Trump's Russian Collusion

[RedFromMI]

18 USC §208(a) makes it a federal crime for an officer or employee of the executive branch to participate personally and substantially in awarding a government contract in which he has a financial interest.

(From my twitter)

How does this not apply to the G7 site selection?

[a fan]

You can't possibly be dumb enough to think that laws are important in Trumpland.

Laws don't matter, silly goose. And if you think they are, boy, you're obviously just one of those Trump Haters.

And haven't we talked about the Leader of the Free World enough? Shouldn't we instead focus on far more important figures like Hunter Biden?


Geez......you Trump haters just won't shut up about frivolous things like "laws" or "conflicts of interest".

Sheesh.

[Farfromgeneva]

Doesn’t have to be I’ll fitting and owning means more than cost efficacy. I’d have had my wife rent her wedding dress if I could’ve rather than have to see it in the closet foreleg than a decade now taking up space...

[wahoomurf]

Everyone knows about the Al Smith dinner, at least in election years. When the tradition is for both candidates to come and speak. It is always widely reported on because it is right before the election.

We all recall seeing Hillary and Trump go at it in 2016. Trump had a few good jokes -- his best line made fun of Melania's plagiarized speech. But he was also a jerk towards the end and got boo-ed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmvxx_YbDsM

One really weird personality trait of Trump. You almost never ever see him laugh. Comey said it freaked him out.

EVERYONE? Again we disagree. Sounds like one of trump's sweeping pronouncements..."Everyone knows that the U. S. Ambassador was incompetent."

[MDlaxfan76]

MICK MULVANEY CONFESSES OMB AND DOD ARE WITHHOLDING EVIDENCE OF A CRIME FROM CONGRESS

"As noted by Mulvaney today, a law passed in the wake of Richard Nixon playing games with appropriations requires that if you withhold duly appropriated funds, you explain to Congress why you’re doing so, a decision that Congress then gets to veto simply by refusing to approve of the decision. The law makes it clear that the President can’t simply ignore the will of Congress on appropriations.

And yet, that’s what Trump did for the entirety of the summer.

Worse, in his press conference today, Mulvaney admitted that Trump didn’t have a “really really good reason not to” release the funds. Rather, he had a really bad reason: he was trying to extort a quid pro quo."

Where are all our "no quid pro quo" posters now??

..

This might really bum you out Disslaxx, but I (and likely most Americans) aren't really tuned into this stuff - ie, don't care. Prefer my politicians to focus on matters that affect us via our wallet, health, civil rights, and security. Impeachment imo is a distraction of the highest order.

And before you call me a Trumper, please note I will vote for Joe Biden above all others in 2020, should be get the Democrat's nod.

Well then, why respond if you weren't one of the "no quid pro quo' posters?

Are you really 'not tuned into this stuff'?
...or are you saying you don't care about ANYTHING other than the wallet stuff?
Does NOTHING ELSE matter?

No line?

Seriously?

I was really replying to a string of Disslaxx posts where it seemed to me, and correct me if I am wrong, Disslaxx is one of those folks who only sees the negative with Trump.

I don't follow nor care about the quid pro quo 'stuff' because I don't think it is an accurate portrayal of what went down. We can still respectfully disagree in this country, correct?

Maybe a better way to look at things would be this: how many of these Trump red lines have folks such as yourself bellyached (and I use that word intentionally) about on the Internet since his election? Stormy, Russia, Cohen, Mexico, the Wall, Gun Control, Barr, North Korea, Jared, Charlottesville, Brexit, G7, Doral, Brexit, Sessions, Turkey, Forest Raking, Covfefe, Kavanaugh, Fake News, Hurricane Dorian, ICE, Otto Warmbler, Rob Porter, and so on... I mean, doesn't it get exhausting to fret so passionately about these things? When everything is a crisis, nothing is.

