Yesterday, the Washington Post debuted their new “Bottomless Pinocchio” feature, which they’ve made just for Donald Trump and his lies. WaPo used to fact-check politicians by giving them one, two, three, four or five Pinocchios, depending on the lie and how big it was, or whether it was just a mistake or misstatement. I was looking at Trump’s tweets last night – about James Comey – and I was reminded yet again about how Republicans, Democrats and the fourth estate have all sort of collectively agreed to the fact that Trump lies about everything, all the time. All of which to say… there definitely seems to be a weird vibe this week, right? The Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort filings last Friday seemed have lingering effects. Republicans are scrambling and distancing themselves more than ever. And according to CNN, even Trump thinks impeachment might happen?
President Donald Trump has expressed concern that he could be impeached when Democrats take over the House, a source close to the President told CNN Monday. The source said Trump sees impeachment as a “real possibility.” But Trump isn’t certain it will happen, the source added. A separate source close to the White House told CNN that aides inside the West Wing believe “the only issue that may stick” in the impeachment process is the campaign finance violations tied to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s payouts to Trump’s alleged mistresses.
Impeachment talk has ratcheted up in recent days following a blockbuster filing from prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. In that filing, prosecutors directly alleged for the first time that Cohen was being directed by Trump when he broke the law during the 2016 presidential campaign. Democrats are suggesting Trump committed an impeachable offense and could be sent to prison when his term in the White House is over. The incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler, said Sunday the allegations, if proven, would constitute “impeachable offenses.” Democratic Sen. Chris Coons said Monday Trump could be indicted after he leaves office.
As I said, it’s not just Democrats talking about the endgame and how all of this play out (handcuffs or impeachment, or both) – Republicans are reportedly having a lot of “private conversations” about just how bad this is going to get in the months to come, and when they should jump off the SS Bigly.
Vanity Fair also had a story about what was happening behind-the-scenes in the White House leading up to John Kelly’s firing. Big surprise, Trump decided on a whim to fire Kelly last Friday because Kelly was trying to dictate the terms of his own resignation. Oh, and Trump was mad because Kelly was bad-mouthing him behind his back.
Last thing: it feels like Maria Butina’s plea deal with federal prosecutors should be a bigger headline, right??
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
He should see resigning as a real possibility.
He’s too egotistical and narcissistic to resign. We’ll have to wait for the impeachment
I disagree. I think when it comes to quitting vs being removed, he’ll quit to end the investigation so he can continue to say it was all rigged. Rather than face real charges and facts laid bare.
I’ve read that for people with NPD, they will bail with a face-saving (in their minds) lie whenever the shame becomes overwhelming. If the danged GOP were American instead of a bunch of traitors and would let Donnie know certain behaviors are not tolerated, he’d have been gone long ago.
Except for the possible arguable protection from prosecution for a sitting president. No sitting president has commit treason so much or so often, however, so I feel like the situation is completely different from any other.
Butina’s deal will bite him/them in the butt 😄
Thing is, with Butina’s plea deal, we will see just how far the Russian money was laundered into the NRA, which put the money straight into republiTHUGS war chests/PACs/campaigns. McTurtle, alone, got $3.5MILLION into his PAC. Considering how Paul Rand is spouting off now, it’s a good bet he’s gotten a considerable “donation”, too.
Dump is a legend in his own mind. He will not go quietly, even to save Daughter-Wife and Usay and Qusay, in my opinion.
If Wayne LaPierre goes down it will be icing on the cake.
Trump loves the power. Hopefully in his quest to keep power he will humiliate and debase himself enough to convince white women to vote for the Democrat in 2020.
I’m so embarrassed and enraged at my fellow white women stupid enough to vote for that pig and the whole white supremacist agenda.
If I were anyone in charge, I’d “negotiate” a resignation: Resign and we’ll let you keep 1/25 of your “wealth.” Also, you have to get on TV and read this statement so your supporters will hear what you did from your own lips.
I know it’s not the “justice” everyone wants but I just want the country to peacefully survive this m-f’er.
Wow, I love it…but in a million years I cannot imagine him ever reading an actual factual statement of everything he’s done. The deplorables would claim he was forced, anyway.
