"If Cohen Is Telling the Truth, That Ought to Be Ballgame"

Post #424,864 by Ashton 7/27/18 3:34:32 PM 7/27/18 3:34:32 PM Reply	"If Cohen Is Telling the Truth, That Ought to Be Ballgame" Pierce/Esquire We now stand at a yes-or-no moment in this country's history. [Hey! digital-folk: the End of the faux-World is now a fucking-Binary decision-point; take a bow, eh?] We are now at one of those points. With the revelation on CNN Thursday night that, according to the network’s sources, Michael Cohen is ready to testify that the president* knew in advance of the now-legendary meeting in June of 2016 at which individuals connected to the Russian government offered to ratfck Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign for him, we stand as a self-governing republic at a stark, unclouded moment—either you believe the president* of the United States is utterly illegitimate, having conspired with a hostile power to gain the office he now holds, and that every act he has taken in that office, up to an including swearing the oath of office, is equally illegitimate, or you do not. It is now a binary. If Cohen is willing to testify to that effect, then the president* conspired with the regime of Vladimir Putin in order to gain control over the executive branch of government in this country—which includes not only the military, but the law-enforcement and intelligence apparatus as well. We are now at yes-or-no. From CNN: The June 2016 meeting was arranged after a publicist who knew Trump Jr. told him in emails -- in no uncertain terms -- that a senior Russian official "offered to provide the Trump campaign" with damaging information about Clinton, and that the outreach was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump." At the time, the Russian operation to covertly boost Trump's candidacy wasn't publicly known. Trump. Jr. responded, "if it's what you say, I love it," and started to arrange the meeting. At the meeting, Trump Jr. was joined by his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort, who was Trump's campaign chairman at the time. There were four Russians in the room, including a lawyer with Kremlin ties, a businessman who worked for an oligarch and a lobbyist with old KGB connections. At which point, if Cohen is willing to testify to that which CNN says he’s willing to testify, the deluge of lies began. After news of the meeting broke in July 2017, the Trump team offered misleading explanations and changed their story several times. But one claim stayed consistent: that Trump had no knowledge of the meeting beforehand, wasn't told about it afterward and first learned about it one year later. Those denials were repeatedly issued by Trump, his attorney Jay Sekulow, Trump Jr., Futerfas and White House press secretary Sarah Sanders. Those people denied that Trump had contemporaneous knowledge of the meeting on more than 15 occasions, according to CNN's analysis. Trump said on July 12, 2017, that he "only heard about it two or three days ago." One week later, Trump repeated that he "didn't know anything about the meeting" because "nobody told me" about it. Around that same time, CNN's Jake Tapper asked Sekulow to confirm Trump's claims that he only recently learned about the controversial meeting. Sekulow's response: "Yes, I swear." But perhaps the highest-stakes denial was given by Trump Jr. in his testimony last year to the Senate Judiciary Committee. "He wasn't aware of it," Trump Jr. told lawmakers, referring to his father's knowledge of the meeting. "And, frankly, by the time anyone was aware of it, which was summer of this year, as I stated earlier, I wouldn't have wanted to get him involved in it because it had nothing to do with him." tl;dr? If this Isn't theShithitting-the-fan.. ....?? Let the Mega-Spin begin, boys n'ghouls! (Cohen must be transported within a fucking Sherman tank, henceforth, I wot. There must be Teams, Tovarisch.. with a Bulls-Eye on his back ... as we speak.)
Post #424,866 by drook 7/27/18 3:55:42 PM 7/27/18 3:55:42 PM Reply	Assume the worst Assume they're guilty of the worst possible crimes involved in interfering with an election. So what? Do any of those laws include punishments or remedies in the event that the interference was successful? Is there any legal provision for ending the current administration? And just because I know the answer and it's not depressing enough yet, even if there were a way to annul his inauguration, how would you roll back all the damage he's already done? And to twist the knife, how about all the House members who rode his coat-tails? Yeah, this stuff matters, and I hope it matters enough to the right people, but it's not going to be over just because we have evidence of criminality. His base needs to turn on him or nothing else will matter. -- Drew
Post #424,867 by Another Scott 7/27/18 4:07:31 PM 7/27/18 4:07:31 PM Reply	History... In the spring of 1974, despite the indictment of top former White House aides, and Nixon’s release of what were seen as “heavily edited” transcripts of tapes of his aides plotting to get White House enemies, the public was still divided over what to do about the president. For example, by June, 44% in the Gallup Poll thought he should be removed from office, while 41% disagreed. Only in early August, following the House Judiciary Committee’s recommendation in July that Nixon be impeached and the Supreme Court’s decision that he surrender his audio tapes, did a clear majority – 57% – come to the view that the president should be removed from office. Waiting for his base to turn on him isn't what's needed. The system needs to do its magic, then public opinion will follow. Nixon only resigned when he was told that he would be convicted in the Senate. Not because public opinion had turned. Donnie is going to be rotting in prison before his base turns. :-/ Cheers, Scott.
Post #424,868 by drook 7/27/18 4:14:14 PM 7/27/18 4:14:14 PM Reply	Different Senate The ones in there today are afraid for their seats if they oppose him. -- Drew
Post #424,869 by Another Scott 7/27/18 4:24:26 PM 7/27/18 4:24:26 PM Reply	True. But... Mueller already has lots of indictments/guilty pleas. It's hard to imagine that more and more of Donnie's Crew aren't sweating and being at risk of prison. Eventually Donnie's support in Congress and the Senate is going to weaken substantially (like, maybe, Wednesday November 7, 2018). People in Congress and the Senate want to win re-election. That's their bottom line. They're not going to cling to Donnie out of some sense of loyalty or friendship. "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." - not HST. The best way to make all of Donnie's Minions go away is to win every possible election in the fall. Cheers, Scott.