None of us (I think) are under any illusion that Trump is a beacon of honor. You have an option next November to show your dislike. I belong to no party and do not look at people as one-dimensional figures. No one in my life is a one-dimensional person. My strong hunch, based on 48 years of life is, nor is Trump a one-dimensional figure. he has done some good, and some not so good.

And this is all written with profound respect that you are also not a one-dimensional character.

Absolutely respectfully, we do quite disagree as to conclusion.

While I certainly agree that Trump is not "one dimensional", he is not merely not a "beacon of honor", he is, disgracefully, a person of epic dishonor. And that indeed 'trumps' all else.

No, I don't think he has actually "done some good".
I see no aspect of his life or job as POTUS in which I can say more positive than that he has been restrained by others from doing worse damage to himself, his family, his 'friends', his office, the country.

Yes, we can indeed say there are certain metrics economically that one could say are temporarily 'strong', but at what cost? I think he's been absolutely miserable in his stewardship in that regard.

With regard to all else, I simply see no redeeming positives.
He's corrupt to his core.
Yes, also he stokes and strokes the fears, resentments, anger and hate in a portion of our population and this incenses those whose beliefs run contrary to bigotry or who are themselves the object of such bigotry.

This divides our body politic in a way since we have not seen since the hottest periods of the civil rights movement and Vietnam War protests. In this sense, he's the worst POTUS of my lifetime and I have not been able to find a true analogue in any period in the US.

[MDlaxfan76]

Doesn’t have to be I’ll fitting and owning means more than cost efficacy. I’d have had my wife rent her wedding dress if I could’ve rather than have to see it in the closet foreleg than a decade now taking up space...

Renting makes a ton of sense if you're not using it more than every couple of years or you tend to fluctuate in weight...much better renting in the latter case if the fitting is current.

But if you are pretty frequent user of a suit, at least once a year or more, and you tend to maintain the same weight/shape over 5+ years, then owning is way more cost effective.

But each to his own.

My other feeling on this is 'have tux, will travel' is great as it means I can get a last minute invite from rich pals to some gala fundraiser (probably because they like my wife), I can just say yes and not need to scramble. Happens once or twice a year! Going to a black tie event tomorrow night exactly that way. Have another one in two weeks.

Funny story (at least to me) is that my son, wife and I visited W&L during his lax recruiting travels. Beautiful school, great academics, loved the coach. Cousin was in school there. As we left town my wife was gushing about how pretty the spot was, but I knew that my son was being quiet for a reason and I thought I knew why. And, yup, indeed I was right. He said, well "did you see the book store?" We'd made a habit of picking up a lax t-shirt at each school as we traveled the summer after sophomore year. "Did you see the ties?...yes, there was a rack of vineyard vines ties in at least 20 different hues, with W&L and lax sticks. A dozen varieties of bow ties and two mannequins with tuxedoes! In a college book store. "It's way, way too preppy" So, when a year later he got the nod to Harvard, I suggested to him that I'd read online that he might be wise to acquire not just a suit for lax team travels, but also a tux. Now, you wouldn't have caught us dead in a tux up at Dartmouth, but Harvard's another animal. I eventually convinced him to get a second hand suit from our tux rental guys, one shirt, some old studs from grandad...nothing fancy, kept in a bag in the back of the closet. He was annoyed because it took up room but I told him to chill and just let it go...well, at Thanksgiving he mentioned that he'd really like to get another tux shirt. I assumed he must have spilled beer or ketchup or something...but nope, "Sometimes we have an event at the Fly one night and the next night there's sorority or women' club event and I can't wear the shirt if it's dirty and sweaty from dancing..." Yikes, back to back tux nights. Kid was having a good time!

[a fan]

Maybe a better way to look at things would be this: how many of these Trump red lines have folks such as yourself bellyached (and I use that word intentionally) about on the Internet since his election? Stormy, Russia, Cohen, Mexico, the Wall, Gun Control, Barr, North Korea, Jared, Charlottesville, Brexit, G7, Doral, Brexit, Sessions, Turkey, Forest Raking, Covfefe, Kavanaugh, Fake News, Hurricane Dorian, ICE, Otto Warmbler, Rob Porter, and so on... I mean, doesn't it get exhausting to fret so passionately about these things? When everything is a crisis, nothing is.

