under a different legal system, but here, the lawyer would be disbarred.

 

PPOR.

 

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the dad jeans—and there was no one left to speak for me.

 

Mind you I'm no lawyer either but my understanding is such communication is allowed under the joint defense agreement Manafort has with Trump. Trump has been using such agreements with those entering plea deals under the Mueller investigation.

 

That defense agreement was dead when he entered into a plea agreement. However, what he did probably wasn't illegal because there wasn't any language that explicitly prohibited it. As Joyce Vance said last night on MSNBC, federal prosecutors are probably scrambling to add such language to future agreements of this kind. I imagine state prosecutors will do the same.