Because of the US Open, I haven’t been watching the news or paying that much attention to the World of Bigly. Tennis is a balm to Donald Trump’s daily treason, I find, and I’m very happy to be in my US Open bubble. Still, I have seen the interesting headlines about special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia probe, a probe which still doesn’t have a catchy name after all of these months. I think most people call it Trump-Russia or Russia-gate, but we (as a society) really need to come up with a good brand-name for this all-encompassing investigation. Please put your name ideas in the comments!
Earlier this week, the news came out that Mueller was now working with the state attorney general of New York, Eric Schneiderman. Schneiderman has spent years looking into Donald Trump’s finances as a businessman, and apparently Schneiderman’s office is now working hand-in-hand with Mueller’s investigators. Mueller has also added Preet Bahara – the New York-based US Attorney fired by Jeff Sessions/Trump – to his team. The fact that Mueller is now working with people who have long investigated Trump for federal and state criminal activities is interesting because… there’s a very real possibility that Mueller will arrange it so that Trump and his people are charged on state crimes rather than federal crimes. That way, Trump wouldn’t be able to pardon his people or himself.
Meanwhile, the Daily Beast has just reported that Mueller has enlisted the IRS’s CI division to help with the investigation. The CI division is “Criminal Investigations,” as opposed to “Criminal Intent” (anyone here a fan of Law & Order: CI???). Anyway, the story here is obviously that Mueller has access to all of Trump’s tax records and he’s working hand in hand with the IRS’s criminal-investigation auditors. I’ve never rooted for IRS auditors so hard. Come on, auditors! Hopefully, this is some good news that we can take throughout the holiday weekend: Mueller is closing in, and he’s doing an end-run around Trump’s pardons. Yay.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
This is a big deal. As many of us on here have stated the NY state case is the best chance for nailing him with charges. He can’t pardon his way out of state charges. So this move is very very good.
Yes, this is significant.. Mueller and Schneiderman didn’t just join forces this week. Mueller is warning Trump after the Arpaio pardon–and also warning possible witnesses that Trump can’t promise them pardons. It’s brilliant.
And they have beef and history. Tange hates Schneiderman because he was behind the Trump University case. Mueller scoffed at Tange’s baby boy games and unveiled two big knockout punches in one week.
They are investigating Manafort for financial crimes so it may be his tax returns that are being investigated. I have long believed Manafort was the one running Trump’s money laundering scheme. If Manafort cuts a deal Trump & Co. are screwed.
@Megan Are there two of you here?
I saw it on a post.
After the raid it is obvious they found some good stuff because he brought in the IRS.
I have felt a couple times that there are two different Megans here, not sure!
Yes, there are two different Megans. I am the crazy liberal one.
I read they are trying to put the squeeze on Manafort to turn. The Arpaio pardon was a signal for him to shut up because ORangino will pardon him. Well not Bob Mueller threw a wrench on that scheme.
Sing sing sing Manafort!
Words I never thought I’d write about the president … I wonder if this is a full-on RICO investigation?
Megan- back when the Virginia grand juries began, the rumor was that one of them was dealing with RICO.
Tange! 😂😂😂
I’m stealing that….as soon as my body is exhumed, because I’m dead.
And they get to go to state prisons instead of Club Fed. Poor little Princess Nagini!
Word. I am not trying to scare Eva Braun but all that complicity will come back to haunt her in the pokey.
Princess needs to hatch another photo opp (aka baby), and quickly.
I can envision her with sad-eyed children paraded into court as she wears a dress from her new bag lady collection. She’ll explain how she worked 16-hour days and personally cared for her children, and they rely on HER. To heck with their father; she must be spared!
@Christin She will make sure her children weren’t fed breakfast for added authenticity and coach them to scream and wail on cue.
@magnoliarose
Ivanka really has Eva Braun potential, doesn’t she? I never considered that. That’s such a chilling thought.
The true Justice League Cometh. I have truly never hated a politician but it will be so satisfying seeing this turd arrested.
Ending DACA…my GOD if he does this then he is officially the cruelest, most heartless, SOULLESS piece of garbage the world has ever seen.
I want to be there if he goes to prison. I want to be there cheering like a crazy person, jumping up and down, pointing and laughing maniacally.
I. HATE. HIM. with every f*cking cell in my body, every f*cking fiber of my being.
I feel the same way, Kitten. I can barely read theses posts but I refuse to listen to him speak. Watching this family burn will be one of the happiest days of my life.
@kitten Every word you said is exactly how I feel.
yes, it seems that he strives every day to be worse than the day before. but I will not forgive him DACA anytime soon. I want his nuts on a platter.
@Kitten,
I see him being generous, because that’s how psychopathic dictators act- give an inch,take a mile, foster the cult.
Kitten I feel you. I told my step mother I hate Trump and I hope he gets what’s coming to him or else he burns in hell (sorry, very dramatic!). Her response was “Are you in Antifa, do you support them?” I said “uh you are crazy and that sounds like a right wing bullet point response!”
Two suicides and a murder, how do I go on? I pray, and I pray, and I pray every day.
I pray like this if I could – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NXnxTNIWkc&list=RD6NXnxTNIWkc
I am an atheist, but God in my heart listens to my songs and prayers such as these. It’s the space between us, that listens and hears, that is God.
SAVE US ROBERT MUELLER!
Help us Bobby Three Sticks, you’re our only hope.
This gives me life/hope! When I turned in the news this morning and it was breaking news, I air-fisted and yelled YES out loud! GO MUELLER!!! Time to get this toxic piece of garbage out and in the dump he belongs in (prison!)!! Him AND all of his complicit gang.
How about “Dumpster Fire”? The longer it burns, the worse it smells( all the shady deals of the administration)
Trumpster Fire
Yes!!!
This is good!
I like it and Trumpster Fire but that’s sort of broad — could be describing pretty much everything/everyone in his administration, lol. Wish I had suggestions but my cognitive capacity seems to have been diminished by so much Trump anxiety.
Lol, I’ve been referring to him as “the Dumpster” ever since before the actual election.