1/25th of what money?
It’s not his!
It’s Possibly Putins money!
He only does what Nagini tells him to do and she’s having too much fun and stealing too much money to tell Daddy to resign.
Earlier in his term resigning was a real possibility. It would have been the equivalent of his businesses declaring bankruptcy. Unfortunately, now that his accomplices are going to jail, making plea deals and giving up the evidence, his last-ditch legal strategy is to give himself a pardon. It isn’t a good strategy, but it is all he has left and it means he has to hold on to power for every single day that he can. Also, if he resigns, then he can no longer raid the 2020 reelection fund and all of that money will have to be accounted for.
Yeah exactly. Why would he resign? Being a sitting president is the only thing that’s shielding him from indictment right now. It’s also why he will likely seek a second term.
THIS is why Pence needs to go first, so he can’t work a deal to resign and have Pence pardon him.
Sadly, if a Democrat gets elected in 2020 I think she or he will pardon Trump to help the nation to heal, move on, etc. I don’t think we will ever get justice, but just having him go away is good enough for me at this point.
Megan, you think a Democrat would pardon DJT??? Even Republicans learned not to do that within their OWN party after Ford (Gerald, that is). I like your optimism, though.
@Meghan – Maybe. Depends on what Mueller turns up. Do you think a Dem would risk pardoning someone who was charged with conspiracy against the United States? Or equally damning crimes? If it was just paying off the mistress’s–I’d totally see it, but huge charges…I don’t know.
Plus, incoming pres would only be able to pardon Federal crimes. SDNY is still waiting for him–and no statute of limitations on money laundering, etc. Other state AGs also have investigations against him, so he will most likely end up doing time AND having assets stripped. . .
@Fluffy Princess-
The Supreme Court is in the middle of a case now that may permit pardonings of state crimes also (“separate sovereigns” doctrine, see Gamble v. US).
Yes, I absolutely believe a Democrat will pardon Trump. Bringing Trump to trial immediately after he leaves office would be divisive and messy at a time when his predecessor needs to be focused on undoing all of the damage Trump has done. Just making it go away may be be the most politically expedient act and avoids setting a scary precedent for every president going forward.
@Baby Jane – I actually favor overturning the dual-sovereignty exception because it is used disproportionately against people of color, but I am not worried when it comes to the Trumps. The state and city of NY can charge him and his children with an entirely new set of crimes (thereby avoiding double jeopardy) related to property tax evasion, bank fraud, loan disclosure fraud, money laundering, etc. Conspiring with Russian to defraud the American electorate may be their most serious crime, but it is the topper on a giant tire fire of crimes.
I don’t think he will ever face a jury in federal court, but I think he could end up having to cut a lot of costly deals in state and city courts.
“Tire fire” of crimes- Haha.
Thanks for your input! I disagree with you on a Democrat successor pardoning Trump, but you do illuminate some consequences worth consideration.
I read a theory on Twitter the other day that Trump will resign 5 minutes before his time is up, and have Pence pardon him on the way out the door. But Fluffy Princess is right, a Pence pardon wouldn’t save him from the state charges. His long history in New York has left so many options available.
@BabyJane- That case is frightening! I hope it fails!
I don’t think we should worry about Pence too much. He keeps a low profile, but remember he was HEADING up the transition team. He LIED about Flynn being innocent. Paul Manafort practically insisted that trump make him VP–despite his no charisma and the fact he was a failure as a governor. Pence is in this deep, he’s just not blowhard, and keeps his head down to “project” his so-called innocence. One of the things that was released when Manafort got popped was that the FBI had all of Manafort’s communications tapped. If Manafort insisted on Pence, who knows what Mueller has on Pence? Plus one of the non-redacted things from Mueller was about the Transition team.
If Mueller is working his way up the ladder–he’s going to take out Pence before Trump so there is no easy pardon. Mueller is a smart, he knows how these crooks think.
