Trump, May 2017: 100 days of [unintelligible]

pareene had a good short thread on the way the dementia issue is handled

At this point it's almost universally acknowledged that Trump's cognitive deficiencies have to be managed around but you can't just say that

— slackbot (@pareene) May 15, 2017

xp lol

President Trump asked the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, to shut down the federal investigation into Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, in an Oval Office meeting in February, according to a memo that Mr. Comey wrote shortly after the meeting.

“I hope you can let this go,” the president told Mr. Comey, according to the memo.

The existence of Mr. Trump’s request is the clearest evidence that the president has tried to directly influence the Justice Department and F.B.I. investigation into links between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia.

Mr. Comey wrote the memo detailing his conversation with the president immediately after the meeting, which took place the day after Mr. Flynn resigned, according to two people who read the memo. The memo was part of a paper trail Mr. Comey created documenting what he perceived as the president’s improper efforts to influence an ongoing investigation. An F.B.I. agent’s contemporaneous notes are widely held up in court as credible evidence of conversations.

Mr. Comey shared the existence of the memo with senior F.B.I. officials and close associates. The New York Times has not viewed a copy of the memo, which is unclassified, but one of Mr. Comey’s associates read parts of the memo to a Times reporter.

that Comey memo looks like air-tight obstruction of justice evidence

Nothing that has happened yet rises to the level of a catastrophe, Treesh, other than the general catastrophe of the nation being saddled with a wildly incompetent head of state for the foreseeable future. This bodes very ill, but we'll have to wait before we see the full catastrophe emerge out of Trump's incontinence.

Until then, he is hedged in somewhat by the system he was elected into and the survival instincts of people like McConnell. It will be a battle to see whether the other powerful people in government can contain the damage Trump does to manageable levels. There's a fighting chance they can, but it's impossible to imagine how the next 44 months play out.

Mr. Comey created similar memos — including some that are classified — about every phone call and meeting he had with the president, the two people said. It is unclear whether Mr. Comey told the Justice Department about the conversation or his memos.

There were tweets/posts last week saying Comey was pretty thorough when it came to paper trails/memo/CYA procedures. Two to one says this will be the opening salvo.

[Charles II of Spain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_Spain), thanks to Spanish Hapsburg inbreeding, is another contender for a colossally stupid leader from history.

I'm having a hard time finding similar contenders among democracies. Ideologically hobbled, sure, but just plain incompetent? Elections usually weed them out.

But Comey wrote the memo. There's no proof what he wrote is accurate. This is yet another 'who cares' moment. It makes no difference. Without a recording or without it in Trumps handwriting, it won't matter.

xp: Oops I was late with Charles.

What the line?

"Do you see the method in my madness?"

"I can't see any method, sir."

An F.B.I. agent’s contemporaneous notes are widely held up in court as credible evidence of conversations.

and that goes, traditionally, for Congress too. This paper trail is going to be a real headache for the GOP congress

lmao this idiot

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C_-oKRSUwAA9rGs.jpg

Trump better hope there are no "tapes" of their conversations!!!

This bodes very ill, but we'll have to wait before we see the full catastrophe emerge out of Trump's incontinence.

This pee tape wasn't what I was expecting at all!

It makes no difference...it won't matter.

I have to think that when a director of the FBI testifies that what he wrote is accurate it will "matter". It might not take him out, but he'll be badly wounded.

a text from a Hill Republican: "how can this go on for another 3+ years"

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 16, 2017

hope he answered "you tell me"

Hill Republican OTM

PISS TAPE PISS TAPE PISS TAPE

But Comey wrote the memo. There's no proof what he wrote is accurate. This is yet another 'who cares' moment. It makes no difference. Without a recording or without it in Trumps handwriting, it won't matter.

Comey wants to testify to Congress in the open, as has been reported for a couple of days now. If asked, under oath, he will confirm what's been reported. If you don't think that will have an impact, well...

yeah Comey was there boy - he put Trump in the White House! Him turning on Trump, with credible evidence to back it up, is going to make things v v difficult for GOP in congress

"their" argh

Man.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER — Congress can subpoena these memos from Comey.

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 16, 2017

I hope he is right and that happens. Pence et al are loathsome but Trump being in office is an imminent crisis.

Trump continually bumblefucking and ruining GOP poll numbers is the best thing you can hope for before 2018.

I can't wait for the tell-all autobiography where Comey reveals that he always wanted to topple a sitting President and, with Trump, he finally had the chance to make this long-held dream into a reality

Is it better for Trump to skip town or stay around?

maybe start a poll

He'll fly to the Mideast on his trip, unless he is disinvited first.

This seems like its own story tbh. pic.twitter.com/yaFbfpymhB

— Scott Klein (@kleinmatic) May 16, 2017

And he'd like nothing more, I'm sure.

Graham reacts to NYT story about Comey memo on Flynn: "If he felt confident enough to write it down he should come in and tell us about it."

— Karoun Demirjian (@karoun) May 16, 2017

Comey should consider putting reporters in prison for publishing classified information

sounds like Dems re Wikileaks

i bet trump was about to brag about exactly the conversation in this memo before they took his phone away this morning

I have been asking Director Comey & others, from the beginning of my administration, to find the LEAKERS in the intelligence community.....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16, 2017

meanwhile the FOX News panel is livid...about the unnamed sources.

we still have his address on islam to look forward to!

Ok, Comey's testimony under oath is a different thing that can actually make a difference. This memo proves absolutely nothing. For all the 'tick tick tick' 'omg it's coming' build up, this is very weak. I think it's nice to know Comey is willing to say Trump told him that, but I don't see how the memo helps at all.

he should go to the Middle East, would make it easier for Mossad to clip him

xp

i put this in the wrong thread. my ability to think clearly or operate a computer has been in bad lately

did someone quote the NYT detail that three (3) WH officials "conceding," by way of defending trump, that he's too stupid to know enough to disclose anything dangerous

― goole, Tuesday, May 16, 2017 4:41 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

memos can be subpoenaed and entered as evidence. there will be Comey testimony to back it up for sure - Burr et al won't be able to avoid it

xp

C'mon, brotherlovesdub, this isn't just something random here. The mere fact that it's been formally raised/put out there now is enough to prompt further questions/reaction, which is clearly already happening.

Ok, Comey's testimony under oath is a different thing that can actually make a difference. This memo proves absolutely nothing. For all the 'tick tick tick' 'omg it's coming' build up, this is very weak. I think it's nice to know Comey is willing to say Trump told him that, but I don't see how the memo helps at all.

― brotherlovesdub, Tuesday, May 16, 2017

This is how you play the game in DC. Comey's been around a while.

Anyone who has followed Comey's career knows he's a diligent contemporaneous note-taker and emailer on important events and internal debates

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) May 16, 2017

sounds like Dems re Wikileaks

lol no

White House responds to Times story with unsigned statement. What will the president tweet and will it contradict this? pic.twitter.com/soLTjoga1N

— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) May 16, 2017

I kinda love how the first part of that statement just reconfirms that Trump still really loves Flynn. Good job there!

"this would be a good one to let go"

The greatest thing about Trump is that he is so stupid and incompetent he doesn't even know when he's done something stupid or incompetent.

I feel that's a little like saying "the greatest thing about having lasers slice off your limbs is how they cauterize the wound as they cut"

laser would need to be slicing off it's own laser arms in that analogy