(Ras)Putingate
Never noticed that till you pointed it out, the Putin in Rasputin.
Yes! Ha
Yes!! Trasputin?
Rah rah Trasputin, lover of the Russian King…
Trusputin?
Well, it’s official. Trump and Putin are now a celebrity couple with their own joint nicknames.
I can tell you the companies that have worked on his projects in the metro NY area would throw a party if he was tried/convicted or even just gets some bigly fines (that he can’t get out of). He has burned so many of them it’s actually pretty amazing he can still find contractors and suppliers for his tacky towers and golf courses.
Oh but this is the biggest witch hunt in the history of the United States! Shouldn’t Mueller be investigating crooked Hillary instead?
Yes! I know of a few people who had dealings with him, and he screwed all of them over. He is literally the worst in every way.
So glad they are pursuing state level stuff too. I was worried about everyone being pardoned and going about their merry way.
An insurance carrier I work with had their biggest claim with him for a building in New York. I can’t give the details but he’s been scamming people forever. All of us here knew this, though.
Yes but he just keeps climbing higher and higher! It sure is a rich white man’s world.
I understand you cannot give details, but he strikes me as the type who would repeatedly have one shingle missing and demand a new roof.
He allegedly advised a woman to leave her keys and her mortgage company would likely negotiate her loan terms rather than foreclose. The woman was having no problems making her payments, yet he was encouraging a scam tactic.
@Christin-It involved (surprise!) illegal immigrants and scamming a building developer that he contracted. Hopefully that’s enough to put two-and-two together without elaborating further. This was in the ’80s and it was a several million dollar claim. Back then it was a lot for a small P&C arm of a relatively large insurance company.
And yes, it is great to be a privileged white man in America.
Christin – not far off from the experience contractors and suppliers have had. There is law in NY state the allows for retainage, in a nutshell allows owners to hold back a small percentage of the project cost to contractors until all the inspections and certificate of occupancy is issued. One of Trumps tricks was to use this law to hold back payment to tradesmen and material suppliers too (which is technically not allowed but there is a loophole) and then pay pennies on the dollar, telling them it was that or nothing. Or that after all was said and done a doorknob was scuffed so he wouldn’t pay for ANY of the doorknobs on the project. Stuff like that. NJ has a law or regulation (not an expert) that contracts with a font type off, or misspelled word, can void the whole thing. He had his attorneys scour every things and would use that to avoid paying. Seriously, there is a trick, he knows it and uses it, also knowing the most of the people/companies do not have the deep pockets to sue, and better to get something vs a total loss.
Marion C, omg, what a f^cking nightmare. Why does this not surprise me about him at all? I can’t imagine how many people must despise him, for reasons that are more tangible and go back further than my visceral hate for him.
More awful than I could have imagined…No wonder thousands of lawsuits are outstanding on him/his businesses. I cannot fathom just how many were screwed over and had no recourse through the decades.
I feel like we should call this “Trump Capone”, then. Very much like Capone, I don’t care how we get him, we just need to get him. And if it’s insurance fraud, embezzlement, tax fraud, or other illegal business practices, I’ll take it. We know it’s the tip of the iceburg in his treason and corruption, but g*ddammit, I will take it. If Capone’s case taught us anything, it’s that when the IRS gets involved in these cases, sh!ts getting real.
Also, how fascinating that you had this inside peak so long ago.
I just seems like he literally can’t go a year without doing something illegal. I can’t believe he has skated this long.
IRS auditors get a bad rap. My father worked as an auditor for businesses – believe me, you want them to find the companies that aren’t paying their taxes!!
That’s a great point, lol!
Yep, I got audited once when I first went freelance. I was shaking like a leaf when I walked into my appointment. The IRS guy just smiled kindly and said, “Deep breaths—nobody’s going to jail.” He was so patient—he actually helped me find some deductions I missed! Changed my view of the IRS forever.
The exact same thing happened to my grandpa, who owns a small business. He too missed a few deductions – it ended up being a wash when everything was said and done.
Yes, we do!
I don’t think they get a bad rap from sane people – we’re just afraid to be audited! I’ve never knowingly missed paying any taxes, but I still live in fear that I’ve done so and am going to get caught for something I didn’t do on purpose. I agree – we want cheats caught!
In my work I often have to work with / opposite IRS auditors or revenue agents. If you are honest and straightforward they are generally extremely fair. They get lied to and cursed out so frequently I wonder how they maintain their sanity.
I know it’s just a matter of time, but Lord the waiting is brutal. I’m confident the talking grease stain is going down in dramatic fashion. When that happens I’m gonna have one of the most spectacular cases of schadenfreude in recorded history.
It’s hard to wait knowing the damage he’s doing. It’s worse not knowing what’s coming next.
There will still be horrific damage done with any of the potential successors though. Pence and Ryan are going to strip government programs just as much as Trump, they will just do it with less pomp and idiocy. And with more visible Republican support. I honestly feel for so many Americans with this administration, whether it be Trump or someone else. The Republicans seem so vengeful.
And what’s been hidden……but done in the dead of night (so to speak) or whilst we were distracted by his antics.
Yes, it’s like some demented, nightmare chess game where you take the King and the game doesn’t end and the rest of the pieces are just as awful. Not to mention having not one, but two lunatics with their fingers on the nuclear button.
So, women are supposed to be unfit to be world leaders??????????
The wait is also brutal because Trump lashes out more and more the closer Mueller gets.
I hate him. I recoil from this feeling. He is spiteful. Whenever he is blocked in his agenda he lashes out (to the innocent). He is simply despicable and the president of our country.
I blame the craziness about this political year almost entirely on branding. Trump is an idiot, but he recognizes how branding and publicity can make or beak a product. Lyin’ Ted Cruz. Crooked Hillary. MAGA.
We need to brand him, like he did to the competitors. There are some good ones on this site, but they are too intelligent to catch on. Something like Shady Trump. Little Trump. Simple, almost nonsensical adjectives with only two syllables, then flood media with it. Something that will really needle him, to make him lash out when he hears it. It’s possible the tide could turn by using such a basic branding tool. (Do you think she looks tired? – my whovians, amiright?)
