The September 2019 US Politics Thread is great Great GREAT GR8

lol

This has always been obvious imo. The Trump camp has always believed (probably correctly) the Ukrainian government was trying to nudge the election Clinton’s way and (probably incorrectly) that there was some form of collusion with the DNC. There was so much evidence of tax evasion against Manafort I’m not sure discrediting the ledger would have made a material difference to the outcome of the case but it might provide cover for a pardon and a media narrative that the whole investigation into Trump was fatally flawed.

The change of government in Ukraine offered an opportunity to press Zelenskyy to uncover details of any activity Poroshenko and the security services undertook to undermine Trump. Zelenskyy isn’t stupid enough to burn bridges with Democrats or his intelligence agencies so it was never likely to work.

okay night owls, here come the leaks:

New: The whistleblower complaint alleges a pattern of obfuscation at the White House, in which officials moved the records of some of Trump’s communications with foreign officials onto a separate computer network from where they are normally stored. https://t.co/JrPGM4ATs2

— Shane Harris (@shaneharris) September 26, 2019

The whistleblower alleges that is what officials did with Trump’s July 25 call with Zelensky, an action that alarmed the intelligence community inspector general and prompted him to request that the White House retain records of the Zelensky call.

— Shane Harris (@shaneharris) September 26, 2019

BUT HIS EMAILS

oh that’s delicious

None of this will amount to shit, of course, but I take my enjoyment where I can.

Okay wait wait wait...so his playbook is basically 'do all the things that we claim our conspiracy theory version of Hillary Clinton should be locked up for except way worse and probably commit treason in the process'? Of course it is. Of course it is.

Investigators might do well to see if any other dudes named Vince Foster have gone missing over the last couple of years, perhaps one whose remains can be found under a hastily-tossed afghan somewhere in the White House.

Ukraine in the membrane

lol given he's so obsessed with reliving the 2016 election, I think it's only fair that Barr hires another special counsel and then recuses himself. Gaslight Trump for once.

Just kidding. But I do think, one way or another, that Trump is done. As long as the Dems stay on the offense and don't let up the pressure, whether he's there for another week, month, year, hell, another term, he's essentially at best a lame duck, because there is no way, after launching impeachment and with this literally nonstop onslaught of bullshit, they'll be able to deal with a man so aggressively crooked and bereft of good faith and, worse, dangerous. They can't even pretend. I have no idea how this affects the senate or congress, but I don't think it really matters at all.

pretty sure stephen miller has a strict 'no afghans in the white house' policy tbf xxxp

sad lol, the NYTimes talked to "six swing voters" about impeachment, and go figure, most of those people the had talked to in the past, and, huh, all are hardcore Trump supporters, one with a portrait of Robert E. Lee hanging in his house. Fuck the New York Times.

No, the New York Times did not talk to six “swing voters” about impeachment. The article quotes a handful of devout GOP voters who the NYT has repeatedly interviewed multiple times. A thread.... https://t.co/QYKCWB9V5I

— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) September 26, 2019

And for a double helping of 'fuck the NYT', this current headline: 'Why a Trump Impeachment Should Terrify You'

So glad I stopped giving them money.

Why a Trump Impeachment Presidency Should Terrify You
Why a Trump Impeachment Should Terrify You
Why a Trump Impeachment Should Terrify You

eat shit new york times

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

xxxp bg vg

Breaking: The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has released the declassified whistleblower complaint. The complaint can be viewed here: https://t.co/sAjcf9g5Qx

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 26, 2019

OK, so crimes and coverups, but otherwise nbd, totally exonerated.

kinda remarkable that people so immersed in corruption for so long never seem to get any better at it

The declassified, 9-page whistleblower report is out:

"I have received information... that the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election." https://t.co/Ah6tCHKbWT pic.twitter.com/oIqbgsdKia

— Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) September 26, 2019

Whistle: blown!

Before the release of the White House conversation memo, Chris Christie argued that Trump would only be in trouble if he said something like, 'Do me a favor...'.https://t.co/abKS3A6p3h

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 26, 2019

So yeah it's going to be fun watching the worst republicans go down defending this shit.

I mean, not Trump, though, of course. He'll remain unscathed somehow, I'm sure.

Can Fox hire all of them?

haven't they?

I mean the rest! Barr, Pompeo, Pence, the entire GOP ...

Trump is Nicholson in "A Few Good Men," except he sits down on the stand and just says, "So anyway, I ordered a beautiful Code Red. Absolutely the best Code Red . . ."

So what time today are the Democrats going to apologize?

THE DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO DESTROY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND ALL THAT IT STANDS FOR. STICK TOGETHER, PLAY THEIR GAME, AND FIGHT HARD REPUBLICANS. OUR COUNTRY IS AT STAKE!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2019

First sentence is astoundingly perceptive. Well-observed, Mr. President!

man, Devin Nunes never stops delivering the yuks

yucks

so looks like we have offically entered the full-on "screaming era" of the Trump presidency

“And all it stands for”

And what’s that now?

Step back just a sec and reflect on that tweet in comparison with public statements made by any prior sitting president. It's easy to lose sight of just how insane is this situation we find ourselves in.

“Is their a case for impeachment? Absolutely not!” There is no high crimes or misdemeanors, no treason, no extortion, no treason.” RD Robert Ray, respected

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2019

, respected

xxpost Xenophobia and flim-flammery, afaict.

Their their.

Breaking: Whistleblower wore BLM t-shirt and ACORN hat at Antifa picnic

no treason, no extortion, and also, no treason

I actually yelled “Fuck you!” at Nunes’ opening statement on my car radio a bit ago. Looking forward to seeing a transcript so I can revisit all the outright lies.

surprised the GOP isn't playing the "this is the same as Obama working with Ukraine to investigate Manafort in 2016" card...that sort of idiotic false equivalence is usually their game

we have another 14 months for them to make that argument, i'm sure they'll get around to it soon

Maguire not looking good up there imo

Kinda feel like as the number of people implicated in these shenanigans grows and they (if not Trump himself) start to see some real-world consequences for their actions, those in the GOP with half a brain might begin to see the wisdom in maintaining a little distance from this mess.

Like if public perception starts swinging towards viewing this as legitimate treason, those old tribal bonds might start to dissolve a bit.

the problem there is the assumption that any gop politician in 2019 has anything approaching half a brain to begin with

(This is all just Mr. Brightside pontification, really, though. The GOP is comprised of people all-too-willing to undermine their own best interests in service to the tribe, so I'm under no illusions that there's going to be a swell of outrage over Trump selling out the US.)

lol Nunes is complaining about WH leaks that originated from the WH itself

And he’s very angry that it has happened three times. Lol

btw there should be an impeachment thread. This is going to go on for a very long time.

yeah what's really important right now is how this information got out