I take it you slept through the Obama, Bush, and Clinton Presidencies?

[MDlaxfan76]

Republican John Kasich comes out for Impeachment. If he wasn’t as boring as Al Gore this would matter.

But, boy, you gotta admit that 'boring' would be a huge improvement, right?

[jhu72]

Richard Nixon would be a huge improvement.

Academic Political Scientists' first impressions.

[ardilla secreta]

Republican John Kasich comes out for Impeachment. If he wasn’t as boring as Al Gore this would matter.

But, boy, you gotta admit that 'boring' would be a huge improvement, right?

He also supported the Clinton impeachment. What a man of wisdom.

[Trinity]

Boring competence would be wonderful.

[seacoaster]

From a Times article about McConnell’s preparations for the trial:

“On Wednesday, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, pushed for Senate Republicans to write a letter to Ms. Pelosi declaring that they would not remove the president. But some senators raised objections, worrying that some of their colleagues would not want to sign on, a result that would expose disunity among Republicans. Mr. Graham’s colleagues said they believe they staved off the letter, which they viewed as a mistake.”

The chair of the Judiciary Committee.

[Trinity]

Trump’s team can only play home scrimmages with the Moms reffing.

[Farfromgeneva]

Doesn’t have to be I’ll fitting and owning means more than cost efficacy. I’d have had my wife rent her wedding dress if I could’ve rather than have to see it in the closet foreleg than a decade now taking up space...

Renting makes a ton of sense if you're not using it more than every couple of years or you tend to fluctuate in weight...much better renting in the latter case if the fitting is current.

But if you are pretty frequent user of a suit, at least once a year or more, and you tend to maintain the same weight/shape over 5+ years, then owning is way more cost effective.

But each to his own.

My other feeling on this is 'have tux, will travel' is great as it means I can get a last minute invite from rich pals to some gala fundraiser (probably because they like my wife), I can just say yes and not need to scramble. Happens once or twice a year! Going to a black tie event tomorrow night exactly that way. Have another one in two weeks.

Funny story (at least to me) is that my son, wife and I visited W&L during his lax recruiting travels. Beautiful school, great academics, loved the coach. Cousin was in school there. As we left town my wife was gushing about how pretty the spot was, but I knew that my son was being quiet for a reason and I thought I knew why. And, yup, indeed I was right. He said, well "did you see the book store?" We'd made a habit of picking up a lax t-shirt at each school as we traveled the summer after sophomore year. "Did you see the ties?...yes, there was a rack of vineyard vines ties in at least 20 different hues, with W&L and lax sticks. A dozen varieties of bow ties and two mannequins with tuxedoes! In a college book store. "It's way, way too preppy" So, when a year later he got the nod to Harvard, I suggested to him that I'd read online that he might be wise to acquire not just a suit for lax team travels, but also a tux. Now, you wouldn't have caught us dead in a tux up at Dartmouth, but Harvard's another animal. I eventually convinced him to get a second hand suit from our tux rental guys, one shirt, some old studs from grandad...nothing fancy, kept in a bag in the back of the closet. He was annoyed because it took up room but I told him to chill and just let it go...well, at Thanksgiving he mentioned that he'd really like to get another tux shirt. I assumed he must have spilled beer or ketchup or something...but nope, "Sometimes we have an event at the Fly one night and the next night there's sorority or women' club event and I can't wear the shirt if it's dirty and sweaty from dancing..." Yikes, back to back tux nights. Kid was having a good time!

I can swing both ways 25-30lbs, no joke, between 190-220, in two months pretty much depending on the season. Like yogi bear. Almost always work out mainly diet and mediocre metabolism.