As for the investigation? I use Russian Collusion. Not catchy, but succinct. Russian racket maybe?
Sad Trump
Jon Lovett has already branded him “Dotty Old Racist”.
https://twitter.com/jonlovett/status/832296314763300864
I f*cking Love Jon Lovett. Pun intended
I love me some alliteration, so how about Treasonous Trump?
I like that, and I also like “Don the Con”.
Don the Con has a nice ring to it, and it’s simple enough for the deplorables to understand.
Trump the Chump? Since ultimately he might end up being exposed as Putin ‘s puppet, and Putin will walk away free as a bird as he always does.
Don the Con is perfect.
Let me throw “Convict-in-Chief ” in the ring as well.
The biggest challenge with finding the appropriate name is that this man is rotten on sooooooo many fronts, no one name seems prolific enough to capture the full breathe of his profound and absolute rot.
My twitter follows call it Team Treason, because it’s not just him, it’s that whole sordid sack of dirtbags.
I don’t really think it has to be anything original or clever in order to get to him. Just turn the tables and start calling him “Crooked Donny” and he’ll get the picture.
Baby Marmalade. Like the song.
Gitchy gitchy ya ya MAGA. Hey hey heeeeaaayyyyy
Traitor Trump
Don the Con, our Traitor in Chief
Supposedly not much gets to him, other than questioning his hand size or wealth.
I cannot wait for Broke Bigly… Maybe this is ‘Breaking Bigly’?
OMG, BREAKING BIGLY, looooooove this!
hilarious!
John Oliver’s term is the best I think – Stupid Watergate. I feel like the sheer stupidity of all the people involved shouldn’t warrant anything clever – let’s call it what it is! Stupid.
Trumpled, Trump Roast, Trump Toast
TrumpelstiltSkinned. Like Rumpelstiltskin, he wove straw in to gold but it was never real. He tried to cheat people into giving him what he wanted. When foiled? He stomped his foot so hard he created a crevasse, fell into it, and was never seen again.
A girl can hope anyway.
Trumplethinskinned
InsideTraitor
alt-Russia
Russian Evasion
Commander in Thief
Cyber Election
All this, the result of a bit of electile dysfunction 😝
Traitor in Thief
Larelyn, Whovians united!
I’m not holding my breath. He’s gotten away with so much already and he’s still in office. I’ve given up
I know @snowflake for months now I’ve been waiting for something that would end him, and nothing does. His loyal base of deplorables still adores him, he still is President. It’s all so depressing. This week has been extra hard, with Harvey and the news about this monster more than likely ending DACA. I just want this next four years to end already.
Yeah I’m almost there too. After his insane “both sides” press conference after Charlottesville I texted a friend and said ” this is it. There is no way he can recover from this” and he responded asking how many times I had said that since the Access Hollywood tape. And he was right. It’s mind blowing how much this man and his family are getting away with! He’s done so much damage to this country.
I have to keep hope alive though that Mueller knows what he is doing and that his downfall is near. Otherwise I’d be crying into a bottle of wine every night.
Yeah, my kids say that, too. That I said he’d never make it through the primaries and I’ve been wrong every step of the way. Sigh.
Perspective. Watergate investigation took two years. Whitewater investigation took nearly six before they found Monica Lewinsky. We’ve only just begun. Patience.
Yes, and they lasted so long because there was NOTHING to find. With Treasonous Trump, just a lift a rock, and you evidence aplenty.
I know, Snowflake. I want to get excited, but I am still too like, apoplectic.
This. While I think people around Trump could go down, I don’t see anything happening to Trump himself.
Whatever the outcome of this is, he’ll never resign because in his mind he did nothing wrong. Hillary is the crooked one, not him. So he’ll dig in his heels and stay. Which means Congress would have to remove him and considering that could open a whole new can of worms, I don’t know if I see either side wanting to do that.
TL;DR: We’re f**ked for the next 3.5(possibly 7.5) years.
Longer than that, since they’ll name three people to the Supreme Court.
@ Notasugar:
I still can’t believe the democrats allowed Mitch McConnell Greg away with stealing that Supreme Court seat. Unbelievable.
From your lips to god’s ears.
DT’s not tweeting about it. So you know it’s serious.
Correction: he’s now tweeting insults at Comey. And whining about Hillary. Again. Moron.
He tweeted that Texas is “heeling” quickly. 🙄
Haha..I think he deleted the “heeling” tweet. JFC how can you not know how to spell “heal” correctly? And this is like the third time he’s done that…f*cking putz.
He has now tweeted a Texas is healing message but the Texas is heeling one is still up. And Kelly is doing a great job, which means kelly is probably toast.
If the entire world made fun of me for “heeling”, I’d be sure to get it right the next time. HE IS SO STUPID.
Side note, a friend who often brags about having her masters posted on FB last night and got you’re/your and their/there wrong. Three times.
And it’s a Friday, AND a holiday weekend to boot. Waiting for the news dump tonight…
@christin
WORD!!!!🤞🤞🤞🤞
I think the CI of the tax division is known as FinCen. They explore financial crimes through their auditors.
I have said for about a month that Emperor Zero has pending NY state charges against him and his cohorts. Schneiderman as NYAG can bring state crimes against the EZ cadre for crimes committed there, which are probably expanding to include the TT meeting, extortion, money laundering, kickbacks, witness tampering, and intimidation.
There is also some debate about whether EZ can pardon people for federal crimes in cases that he himself is either a witness to or complicit in.
It’s going to be a grand Christmas season in any event!
I think the money trail is where serious charges will originate (tax evasion, money laundering). There are people who have been fined, levied and even imprisoned over amounts that would be spare change compared to the many millions likely involved here.
Digging into the international money trail will take time, and it sounds like a lot of that work has already occurred. It’s a matter of putting pieces together.
It’s a shame they didn’t take him down long before he started campaigning.
Two great sayings from Watergate-“Follow the money” and “It’s not the crime, it’s the cover up.”
Especially with the track record of Russian oligarchs laundering money through real estate in NYC and Florida, places where Trump and Kushner have multiple properties.