Also, I think Mueller is going to go for “death by 1000 cuts” so to speak. He’s not going to lay his cards out on the table all at once. It’s going to be a constant stream of indictments, subpoenas, and more guilty pleas, week by week, month by month. It’s too easy to ignore it if he plays it all it once, but not so easy when every day, every week, it’s another person arrested, more high level indictments, big time charges of obstruction of justice, lying to congress and much much worse…
There is a cabal of crooks in office now, but there are still many good people, intelligence agency agents, US attorneys who believe in this country and are just as disgusted by this sh**show like we are. We just don’t know who they are because they are diligently and furiously working behind the scenes to make sure we are not sold out to these dictators for a few hundred million dollars in HOTELS.
I read something yesterday, that he could resign and the presidency will automatically go to Mike Pence, now that a scary thought. My only hope is, Mike goes down with him.
Of course that is what would happen. If he gets impeached or resigned Pence becomes president, unless for some reason Pence is not the VP at that time.
I think Pence could go down before Trump. He can be indicted while in office and it is highly probable Flynn had the receipts to prove Pence was in on the Russia collusion. I just hope he doesn’t try to point the finger at Marlon Bundo.
I REALLY think that Pence is a part of the Russian mess. There’s no reason why Manafort would lie about mechanical failures on Trump’s plane in Indiana to get more time with Pence, unless there were Russian-related reasons to get him as VP. Manafort is 100% owned by the Russian oligarchs, and I don’t see him lying about something like that unless it was related.
I feel the same way, we will definitely be living the real Handmaid’s Tale if he get’s into control, plus the man is an idiot.
People keep saying this but in the end he is old school Republican slimy, he would take power and deals over and his Bible agenda. He just like many Evangelicals is a hypocrite in the end and will take power over his beliefs. Also President has little power in the end, unless he has both houses, and he doesn’t have both houses.
Yes, however a president leaves, the vice president takes over. Unless said Vice President is also indicted, and then it falls to the speaker of the house… Nancy Pelosi!
No! No! No! No! No! It falls to the Speaker of the House only if the President has not appointed & Congress has not confirmed a new Vice President. That succession line in the Constitution envisions a catastrophic event like a bombing or a deadly flu epidemic. We have had a time in our history when both the Vice President and President were facing removal and criminal charges. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned from office because he was facing criminal charges for tax fraud. Carl Albert was Speaker of the House. He did not become Vice President and he did not become President when Nixon resigned in 1974. Ford did because Nixon appointed him VP and Congress confirmed him.
Unless the charges against both Trump and Pence show they were involved in a complete coup that invalidates the entire election process, then, no, no Speaker Pelosi because one of them will appoint someone to replace whoever leaves first.
And I would dearly love to see a President Pelosi.
@ Lightpurple it is possible both the P and VP could be indicted, impeached, and removed with such a quickness that no replacement VP could be appointed in time. (POSSIBLE) There was an almost 4-week gap between Agnew’s resignation and Ford’s confirmation.
@BabyJane, yes, it is possible but not probable. There also seems to be quite a large group of people who seem to think that the Speaker automatically moves up, with no appointment ever taking place, which isn’t the case.
Word, LP.
Pence as president would be scary, but it is 45’s diehard supporters that could also be a problem. I can only imagine the dog whistles he will be shouting to his base if he is removed from office or forced to resign. 45 will not go quietly
Remember he doesn’t have both houses. A President has very limited power when he has only the Senate.
There’s an article in Newsweek that reports that Jennifer Rubin (a columnist for WaPo) states that Trump will resign with 10 minutes left in his presidency so that Pence can pardon him.
In this hypothetical, pence can only pardon for federal crimes, and accepting the pardon means admitting guilt and he would then be even easier to prosecute at the state level.
That what I mean, that what I read as well.
Yeah he still has the SDNY going after him on the state level. Plus Rubin’s theory presupposes the notion that Pence isn’t involved in any of this, which none of us can say definitively at this stage.
Honestly, I just cannot imagine him resigning. All that he really has left is his fervent base and they want him to stay and fight and even a win a second term.
Pence would never get reelected in 2020, though. He lacks the “charisma” (I use this word loosely since he’s an idiot) that Trump had, as his political positions are nowhere near moderate enough to hold centrist appeal.
Pence is really scary. He’s like one of those Handmaid’s Tale-guys. He’d smile while cutting off your hand, telling it’s good for you.