I also have a 5 & 7yr old so even having a few opportunities a year I have to pick and choose the ones that really carry maximum benefit.

[MDlaxfan76]

Republican John Kasich comes out for Impeachment. If he wasn’t as boring as Al Gore this would matter.

But, boy, you gotta admit that 'boring' would be a huge improvement, right?

He also supported the Clinton impeachment. What a man of wisdom.

So did I.
Not everything should be about what is politically 'wise'.

Lying under oath, impeachable issue.
Sex with a subordinate half your age, disgraceful.
BJ's aren't sex? A terrible message to young people.

But in retrospect certainly not the sorts of abuses of government power that we've seen in either the Nixon or Trump situation (which makes Nixon look like a piker).

I believe that Clinton was guilty of other more serious abuses but they didn't nail him on them and spent an awful lot of time and dough trying.

In Trump's case, he's fully 'nailed' on obstruction in the Mueller Report, an abuse of power.
He's 'nailed' on election finance violations with the Stormy etc case (and disgusting).
He's 'nailed' on election finance violations with the Ukraine matter, and over the top abuse of power.
He's 'nailed' on the law requiring disclosure to Congress when monies directed by Congress, weren't released.
He's 'nailed' on many emoluments violations, most baldly now on the G7 matter.
And he's 'nailed' on enormously violating his responsibilities to the Constitution in his ordered obstruction of Congressional oversight.

That's a lot of nails.
I think we're going to find out there are more...that seems to be happening each week as folks finally come forward and tell the truth.

I believe he was also knowingly welcoming Russian support in 2016. He knew they were supporting him and he welcomed it. Mueller found so in the Report. But he was not able to 'nail' down direct interaction between Trump himself and the Russians.

And I believe that his interactions directly with the Russians and Russian influence have continued during his Presidency, with purposeful obstruction of oversight and transparency. Someday we may actually know what has been communicated between Trump and Putin, as well as with other dictators, but maybe never.

I'd also say that the constant lying to the public, bald-faced obvious lying, at rather spectacular proportions, is itself a gross abuse of his duty of office. But that's not likely to be an Article of Impeachment.

The point is that if Impeachment is supposed to be about abuse of the power of the Presidency rather than personal transgressions, Trump fits the bill...bigly.

[MDlaxfan76]

Doesn’t have to be I’ll fitting and owning means more than cost efficacy. I’d have had my wife rent her wedding dress if I could’ve rather than have to see it in the closet foreleg than a decade now taking up space...

Renting makes a ton of sense if you're not using it more than every couple of years or you tend to fluctuate in weight...much better renting in the latter case if the fitting is current.

But if you are pretty frequent user of a suit, at least once a year or more, and you tend to maintain the same weight/shape over 5+ years, then owning is way more cost effective.

But each to his own.

My other feeling on this is 'have tux, will travel' is great as it means I can get a last minute invite from rich pals to some gala fundraiser (probably because they like my wife), I can just say yes and not need to scramble. Happens once or twice a year! Going to a black tie event tomorrow night exactly that way. Have another one in two weeks.

Funny story (at least to me) is that my son, wife and I visited W&L during his lax recruiting travels. Beautiful school, great academics, loved the coach. Cousin was in school there. As we left town my wife was gushing about how pretty the spot was, but I knew that my son was being quiet for a reason and I thought I knew why. And, yup, indeed I was right. He said, well "did you see the book store?" We'd made a habit of picking up a lax t-shirt at each school as we traveled the summer after sophomore year. "Did you see the ties?...yes, there was a rack of vineyard vines ties in at least 20 different hues, with W&L and lax sticks. A dozen varieties of bow ties and two mannequins with tuxedoes! In a college book store. "It's way, way too preppy" So, when a year later he got the nod to Harvard, I suggested to him that I'd read online that he might be wise to acquire not just a suit for lax team travels, but also a tux. Now, you wouldn't have caught us dead in a tux up at Dartmouth, but Harvard's another animal. I eventually convinced him to get a second hand suit from our tux rental guys, one shirt, some old studs from grandad...nothing fancy, kept in a bag in the back of the closet. He was annoyed because it took up room but I told him to chill and just let it go...well, at Thanksgiving he mentioned that he'd really like to get another tux shirt. I assumed he must have spilled beer or ketchup or something...but nope, "Sometimes we have an event at the Fly one night and the next night there's sorority or women' club event and I can't wear the shirt if it's dirty and sweaty from dancing..." Yikes, back to back tux nights. Kid was having a good time!