Actually FinCen and IRS Criminal Investigations are two separate government agencies. FinCen (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) is a bureau of the Treasury Department. The IRS is also a bureau of the Treaury Department. Both bureaus work closely together. FinCen can track financial crimes throughout the world which aids IRS CI in doing their job. The employees at both agencies are hard working dedicated people. I would not want to be on their radar at all.
Thanks for explaining that… and for not speaking entirely in acronyms.
Since Eclipse Watching Millionaire Steve Mnuchin is in charge of this group, do you think Orangino will have him shut down that leg of the investigation? I dare them to do it. The shit will start rolling down the hill sooner rather than later!
Didn’t they get gangsters the same way through income tax fraud? In Canada here and cheering for you every day that something will bring him down. I hope his party of misfits, end up in the drainage hole too.
Yes. They got Al Capone on tax evasion
I think just Mueller Time. Or something that reflects the resistance, rather than highlighting trump or russia. He gets enough attention.
Even just The Resistance works for me. Yet We Persisted works for me too.
Anything but russia or trump or the like.
and I did have a glimmer of hope when I read this news. also, when I read Dan rather’s take on trump yesterday, how just plain scared trump is, all the time. Dan is truly a master.
Quesay Trump, also known as Eric, says Daddy is nearly suicidal.
So he says the news coverage is the culprit that could lead someone to that, not the behavior and actions that lead to said reporting? The blame is always elsewhere.
“DT is suicidal” is so not believable. Narcissists don’t kill themselves.
Where? Are you serious?
Rapunzel, narcissists often outlive the people who have to endure them. They demand/consume all the attention and tend to be the last person standing.
Yes, magnoliarose, He gave some interview the other day and claimed that the negative media coverage was causing daddy deep depression and he was worried for him. He also claimed yesterday that CNN wouldn’t cover Voldy’s pledge to donate money to Texas, hours after CNN had covered the announcement of the pledge. I’m saying “pledge.” Voldy has a history of pledging but not giving.
Someone who is “deeply depressed” sounds unfit for office, IMO.
@lightpurple
They are shameless.
Am I supposed to feel sorry or hope?
Surprising how that story had no traction. *eyeroll*
LP,
Voldy pledged to donate more money to the search for Barack Obama’s birth certificate than he did to the victims of hurricane Harvey
I like that. “It’s Mueller Time.” Maybe there should be Mueller Time beer.
Like the beer, yes!
Or
It’s Meuller Time, to the MC Hammer song tune. I’m feeling it.
Uh Oh Uh oh UH uh Uh oh – now STOP – Here comes The Meuller.
hilarious!
OMG someone call MC Hammer and get him on this stat
John Oliver calls it “Stupid Watergate” because all the actors (Trump et al.) involved are dumb-asses
Can we just shorten that to “Stupidgate”? It rolls off the tongue rather nicely.
How about Traitorgate?
Many are speculating that the Arpaio pardon was done by Trump as some type of example…like Trump was telling his loyal criminal sidekicks, that he would pardon even the most deplorable. I love that Mueller’s response is to say, “nice try Trump, but I win.” It feels like the investigation is closing in on Trump and will be Iron-clad. Hahahaha
This is what happens when conceited novices think they are experts on everything. They think they can outwit and outmaneuver everyone.
Eh. That might have been just a happy by-product for Trump. Trump and Arpaio have been close for a couple years now. Arpaio was one of the first public figures to endorse Trump when a Trump presidency was pretty much considered a joke.
Additionally, Trump is said to have made several phone calls to Arpaio’s wife, who has cancer. I doubt the phone calls had anything to do with Trump feeling empathy for this woman and wanting to comfort her, more so it was that Arpaio acted like a Trump fangirl and as we know, 45 lives for adulation and praise. These phone calls were the Trump equivalent of signing an autograph for one of his bigly legion of fans.
NPR had an interview with Arpaio, where he talked about Dump calling his wife. He used that as an excuse that he couldn’t possibly be inappropriate with women, the whole “grab them by the…” thing wasn’t really him, etc. So because he didn’t force himself on an 80 year old woman with cancer, therefore he’s a gentleman among all women. Right.
Because Arpaio is a racist, misogynistic piece of garbage who will happily give a free pass to any rich white man.
Recall that Arpaio put cameras in the female prisoners’ jail cells as a so-called “crime deterrent” http://articles.latimes.com/2001/apr/28/news/mn-56746.
They are both complete and utter trash and that’s why they are drawn to one another.
Arpaio himself pulled over my cousin three times for driving while brown (she’s half Irish & half English but something in my dad’s British gene pool produces dark haired, brown skinned people ) On one occasion, he charged her with stealing her own car and being illegal and kept her in a cell until my aunt, went to collect her with her birth certificate. He repeatedly called my cousin a “w*****k c**t” Sure, he’s a real feminist, that one.
Mueller and NY Attorney General is one step ahead of him. He and his crime family believe they can bribe and bully their way through life. This morning his son Eric sent out a tweet drawing attention to the news that 45 pledge $1m to the Harvey hurricane and saying CNN did not cover it, also, who knows if the pledge will ever be materialized to cash.
Btw, his spokes person yesterday was asking the news people to recommend some good charities he can donate to. Can you imagine this man is a billionaire, according to him and he don’t know the best charities to send his donation. I’m thinking this maybe the first time he has donated to a big event like a hurricane.
Fun fact: anyone see the photo on the internet of the entire family in prison garbs, very funny.
He pledged to donate a million for Hurricane Sandy too. And never actually gave.
I’ll believe Trump is giving a million dollars for hurricane relief only when the cash reaches its alleged destination. He has pulled this so many times before – brags about a big donation, then when reporters contact the organization it never showed up. Probably one reason that he doesn’t want is to see his tax returns is that it doesn’t list many if any charitable donations, including ones he has openly bragged about.
I wonder if he even has a million dollars in cash at this point.
Yeah, it’s funny how when Sandra Bullock donates I am confident she is actually good for the money but when Trump “pledges” to donate I assume it will never happen.