Post #424,870 by Ashton 7/27/18 4:45:22 PM 7/27/18 4:45:23 PM Reply	At least we know the Final-summary, (unless the Nazis win.. Again. And the Intarweb is crashed.) Oh what a tangled web we weave When first we practice to deceive
Post #424,873 by boxley 7/27/18 10:11:21 PM 7/27/18 10:11:21 PM Reply	"how would you roll back all the damage he's already done" most people not really interested in politics that dont give a rats ass about the press see the economy and wonder what all the fuss us about. That wont change unless the economy tanks or a solid impeachment case is brought "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #424,876 by drook 7/27/18 10:56:54 PM 7/27/18 10:56:54 PM Reply	"the economy" != "the stock market" Not that the media seem to know that. -- Drew
Post #424,881 by boxley 7/27/18 11:57:30 PM 7/27/18 11:57:30 PM Reply	gdp and much better employment stats is not the stock market either but people notice that "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #424,883 by Andrew Grygus 7/28/18 12:03:47 AM 7/28/18 12:03:47 AM Reply	Re: gdp and much better employment stats is not the stock market either but people notice that And what people don't understand is that there's about a 2 year lag. What they're experiencing is the Obama administration.
Post #424,884 by boxley 7/28/18 12:14:47 AM 7/28/18 12:14:47 AM Reply	no question that it is a lag, but for the same reasons trump cant claim the victory obama cant take the credit, it was the fed policies that in the long run caused the increase in gdp "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #424,903 by a6l6e6x 7/28/18 5:49:10 PM 7/28/18 5:49:10 PM Reply	There are some transient effects from trade war and tax changes. For example lots of soy beans got moved before increased tariffs took hold. Next quarter numbers will not look so hot. Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #424,908 by boxley 7/28/18 9:14:10 PM 7/28/18 9:14:10 PM Reply	dont forget oil surging as well "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #424,933 by a6l6e6x 7/29/18 11:13:39 PM 7/29/18 11:13:39 PM Reply	And sanctions on Iran, a producer, will accelerate that. Not to mention help out Putin's finances. Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #424,938 by mmoffitt 7/30/18 10:15:02 AM 7/30/18 10:15:02 AM Reply	Exactly! Keep an eye on the yield curve. Doesn't look promising. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #424,872 by boxley 7/27/18 10:08:10 PM 7/27/18 10:08:10 PM Reply	and that is different because? "Michael Cohen is ready to testify that the president* knew in advance of the now-legendary meeting in June of 2016 at which individuals connected to the Russian government offered to ratfck Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign for him" DNC paid for the Steele dossier that was full of unproven BS also gotten from the russians. The prior admin relied on that in part to get FISA warrants on parts of the candidate's team. "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #424,877 by a6l6e6x 7/27/18 10:59:15 PM 7/27/18 10:59:15 PM Reply	Try the Logan Act. Wiki: The Logan Act (1 Stat. 613, 18 U.S.C. § 953, enacted January 30, 1799) is a United States federal law that criminalizes negotiation by unauthorized persons with foreign governments having a dispute with the United States. The intent behind the Act is to prevent unauthorized negotiations from undermining the government's position.[2] The Act was passed following George Logan's unauthorized negotiations with France in 1798, and was signed into law by President John Adams on January 30, 1799. The Act was amended in 1994, changing the penalty for violation from "fined $5,000" to "fined under this title"; this appears to be the only amendment to the Act.[2] Violation of the Logan Act is a felony. Those were fucking Russian government agents in that meeting! Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #424,882 by boxley 7/27/18 11:59:40 PM 7/27/18 11:59:40 PM Reply	those were russian government agents in the meetings that gave hyuge chunk of cash to bill clinton he was not an authorised us government agent at that time either, charge them both "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #424,902 by a6l6e6x 7/28/18 5:44:31 PM 7/28/18 5:44:31 PM Reply	Yep, the law is the law! :) Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #424,939 by mmoffitt 7/30/18 10:21:36 AM 7/30/18 10:21:36 AM Reply	Don't lose sight of the Emoluments case. In a blow to President Trump, a federal judge says a lawsuit that alleges Trump's business interests violate the Constitution can proceed. Federal District Judge Peter Messitte denied the Department of Justice's request to dismiss a case brought by the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia. The Emoluments Clause bars any president from personally profiting from his dealings with foreign governments — or even U.S. state governments. https://www.npr.org/2018/07/25/632300960/federal-lawsuit-against-president-trumps-business-interests-allowed-to-proceed IMNSHO, this case is the one that may make Drumpf ultimately decide to resign. I can't imagine that he would choose to remain in office over retaining control of his many enterprises. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #424,942 by drook 7/30/18 10:54:11 AM 7/30/18 10:54:11 AM Reply	What are the remedies? Like I asked in the other thread, suppose he's a guilty as guilty can be. What remedy can a judge order? -- Drew
Post #424,944 by mmoffitt 7/30/18 11:55:22 AM 7/30/18 11:55:22 AM Reply	You know the answer to that. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #424,950 by a6l6e6x 7/30/18 11:15:49 PM 7/30/18 11:15:49 PM Reply	And defy "the base"? Incidentally, "the Base" is Al-Qaeda in Arabic. Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #424,951 by mmoffitt 7/31/18 8:04:54 AM 7/31/18 8:04:54 AM Reply	That thought has occured to me more than once. Republicans == Al Qaeda, Christian Wing. :0) bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.

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