I can swing both ways 25-30lbs, no joke, between 190-220, in two months pretty much depending on the season. Like yogi bear. Almost always work out mainly diet and mediocre metabolism.

I also have a 5 & 7yr old so even having a few opportunities a year I have to pick and choose the ones that really carry maximum benefit.

Renting is best for you!
Enjoy your kids; time moves fast!

[CU88]

So what would happen to, say, an Army procurement officer if he directed a no-bid contract to a company he owned?

What is "Get over it" (Mick Mulvaney)? Self-Dealing for 600 Alex....

LOL

Benghazi,
HRC emails,
DNC server,
etc...

[Peter Brown]

Absolutely respectfully, we do quite disagree as to conclusion.

While I certainly agree that Trump is not "one dimensional", he is not merely not a "beacon of honor", he is, disgracefully, a person of epic dishonor. And that indeed 'trumps' all else.

No, I don't think he has actually "done some good".

I am not seeking to change your mind. I'd simply say to you, maybe consider two factors:

Trump (especially Trump) receives a worrying number of verified and legitimate death threats per year...ie, the real deal. I don't care who the occupant is, the rest of their lives they walk around as the hunted by twisted minds. I do not know about you, but no amount of fame or fortune would be worth that trade.

The media in our country, if we are totally honest with each other, is, what, 95% Democrat, and at least a quarter of that highly partisan? If you were analyzed 24/7 by such an imbalanced group of analysts, none of whom have any incentive to discuss anything positive that you do (prison reform anyone?), would you perhaps look at the anti_trump saturated news differently?

[jhu72]

Absolutely respectfully, we do quite disagree as to conclusion.

While I certainly agree that Trump is not "one dimensional", he is not merely not a "beacon of honor", he is, disgracefully, a person of epic dishonor. And that indeed 'trumps' all else.

No, I don't think he has actually "done some good".

I am not seeking to change your mind. I'd simply say to you, maybe consider two factors:

Trump (especially Trump) receives a worrying number of verified and legitimate death threats per year...ie, the real deal. I don't care who the occupant is, the rest of their lives they walk around as the hunted by twisted minds. I do not know about you, but no amount of fame or fortune would be worth that trade. I would love to see the numbers on this for the last two presidents.

The media in our country, if we are totally honest with each other, is, what, 95% Democrat, and at least a quarter of that highly partisan? If you were analyzed 24/7 by such an imbalanced group of analysts, none of whom have any incentive to discuss anything positive that you do (prison reform anyone?), would you perhaps look at the anti_trump saturated news differently? You are nuts. There is a liberal bent, but it is no where near 95%. See Sinclair Broadcasting and their control of local news stations.

Trump for one would do a lot better in the news cycle if he stopped his daily setting his hair on fire. Trump has no one to blame for his news coverage but himself.

[ardilla secreta]

I heard that at the G7 summit in the US at Sea Island, GA in 2004, there were 45,000 meals served for 3,000 people. That’s a nice chunk of business for Doral. Although hosting at Doral could backfire. Since the Trump administration it has become the G6 + 1. Trump tried to get Russia back in the last two years and you have to wonder if he’ll press again successfully as host. Maybe he’ll invite some of his favorite dictators. Demonstrations and protests from other G6 could leave him holding the bag with underused staff and provisions. But then any extras will just get billed to taxpayers, perhaps even for some improvements too.