And I agree that he’s never donated much at all to anyone/anything. Philanthropy is as foreign to him as the presidency. He’s pathetic.
Maybe he or the kids will do fundraisers at their golf course and run the money through one of their ‘foundations’…
@Christin – of course they’ll do a fund raiser at their golf course. Couple weeks back there was a story on how the golf course makes any where between $100,000 and $245,000 on charity events.
If you’re going to go online and publicly accuse CNN of not covering something, maybe take 2 seconds first to see if they actually did cover something. It’s like two website clicks. Simple.
This “donation” will likely go to some crony of his, or somehow back into his own pockets, should it ever materialize. Just like all his foundation stuff, which paid themselves back and bought paintings and crap rather than actually helping people.
He pledged to donate $1m to hurricane victims
He pledged to donate $5m to the search for Barack Obama’s birth certificate
I’m running out of adjectives to describe how vile he is.
I have been hesitant to get excited about Mueller since I read about his handling of the NFL/Ray Rice investigation where he acted as a rubber stamp for Goddell (seriously, google this… it is alarming that he found no wrongdoing with VIDEO evidence and hard proof that the NFL clearly knew about the abuse, but I digress).
These two moves of Mueller’s actually do give me a tiny bit of excitement, however! If anyone is playing 4D chess here, it seems to be Mueller.
His wife didn’t want to go forward, and she had a history of drunk brawling in bars and drinking. Along with assaulting him and someone else. It makes a case like that not worthy of his time. They are still married and she still defends him. There was also a racist undertone to the whole thing so it was better to leave it alone.
Rice was wrong of course, just to be clear.
All of those things are about Ray Rice, but Mueller was hired to investigate the NFL’s and Goddell’s knowledge, which was obvious. http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/07/mueller-nfl-probe-rice-goodell-239216
I fear we will be disappointed by Mueller.
Sorry I’ve mentioned this before on here but I have good faith in Mueller. He was the Asst USA when I was working with the feds. His name was the one I would type on the pleadings. He was also the USA when I was in another agency. The man is highly respected and thorough. He knows his stuff and he will get his man.
There is an article in the legal newspaper where they interviewed all the attorneys who worked under him at USA. They all had good things to say about him.
He’s good at going after criminals. I have complete faith in him.
I don’t mean anything against him personally, or professionally. I, too, have only heard that he is well-respected and straight as an arrow. But he is a conservative Republican (again, nothing wrong with that). If you read the politico piece and others, he is truly conservative. He interprets laws in a conservative way and looks to legal precedent. (Comey did too, hence why he was so convinced Hillary shouldn’t be prosecuted despite the fact he didn’t personally support her. The law had never been interpreted in that way, so there was no illegality. Period.)
The problem is that there is no legal precedent to anything Trump is doing or has done! No one has been ballsy/crazy/stupid enough to try these things. Thus, Trump may not have actually broken any laws. Mueller and the AGs make take down some of the underlings, and still find that Trump did nothing illegal
There’s a first for everything and after all of this is over, you can bet there will be a number of laws that will spell everything out. It’s unfortunate but we never had a nutbar in office until this one!
I have to think about a name.
Personally, I want to call it Down with the As.hole and Go to H,ll and F Yourself when you get there. I want billboards, skywriting, a Starbuck’s specialty drink, a special google logo, all of the basic media of course and in honor of the grifters some merch for sale. With the proceeds, we will Make America Great Again (for real).
Lol, I like your thinking. Go big or go home!
🙂
Greedy Donny say’s “Make America Greedy Again”!
Meanwhile, Orange Voldy claims Texas is heeling and ranting about Comey and Hillary again. He’s also praising Kelly, which usually means someone is on the way out.
Has he called Kelly a good man yet? That’s usually when I start the 72-hour “You’re Fired” countdown clock.
I’m not from America but I’m rooting so hard for you guys!
Just a question, if Trump is indeed taken down as a president, who’s gonna replace him? Pence? Or will Pence be taken down together with him as well?
And if both Pence and Trump are out, who’s next? Another election?
Pence will be POTUS.
I mean, at least Pence actually went to HOUSTON and visited with ACTUAL FLOOD VICTIMS.
FFS, 45 cannot do even the bare minimum.. it’s effin pathetic.
It seems strange that Pence actually visited Houston and people affected by the flood right after drump made his visit a rally appearance. I still think Pence is lapping up any opportunity to become president by default.
Pence is playing games too. He’s definitely been trying to position himself to take over, so I hope he ends up going down too.
Order of succession
1. Vice President Mike Pence (R)
2 Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan (R)
3 President pro tempore of the Senate Orrin Hatch (R)
4 Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (R)
5 Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin (R)
6 Secretary of Defense James Mattis
Pence could go down with Dump, and Ryan has a challenger for his seat, I’d be thrilled to see him voted out of office. I disagree with Hatch on most things, but at least he knows how the government is supposed to work and likely wouldn’t start WWIII.
Oh yeah Pence is definitely doing for the optics in his bid to become Accidental President. I just meant that it’s still SOMETHING. I really am at the point where I’d take a presidential asshole over a non-presidential asshole.
I say this every single time someone posts that line of succession thing so here I go again. That only comes into play if a scenario like Designated Survivor happens. Or if both President and VP leave before a replacement can be named for the VP. We have precedent for what happens when both President & BO leave. VP moves up but Speaker does not. New president appoints new VP and Congress confirms. Agnew resigned. Ford, who was never Speaker, was appointed & confirmed. Nixon resigned. Ford moved up and appointed Rockefeller. The Speaker never moved
Pence who used campaign contributions to pay his mortgage. Who thinks woman shouldn’t be allowed to serve in the military. Pence who would get to name 3 Supremes and turn the US in to the Handmaids Tale.
Trump is an idiot and dangerous; Pence is no idiot and far more dangerous. Trump might bring about an apocalypse; Pence as 46 would make most of us wish for an apocalypse.
The Designated Survivor scenario…nothing much would surprise me anymore. But I do think there’s the possibility Pence gets dragged down too, so who knows.