Pence would be primaried by his own party. He was going to lose his re-election primary for governor in Indiana when Trump chose him. He’s despised the in the party and has no charisma to appeal to a broader audience. He wouldn’t get the party nomination
I will never understand why people keep thinking Pence is worse. Pence is an old school religious nut Republican. We know how to deal with his kind. He was pushed out of Indiana with his tale between this legs, he was spoiled property until Trump picked him up off the streets. Trump on the other hand is completey lawless, unpredictable, and a borderline sociopath. He has no empathy for anyone. While you are laughing at his ridiculousness, harmful policies are being enacted, the courts are being packed, your Handmaid’s Tale fear is talking place state by state, our alliances with other countries are being broke apart.
Unlike other Republicans like Pence, nothing sticks to Trump. He is a cult of personality that in 2 years alone has changed every “moral” stance that the GOP claimed to have. Trump can convince his followers to go into a river and drown themselves. I’m sorry but this is scary. No politician in the history of this country has been as corrupt, vile and crazy as this man. You guys might prefer to have an insane man heading this country but many of us don’t! If we are attacked today, which country is going to come to our aid knowing that Trump will be in charge of working with their military ?
Canada. Despite Trump we would be there in a heartbeat.
Not sure we have the army to take on the job – maybe NATO minus the US.
I hope he is indicted when he leaves office. I would like to see him locked up.
Agree. I don’t think the Dems should spend political capital on impeachment unless it’s something so egregious that they have no choice. The Senate will stand by him anyway. The focus should be on uniting and finding the best candidate possible to defeat Trump in 2020. And once he’s out of office on January 20, 2021, indict the Orange Menace and put him behind bars and seize all of his assets.
I came here to say the same thing @IlsaLund. I know it’s so temping to just go full impeachment because Trump is the literal worst. Congress should spend their time trying to pass legislation and doing oversight (conducting investigations/hearings) on the administration. Democrats are SO good at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, we need to put our 2020 candidates in the best position possible to win. Once Trump is out of office, let the justice department do their thang.
The danger is, what if he wins in 2020? I sincerely hope that wouldn’t happen but you know the GOP has no qualms about engaging in voter suppression.
@Sadezilla
My fear is if we start impeachment proceedings in the house, knowing it won’t pass through the senate, Trump will win in 2020. Impeachment proceedings made Bill Clinton more popular in the 90’s and democrats should know that.
That’s fair, @Melly. I think the best strategy is to focus on beating him in 2020 no matter what. I’m not going to place any bets on Individual-1 going down under the current Congress, but whether he does or doesn’t, we need to see a Democrat in the WH in 2020.
To me, it doesn’t matter that the Senate will stand by him. As I’ve said before, the Dems should file articles of impeachment because it’s the right f*cking thing to do. I don’t want people looking back on this time in American history and wondering why a blow job was enough of a reason for impeachment but collusion or treason or obstruction of justice was not. And I mean, not even enough of a reason to TRY to impeach.
Optics MATTER, guys.
I want people to look back and see that America did every f*cking thing within our power-regardless of outcome-to save our country from this nightmare and that includes impeachment.
@Kitten, I think you’re right that it’s the moral thing to do. On the other hand, I think we are beyond screwed if Individual-1 wins in 2020. I wish I had more confidence that our system would take care of it one way or another, but the mechanisms are being sorely tested right now and I place zero faith in current Republican electeds to do the right thing .
Kitten, yes. I said something similar below only not as eloquently. The guys on PSA discussed this exact topic last night and made me realize how important it is to pursue impeachment, even if it ends up being only a symbolic gesture.
@ Sadezilla- I get what you’re saying but honestly, there are a million reasons why Trump could win in 2020 not the least of which being Russian interference and/or the GOP using every available tool to suppress the vote and steal elections.
Honestly, out of all the possible ways that he could win, a blowback from his base because Dems moved to impeach him is at the bottom of my list of concerns. His hardcore base is ride or die–nothing we can do to change that–but as time passes, more and more people are turning away from him.
A LOT of things can happen between now and 2020, including an economic collapse and his dwindling popularity could be in the toilet by then. I truly believe it would be a TERRIBLE mistake that we would look back at with a huge amount of regret if we don’t move to impeach. Additionally, impeachment hearings would shine a light on every terrible thing he has done. Americans DESERVE to have that information out there, if only for historical reasons. Too much is getting lost in our whiplash news cycle and hearings would put his crimes on public court record for the world to see and hopefully, never forget.