Kenya is having a do-over because of their stolen presidential election. Too bad we’re not on Kenya’s level.
Yesterday at work we were discussing what would happen if it was discovered Russia tampered with votes. None of us could recall a section of the constitution that deals with that.
I would call it Donald Zhivago.
If CI is involved it means they have a convictable (my word) case. CI operates on strict parameters of what they will take for a case. There is a confidential manual -LEM- that describes what is acceptable for a CI case. I cant be any more direct without disclosing information.
I love the Law and Order CI franchise too. The entire cast was spectacular.
This feels more and more like a mob investigation. They always get them on the tax fraud.
Yep. I once had the pleasure of meeting a guy who was a partner at one of LA’s top corporate tax firms, and he had some interesting insights into how the IRS operates. But I do remember him saying you do not, under any circumstances, want the IRS’s CI division coming near you.
Law and Order: CI was the best Law and Order franchise of all time!
Absolutely. Bobby Goren needs to be on Mueller’s team!!!
YASSS!
Mueller also needs to investigate Grassley, Graham, and Devin Nunes for obstruction of justice because they are doing everything in their power to hijack the Trump Russian investigation.
On August 30, Grassley bragged that he spoke to The King of Lies and Fake News about ethanol.
The press assumed that The King of Lies and Fake News talked to Grassley about ethanol to get him to go easy on his son when he gives testimony before Grassley’s committee. Now we know that The King of Lies and Fake News called Grassley to protect himself, not his son. When Grassley says that he spoke to the King of Lies and Fake News about ethanol, what he really means is that he spoke to the King of Lies and Fake News about Comey.
Yesterday night we learned that Grassley and Graham are attempting to interfere in the Trump Russian investigation by going after Comey. After the lawyers for the King of Lies and Fake News released their memo tarnishing Comey’s reputation(they said that Comey deserved to be fired because he exaggerates, lied to Congress, and leaked his own memos), Grassley and Graham followed suit. They sent a letter to the FBI claiming that Comey is compromised because he came to a conclusion regarding Hillary and the emails before the investigation was over. Why is Grassley being allowed to do things like this, especially when it’s so obvious that he is only doing this to appease The King of Lies and Fake News?
So when will Mueller prosecute Grassley for obstruction of justice? First he tried to hijack the Trump Russian investigation by pursuing an investigation into the dossier. That backfired. It resulted in a 10 hour hearing and the citizens in Grassley’s district requesting the transcripts from that hearing. Grassley promised that he would vote to release the transcripts, but instead he pursued a case against Comey. Grassley is also making statements correcting reports about Manafort’s notes. NBC reported that Manafort’s notes stated “donations”, but then Grassley gave a statement stating otherwise. You also have worry if Grassley is changing information in the documents. Mueller needs to stop Grassley before he does more damage.
Mueller also needs to pursue a case against Devin Nunes. He has done many things to obstruct the investigation. He postponed the House events just so that Sally Yates couldn’t give her testimony. In August, we learned that Devin Nunes sent 2 WH aides to London in late September to find and talk to Christoper S about dossier. I wonder if one of the aides was Ezra W-Cohen because he was fired in late September.
Watergate took down dozens. This has the potential to be larger than that, so I’d assume Nunes and others are all still in the picture here.
Dumpster should love it then if it’s bigger, larger, more massive than Watergate. The most spectacular presidential fail ever. Hahaha!
Believe me it was the biggest tremendous all lies but I surrounded myself with criminals they aren’t good people they should have gotten the death penalty…
@lucy2 Fingers crossed.
I think Pence is in trouble. Bannon. The Mercers. Sessions. Wendy Deng better be careful, Tillerson, Nunes, Mnuchin and others I am sure.
Grassley was the head of the Senate judiciary committee who refused to schedule confirmation hearing for Merrick Garland. Grassley played a major role in McConnell’s theft of a Supreme Court seat. He is GOP over USA and no friend to the American people.
Is John Kelly leaking stories about himself to get the King of Lies and Fake News to praise him? Another positive story about John Kelly was leaked and in response to that article, The King of Lies and Fake News got on twitter to praise Kelly.
I don’t understand why there are no adults in the WH. Lindsey Graham, Grassley, Devin Nunes, Mattis, Nikki H, McMaster, Kelly,Tillerson, and Pence are all complicit. Does their complicity have something to do with the Manafort’s notes about “donations” and the RNC?
The press is reporting that The King of Lies and Fake News approval rating has dropped. Of course it did, The King of Lies and Fake News made the decision ” on his own” to close Russian compounds in 3 states in response to Putin kicking out 700 workers. Why would he do that? Did he close the 3, so that he could open the 2 in DC and Maryland? Did he talk to Putin before doing this? What more proof do the press need that the majority of The King of Lies and Fake News supporters are Russian? Whenever he does something involving sanctions, his approval rating takes a dip as if he is being warned about going against them. I don’t understand why the press isn’t worried about elections in 2018 and 2020. Our 2016 election was hacked, so what do they think is going to happen in 2018 and 2020, especially when you have Chris Kobach leaking a Voter Suppression Committee.
I have to ask why you continue to think John Kelly is leaking stories. Do you have proof of this?
My fellow CBers have covered the main topic, so I’ll answer your question-I love L&O:CI! Goren and Eames, great team. Ion is finally running it now. On Sundays.
Me too, love Vincent D’Onofrio and that Kathryn Erbe, while very attractive, was not some blonde bosomy airhead. Really really hope Mueller delivers. PS Vamos Rafa….
If they make a movie of this, Clooney will play Mueller.
See, I think this is the role that brings Daniel Day-Lewis out of retirement.
lol, I could see that too, but Day Lewis is soo cheek boney I don’t know if it would work.
As long as it has a happy ending, I’ll go see the movie even if Ansel Elgort plays Mueller.
Not sure I’d be very flattered by that if I were George…
Shhh, he’s too busy with the twins to notice.
tbh I assume most actors know the person they are playing is, ahem, less well endowed genetically than they are in the looks deparment, so I would hope they aren’t offended.
James Cromwell. He’s a great actor & he looks like him.