@Esmom-Did they? I’m so behind on my PSA! Hopefully I’ll get caught up tonight. I just have so many damn pods going on and not enough time lol.
I don’t disagree with what you’re saying, Kitten. And I’m not necessarily anti-impeachment. I just feel that the Dems are in a very precarious position because of the insane reach of Faux news’s propaganda machine, gerrymandering, voter suppression, etc. I’m actually not talking about Trumpsters – I think a lot of Americans who identify as “traditional Republicans” will vote Republican no matter who the candidate is if they’re sufficiently uninformed or misinformed.
BTW, I did find out that I personally know at least one person who voted for the Nazi in the IL 3rd district House race against Dan Lipinski, due to not knowing the candidate’s background and defaulting to voting for Republicans. Fortunately Lipinski won (though I am not a Lipinski fan), but my point is I think the average American is way less informed about the hot mess the current Republican party is right now than a lot of us who follow politics closely.
@ Sadezilla-I already know three of my friends (all Republicans) who would never ever vote for this man for a second term. Two of them voted for him originally and the other voted for Johnson. I see a LOT of Never Trumpers on Twitter and more and more every day. That doesn’t mean that you’re wrong about a portion of Americans who will always vote party over country. They are definitely out there. But if that’s the case then an impeachment trial won’t change that. They’ll vote Republican for the executive office and they will vote Republican on the state and local level. I guess I just feel that we have nothing to lose at this point. Plus there’s always the (very slim) chance that the impeachment hearing would shine such a bright light on his corruption and that they would change their minds.
I just feel like the arguments against impeachment aren’t as moving to me as the arguments for it. As you can see from all my comments (lol), I’ve been thinking about it a lot so I’m pretty passionate about my stance. On that note, thanks to you and everyone here for hanging in there with me and presenting counter-arguments. We are in this together–no matter what–and everyone’s opinion matters to me.
I appreciate the thoughtful discourse, too. I do think your argument for historical importance is right. I’m just risk-averse and pessimistic by nature, which I’m sure colors my feelings.
*** We set the bar ***
You know, “the bar” as in the standards for our society. If we lower the bar so far that Trump’s actions do not rise to the level of impeachable offenses, then we are only allowing future presidents to do worse things without consequence.
We also have to keep in mind that right now, we don’t know the worst of it. The worst will be in Mueller’s report.
Yep…if there is verifiable evidence according to the Feds, no way do they just let him go.
Heh heh heh.
Looks like any Former trump employee get together will have to be held at a stadium. I think if all his ex-employees vote against him we might be able to take back the Senate too!! Hahaha!
Oh just LOL.
45 hasn’t two brain cells to rub together. I doubt he worries over anything except golf. And hamburgers.
Pence is like a buzzard sitting up in a tree waiting for 45′ s reign to end so he can flop down and finish destroying this country.
Pence is as guilty as Trump.
Trump solely became President for his ego and to build his already dwindling wealth also to guse Russia as an asset for his finances. He is 100% worried his empire will collapse.
Oh he’s not going to have time to resign, unless he does it stat. Hell, there might not be enough time for impeachment proceedings.
If Emperor Zero can’t see the engravings on his tombstone yet—let alone the writing on the wall—he’s in for a bigger surprise than he thought.
It is my belief that Individual-0 will be the first of the really big fish to be indicted. Mueller and the SDNY prosecutors are pulling a fast one on everyone by seeming to isolating EZ and going for low-hanging fruit. Now there are only about 6 principles left: Pence, Junior, Jared, Ivanka, Eric, and Prince. Collectively, they are known as Individual-1a, little T, 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively.
If you think Mueller NEEDS Stone, Corsi, Page, and Bannon, you have no idea how much Mueller knows. These latter individuals, along with a large swath of high-ranking GOP members (McConnell, Rohrabacher, et al.) will be collected at a later date.
Priorities!
@Eric – really hope you are right…
I really wish, hope and pray that you are right but I’m starting to lose hope. =((
I still want to watch the little fish in this fry as much as some of the big fish. Mitch McConnell might be the most evil person in this bunch, and I’m putting him on par with any Trump. I don’t care about Bannon or Roger Stone one bit but for the love of God can some of the actual elected officials face some damn consequences? I’d rather watch McConnell go down than any of the Trump kids.
I would love to see Stone and Bannon get squinched for their decades of grossness, but I assume that their dark souls will crawl out of their throats and kill in a most villainous way the vessel that has contained them.
Totally agree with you Ann. I’d pay to see the turtle being taken down!
I’d love for McConnell to go down, too. His actions since the Obama administration have been so undemocratic and corrupt. That being said, the Trump kids have committed some major crimes too that have harmed out democracy.
“If it’s what it sounds like, we love it” is Trump Jr. selling the America to Russia. He held the door open for thieves to come in and loot our country. He absolutely needs to face consequences for this and have his crimes spelled out to the American people.
And everyone seems to forget that Mueller has Allen Weisselberg, Dump’s CFO of the Trump Org. He got FULL IMMUNITY, which means he knows/is giving a LOT of VERY pertinent info. He KNOWS where ALL the bodies are buried, financial and otherwise, and where ALL the $$$ has been laundered. AND WE HAVEN’T HEARD ANYTHING FROM HIM YET!!
THIS is what I’m waiting for. THIS is going to be the mic drop, in my opinion!
I’m waiting for this one too. They also got a few others in the organization and they got the National Enquirer guy who maintained “the vault.” The FBI won’t care about how many nose jobs Ivanka had but it will care about hush money payments
This right here. Allen W. is going to sink Trump Org which means not just trump but Jr., Dum Dum, and Nagini, too. Ha!!
Oh idk that! Wonderful
I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I think the Democrats would be right to scale back talk of impeachment. Not the least of which reason being that you’re just replacing him with someone even worse, which Pence is in many, many ways.
At this point I think it is in everyone’s best interest to protect Mueller as best they can and let his investigation proceed and continue to net some big fish and let the rest fall in place, so Bigly and his squad are all escorted out together. We may not achieve my personal dream of him and his grifter family and Pence and McConnell and all the other GOP operatives that have protected him and probably neck deep in treason themselves being led out in handcuffs (with all his hateful legislation and SC choices reversed), but if this is played smartly, at least there won’t be anyone left behind with the power to carry on the neo-nazi religious zealot agenda.
Yeah I hate to say it but they need to forgo that right now in favor of focusing on just getting rid of both of them in 2020.
me 3
Impeachment may be a largely symbolic gesture at this stage, but my GOD is it an important one. Dems can’t keep basing every decision on how his base could potentially react or what will happen in 2020. The beginning of 2019 is the time to start this process. I’m fine with the Dems taking their sweet-ass time and making sure their “Is” are dotted and their “Ts” are crossed, but NOW is the time to start. I don’t give a flying f*ck how much it energizes his base. They’re the minority.
The Dems have a fine line to walk. A lot of them were elected on the promise that there would be real, meaningful, positive change – the electorate wants them to make progress on real issues that affect their daily lives, and I don’t think they are in the mood to be ignored on that score. On the other hand, the hard-core liberal base wants to roast Trump over a bonfire, to loud applause. But launching into an impeachment process will kill any hope of progress on any other issue.
I hope what they will do is fully embrace their constitutional role as a check and balance on the executive branch, and there is plenty that needs to be checked in the Trump administration. Start there, focus on all the sketchy stuff that is actually happening now, subpoena everyone, publicly release every smoking-gun document they get their hands on, hold open hearings for the most egregious of the wrongdoing, without ever mentioning the “I” word.
My understanding is they can’t really indict him until he’s no longer president, so I think he’s going to hang on to the presidency with both hands. I’m really nervous about what that will look like. Maybe he’ll go to Russia, let Putin set him up in a luxury building, and then resign? That seems like one of the better scenarios, sadly
Putin won’t rescue him, why would he?
He’s no use to Putin once he’s no longer POTUS, so he’ll be on his own.
Please show me where in the constitution or in the DOJ by-laws that states a president cannot be indicted.