I can see that. Cromwell gives me American Horror story flashbacks though, so I may not be giving him enough of a chance, but I think he might be a bit too chiselled for the role?
They have the full movie cast.
HRC-Meryl Streep
Melania-Elizabeth Hurley
Mueller-James Cromwell
Ryan-Zach Woods
Bannon-Michael Harney aka Officer Healy from Orange is the New Black
Kellyanne Conway-Laura Dern
The Mooch-Bobby Cannavale
DJr-Will Arnett
Jared-Miles Teller
the daughter-Katherine Heigl
Trump-They have Martin Sheen but I am not sold.
http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/news/a56439/donald-trump-white-house-movie-casting/
I wonder why not Alec Baldwin for Trump?
Martin is too Kennedyesque to play the blob. Alec also seemed too attractive, but pulls off the facial tics and mannerisms.
Michael McKean for trump.
Cusack could play Trump.
Can’t they just wheel Jabba the Hut out of storage for Don the Con? Or will they be using that for Christie?
My Mom said months ago that Tom Hanks should / would play Mueller – America’s favorite movie star playing America’s favorite special counsel.
YES, notasugar. A Cusack Trump
When the King of Lies and Fake News tries to obstruct justice and stop the Trump Russian investigation by promising Grassley ethanol:
August 30
“Just had ph call from Pres Trump + he assured me he’s pro ethanol +I’m free 2 the ppl of Iowa he’s standing by his campaign PROMISE”-Grassley
“Tlkd 2 @realDonaldTrump about ethanol +he knows that ethanol is good good good”-Grassley
August 31
The memo(arguing that The King of Lies and Fake News didn’t commit obstruction of justice when he fired Comey and tarnishing Comey’s reputatoins) that Lawyers for the King of Lies and Fake News gave to Mueller is leaked by The King of Lies and Fake News’ lawyers
August 31
“GOP senators: Comey drafted statement clearing Clinton before her interview
Grassley, Graham say evidence suggests decision not to file charges was ‘prejudged’.”-Politico
Sept 1
” Wow, looks like James Comey exonerated Hillary Clinton long before the investigation was over…and so much more. A rigged system!”-Trump
Sept 1
Since the Grassley and Graham letter about Comey didn’t get much attention from the press(only Lawrence covered it last night, while the bots went crazy tweeting the article and the press this morning are still talking about Texas and Manafort and Kushner)Trump has Jason Chaffetz making the “Comey is compromised” rounds
In 2014 Trump tweeted that AG Schneiderman take a drug test and called him a cokehead. Projection much??? I’ve always wondered if he does coke or speed. The sniffing, the manic behavior.
I think the sniffing comes from nervousness. I’ve never thought of Donald as a cokehead, even when he was prowling around Studio 54.
No. I don’t think he drinks. So definitely no drugs.
It’s hard to miss how Trump gets a “cold” so often when he has an important speech or debate. A little bit of powdery self esteem, no doubt. It’s hardly a secret that he’s done hard drugs in the past, mostly to control his weight.
I have no idea, but sometimes one is a tee-totaler in one area but not the other. Case in point — Elvis. Didn’t drink alcohol or do what he considered street stuff. Yet he was dependent on multiple pharmaceuticals.
Yup. I’m guessing Trump is one of those people who thinks recreational use is for “losers”, but that it’s totally different, practically medicinal, when it’s for a purpose.
“A U.S. presidential candidate allied with a hostile foreign power to win an election.” Not sure how to craft that fact into a tidy slogan. So glad you have Tennis Balm, Kaiser! We are using baseball to calm ourselves here.
The Emoluments Men?
Gonna put on my thinking cap and get to working on some names. Suggestions to come.
Bolshevikusurpation? too long
usurpgate
drumpfgate
motherrussianannex
motherrussiagrab
hijackgate
usaheistgate
POTUSheist
POTUSplot
POTUSgate
scheme-gate
heist-gate
takebacktheusaproject
USAreunificationplan
I will get to thinking on some better ones.
What is wrong with the press? Chris H had Chris Christie on his show and now Ali is interviewing Christ Kobach, the WS who is leading the Voter Suppression Committee and who is pushing The King of Lies and Fake News to end DACA and punish Sanctuary Cities. The press keeps scratching their heads because they can’t figure out why The King of Lies and Fake News hasn’t changed now that Bannon and Gorka have “left” the WH. Bannon and Gorka may have physically left the WH, but they still have influence on the King of Lies and Fake News through Stephen Miller, Sessions, Chris Kobach, and Gorka’s wife. It’s being reported that Chris Kobach, the man leading the Voter Suppression Committee(aka Voter Fraud Committee) works for Bannon at BB. BB pays him to write articles. I knew that Chris Kobach was a WS, but I didn’t know that he worked for BB and Bannon. Do people still think that John Kelly is the adult in the WH?
So Mueller is working with the IRS on Donald’s taxes? And he hired Preet Bahara?
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha…….
I’m surprised Trump made it to September without resigning and retiring to his golf club in Dubai. Any bets that he won’t last until October? Who wants September 15?
Given that Mooch was canned 32 days ago (one month), my perception of time is altered. September 15 sounds soon, but not in drumpf time perception!
And again, it’s a Friday plus a Monday (US) holiday. Maybe he’ll divert to Dubai instead of going to Houston tomorrow. Or, slip across the border if he does go to Texas. Wouldn’t that be rich!
I would trust Robert Mueller with my life, and by God, I think the lives of everyone in this world might just depend on this man. Godspeed, Mr. Mueller and God bless. Amen.
Just read that Trump people call John Kelly Church Lady and he calls Steve Bannon when Kelly isn’t around. Is he the president or a middle schooler?
Mermaid, pre-schooler is more like it.
I just have to ask, Why?, are you the same person who makes really long and complex posts on LeAnn Rimes articles, unraveling many of her tangled lies that stretch back for years?
I really think you should be an investigative reporter or political historian. Your posts are seriously impressive in the way you thread together all the details.
Someone commented on another board that while Orangino plays checkers, Mueller is firing back with chess. That is so true! For every Orangino ploy Mueller one ups him.