This concept that a sitting president cannot be indicted has been bandied about since January 2017. It’s time to stop echoing Fox News/Emperor Zero’s mouthpieces about this.
Exactly!! There is NOTHING in the Constitution that a sitting pres. cannot be indicted. Should a sitting pres. be allowed to let the statute of limitations run out on a crime and get off SCOT-FREE (sorry.. couldn’t resist 😄) by extending a stay in office? They like to say it’s “policy”, but that’s just bulls!t. NOTHING legal about that.
It’s only been a policy since 1973. I think it’s safe to say that Trump’s crimes against his country are a bit bigger than Nixon’s.
Yes a policy is not a law.
And don’t forget the biggie
Nixon was President when Watergate occurred.
Emperor Zero was a citizen.
Oops
Nixon was also generally well-received and was projected to have been reelected, anyhow. Trump is a different kettle of fish altogether since his presidency has been chaotic and inflammatory. The concerns about indicting a sitting president likely have more to do with dealing with the political anarchy that could follow, but that’s going to happen one way or another in the next few years regardless of what you do with Trump. The acrimony is intense in this country right now.
Go to google > images. Type in idiot. Perfect.
LOLS so satisfying 🙂
Made my day, no, my week!!
That is TOO good! LOVE it 😄
Thank you!
It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.
I wish Wapo would use the Pinocchio scale as a jump off for educating the public about propaganda. I mean the full-throated, vicious, mind-bending evil of Soviet/Putin tactics, now nearly 100 years in use. Also, Goebbels and Hitler rhetoric, which focuses on things like the Big Lie. The American citizenry needs to understand that these tactics are damaging not just to individuals, but are a type of warfare being waged against us currently. Trump is a natural as a carnival barker, but I believe that he’s also been trained in these subversive techniques. His Twitter statements, rally slogans, and ceaseless lying are not just a character flaw. We need better reporting in the media to expose the power of propaganda and learn how to combat it.
ITA, adastraperaspera. It’s scary how unaware the general public is. I get so frustrated at mainstream outlets for not calling out how dangerous some of these lies are. For example, why is Rick Santorum on Sunday shows without a flashing red chyron that says “LOBBYIST”? And the way they cover the Soros claims is astounding. Why is it OK to repeat claims that Soros is funding every Dem campaign ever without calling out known Republican mega-donors who dictate their electeds’ policies?
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I hope the democrats don’t start seriously thinking about impeachment. It would never pass a republican led senate and would only rile up his base and turn him into some kind of “martyr”. Also a Pence presidency is nothing to wish for.
Let him spend the next 2 years becoming a pariah so that by the time his term is over he and his family will be either headed to jail or have nowhere to go but Russia.
Regarding Butina – yes this is huge and fingers crossed, it’s the final nail in the coffin for the NRA.
I don’t know. I heard a discussion last night that made me think otherwise — that just because the Senate would never agree with impeachment is not a good reason for the Dems to not pursue it. If they let it slide they may be sending a signal to future presidents that they too can get away with impeachable offenses.
Republicans will protect him 100%. They are already protecting him, making accusations against Mueller and refuse to pass legislation protecting the investigation. It blows my mins people actually think Republicans will do the right thing. They aren’t GOOD people and have zero intentions of doing the right thing.
I agree 100% that the Republicans have no intentions of doing the right thing. I just meant the Dems need to pursue it because it’s the right thing to do regardless. As Kitten said above, it’s important that they end up on the right side of history and holding this POTUS to account is imperative, even if it ends up being only symbolic.
NO ONE thinks the Republicans will do the right thing but HOW is that a reason to not move forward with impeachment? I mean, is the argument that it’s better to not try at all than to try and fail? So then explain to me how NOT filing for impeachment is a win for the Left in any viable way? How does it benefit us more than it does the GOP?
Look, folks on the left need to stop being worried about his base. STOP letting these people hold you hostage. The majority of the WORLD thinks this man is unfit for office and the majority of the WORLD is still wondering when we will move to impeach this dangerous, destructive, TOXIC person.
And I’m telling you right now, nobody–and I mean NOBODY–will remember the reasons why the Dems didn’t file a motion to impeach (“because it was a strategic move and we didn’t want to upset his base and lose in 2020 plus we didn’t think the GOP would do the right thing…”).
NO.
All that anybody will remember is that we never did it. The narrative will forever be that we never even TRIED because we were too scared.
And it’s a huge mistake to not send a message to the world that we are doing EVERY. SINGLE. THING. WE. CAN to stop this shitshow, even if it’s all for naught. Send a f*cking message that we reject this presidency on EVERY level.
FFS, why doesn’t he resign and flee to Russia and seek asylum? Goddamnit already!😡
Russia won’t give two sh!ts about him if he’s not in office and can’t do them any good (for laundering and creating dissension/tearing down democracy/Western strength. They will hang him out to dry.
The dumb f*ck can’t even toss a coin.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5c0f6c18e4b08bcb27ebdf5c/amp
Ha, I saw that on Twitter. Immediately followed by a long list of things that Trump can’t do and it was hilarious. He is such a buffoon and I love how Twitter calls him out constantly.
Its the way he stands there with that ‘face’ – he clearly practiced it in the mirror thinking it makes him look ‘Presidential’, it makes him look like he’s trying not to fart.
There has always been a part if me that thought he sid all this to see how far he could get and this was all a challenge to him. I dint think he cares about the country or us citizens. It has always been a mentality if: let’s see how far I can push and what the American people will tolerate.
This man is not a statesman nor a politician. He is a self serving narcissist. The most dangerous kind.
Oh that’s absolutely what it was to him–he wanted to be able to say he did it because he could.
Just listened to Rachel Maddow’s podcast on Maria Butina and the NRA and holy shizzballs, y’all! It’s absolutely nuts, and there’s so much more I didn’t know. Worth a listen if you want more information about that.
And Kaiser, totally agree that it feels like that should be bigger news than it is!
Saw the Maddow piece and it was amazing. Everyone should be paying attention to that story. And her Russian handler “retired” and has gone missing! Of course he has. Let’s hope she’s in isolation in prison or she might be shivved.
And Pence is the real life Forrest Gump.
He is so ill suited to the job and so obviously uncomfortable, aside from the ego smashing, I think he’s be secretly relieved.
There is a great Slate article on Bobby Three Sticks and it revealed something I didn’t know. Mueller is the guy who gave Sammy the Bull Gravano the sweetheart deal to flip on John Gotti. He takes care of his witnesses. If I was a criminal and had to count on the largesse of Bobby or the Donald to protect me in the long run, I know who I would pick.
LOCK HIM UP.
However, with my understanding that the presidency will go to Pence, I don’t know… The US is fucked either way.
Y’all, seriously. I got into law school and start next month, my son is coming home to visit from college for Christmas, and now this! I mean, this month alone is making up for the whole shit storm of the past year for me – I hate that Trump was elected (gag) in the first place, but watching him fall is making me positively giddy.
Good for you, Shannon. What a Christmas present!
Reading these comments is encouraging, that something might actually happen. However, I still have an immense sense of dread that Trump will slide through this like he does everything and be re-elected in 2020 (bc there are still SO MANY racists and they will come out to support him). And the Republicans are so good at sticking together no matter what…I’m still worried. 🙁
Oh idk that! Wonderful
Has anyone noticed that as more and more information comes out , Trumps tricks and distractions aren’t working as well?
The Trump economy will be suffering and his billionaire backers are not so thrilled with His Royal Awfulness as they once were .
Follow the money.
That’s ALL they care about
If EZ is yelling over Pelosi and Schumer about funding for the wall, it’s going to incredible when the House has subpoena power over EZ and his kids!
Oh boy oh boy!
Popcorn futures!
“Popcorn futures!”
LMFAO!!!!
😁
“You get a subpoena and you get a subpoena and you get one too!”
—Oprah at Christmas 2018
Hahaha!
Did you just see that press conference?
Pelosi and Schumer weren’t having it.
Yes, I was enthralled! Nancy Pelosi knows what she’s doing. I hope the “Nancy Pelosi is a much better Speaker than Paul Ryan” takes come flooding in come January.
Pelosi gets so much flak because she’s damn good at her job. That’s why they all hate her so much. She was a major factor in getting Obamacare passed through that lousy Repub Congress.