The IRS CID (that’s what they were known back then) section are no pushovers. They are hardcore and detailed. I wouldn’t be surprised if they string him up on tax charges. After all that’s how they got Capone.
I hear Orangino attorneys (Suckelew?) sent memos to Mueller saying Comey drafted up a memo exonerating Hilary before the email investigation was done. Stupid Lindsey Graham is yammering on about that memo. However a Comey surrogate on twitter said that’s what people do they have the drafts ready so they can release one or the other when the time comes. And since it was during the election, you bet they didn’t have days to come up with memos.
Well well it looks like Orangino and Stephen Miller drafted a memo enumerating the reasons why Comey should be fired and Mueller got a copy of it. The memo wasn’t sent and was replaced with one by Rosenstein but NYT is making a big deal out of it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/us/politics/trump-comey-firing-letter.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
I sincerely hope that Miller and The King of Lies and Fake News didn’t write that draft j as they were constructing that memo to Mueller about why he didn’t commit obstruction of justice by firing Comey. The press are reporting that this “draft” mysteriously leaves out any mention of Russia, so it might have been written after Comey was fired. The draft also contradicts everything that The King of Lies and Fake News stated back when he fired Comey. The King of Lies and Fake News stated that he decided to fire Comey after Rosenstein recommended it, but according to this draft, they had already intended on firing Comey. Miller was involved, but back then the King of Lies and Fake News told us that it was Sessions.
The article about the draft was written by Micheal Schmidt, this is the same man who broke the story about Hillary’s emails and did that article where The King of Lies and Fake News threatened Mueller.
@ why? : great post but for the sake of your tired typing fingers, perhaps we should shorten The King of Lies and Fake News to TKLFN for future posts 🙂
Ohh,ohh, TrumPutin something.
The Russian consulate in San Francisco is burning all its paper.
I just saw that. I feel like I’m reading a spy novel with virtual reality goggles on.
NYT reports that the Russian consular staff would not let firefighters enter the building. Is that even legal? I didn’t think firefighters needed a warrant to investigate a fire.
I believe so. Consulates and embassies would be considered Russian soil, so they get to decide who enters. Forcing the issue would be a kind of invasion.
Oh, I forgot it’s considered Russian property.
Trumpsky or Trumpskya. Russianized his name.
Yup. Money laundering would involve both the FinCen which regulates banks activities including wiring money and the IRS. So even if a bank wasn’t involved in lending to trump, they will have the history of the wired funds. And the banks are in trouble if they facilitated money laundering through wiring money to trump from say Russia because their are distinct measures they have to follow. The palm beach transaction comes to mind, that one smells from the outside like a classic red flag.
The cycle continues. The King of Lies and Fake News and his wife showed up in Texas for another photo-op(They continued with the product placement, except this time Melania wore a Texas hat. They arranged for The King of Lies and Fake News to take many selfies with Hurricane victims and then to hug and pick up kids who were adoring him. There was even a moment when they arranged for a small child to run up to The King of Lies and Fake News. This was sick the way they used those people and kids to once again try to rehabilitate the image of The King of Lies and Fake News), what did the press do? You guessed it, they went on a wild spree praising The King of Lies and Fake News for being presidential. How did the King of Lies and Fake News repay them? By trash talking them. He made the Hurricane about his vendetta with the press.
I don’t know who arranged the photo-op today with the Hurricane victims today, but it was very disturbing. It was obvious that this 2nd visit was damage control and an attempt to make The King of Lies and Fake News feel better about himself. If you had to use 1 word to describe today’s photo-op it would be adoration. Notice how every time that The King of Lies and Fake News is facing major backlash, they try to fix it by associating him with children? They had the kids crowd around him and run up to him. Keep in mind what happened when children came near The King of Lies and Fake News during the campaign. The kids didn’t like it.
Yes, I agree, the video of him swinging a child into the air and kissing the child on the mouth is really disturbing. I do not let any strangers kiss my children. I would knock someone out for doing that crap. How presumptive and rude.
I wondered how they bribed the kids….
What about Trumptanic? Mueller is the iceberg that is gonna bust that whole ship and alll who sails within apart. Plus we only see a teeny portion of what’s going on with that investigation. I image there is a huge (YUUUUUGE) investigation underwater right now. Ready to cause maximum impact at juuuuuuuust the right time.
If you still think that John Kelly is the adult in the WH, then consider what Sarah H said today. She said that Congress needs to get out of the way or do their jobs. Compare that to what Kelly said when Congress was criticizing his Muslim ban, he said that they need to shut up or change the law. It’s very clear that Kelly is just as unstable and complicit as everyone else in that WH.
It’s being reported that the Senate(Rubio, Cotton, Burr, and Cornyn are on this committee) is blocking Mueller’s request for the transcript of Manafort’s testimony. Mueller needs to subpoena the SIC and then he needs to start punishing those GOP senators(Grassley, Graham. Devin Nunes)who keep interfering with the Trump Russian investigation. Jared is leaking that The King of Lies and Fake News is going to fire Mueller in November.
It gets worse. The House(on Trey G’s orders) sent subpoenas to the FBI and DOJ on August 24 in regards to the dossier and Christopher S without first running it by the Democrats. According to Schiff the GOP senators didn’t even bother asking the FBI or DOJ for the information, they just went straight for the subpoenas. The Senate is withholding information from the FBI and then the House is sending them subpoenas. Mueller needs to start prosecuting those GOP members who keep obstructing justice. How long is he going to let Devein N, Grassley, Graham, Rubio, Cotton, Cornyn, and Gowdy interfere? He needs to send them a clear message that protecting The King of Lies and Fake News will lead to an investigation into them. All of the GOP are compromised.
After watching all of the backlash he received for getting rid of DACA and sending out Sessions instead of doing it himself, the King of Lies and Fake News is walking back what he told Sessions to say today. Now he wants to revisit DACA. The King of Lies and Fake News has absolutely no idea what he is doing and he is letting Bannon, Putin, and Jared make the decisions for this country. He says words, but it’s obvious he has no idea what it means.