US Politics April 2019 Thread: 'I find that pretty hard to believe'

Oh yeah wrt obstruction sure.but we also knew that right? E.g. reports of him asking if he could fire Mueller etc.

These were all things previously spun as "fake news" and usually from anonymous sources and are now confirmed as legit.

The "i'm fucked" thing was new

Plus it sounded more like telling - not asking - ppl to fire him and they just didn’t

Xp. Yes and now they're spun as "Mueller report did not find proof of criminal activity" and the status quo remains.the only hope that it'll have any effect is the other investigations that are ongoing

It's basically the Saturday Night Massacre if Robert Bork had said "fuck you, Dick!"

Xpost right wing media and talking heads were going to say that even if the report was a snuff film. The reaction by idiots to the report shouldn't be the rubric the report is judged by.

Also it's not that he found no proof, it's that he found insufficient proof and he started with the assumption that you can't indict a sitting President and worked backwards from there

I mean when the Barr summary was all we had, Trump and co never left message that he was exonerated and he even offered kind words to Mueller.

That he's now resumed throwing a shitfit over the report means he's reacting because even an idiot like him can smell that the narrative is shifting.

oh my god Romney

"I'm sickened by the President's dishonesty and willingness to sell out his country. Thank God he got away with it."

Although folks seem to like waving it to the crowds like a letter guaranteeing Peace In Our Time, it's pretty obvious that the "I'm fucked" quote refers to the fact that he expects the investigation to completely hamstring his agenda as President, rather than being a tacit admission of guilt. Hard to imagine 2-scoops expecting he would have to suffer consequences for his actions under any circumstances.

does trump have an "agenda as president"?

not being flip, I just don't know what that would be. His agenda seems limited to agitating and inflaming his base in order to play the hero and enrich himself.

And by 'agenda' I assume you mean 'sitting around in his underwear and screaming at the tv for 2/3 of any given day'. Which, thankfully, proved to he relatively unhampered by the investigation.

He’s happily carrying out McConnell and the Federalist Society agenda of putting young rightwing extremists on the Federal courts, and he’s doing his best to make $ for himself and fellow rich people, and to ease regulation on his corporate buddies.

“what can my cuntery do for me?”

<3

His agenda is personal enrichment.

Lol estela

Is Rosenstein firmly committed to being on the wrong side fo history? I thought he was teh protector of this report being researched for the last 2 years so why is he palling with the people trying to suppress it.

I dunno! You could ask him and let us know - 📞 +1 (202) 514-2000

oh really more self congratulatory wank, no wonder i tend to ignore you

i know it's pointless to mention this, but seriously, anyone who says the mueller report indicates that the president did not obstruct justice did not read the report. it is impossible to read the report, or read the conclusions of someone who faithfully read the report, and come to that conclusion. the report's section on obstruction (vol 2, literally half of the report) shows over and over and over again exactly how he obstructed justice.

it is driving me nuts. it isn't just the predictable rightwing reaction ("total exoneration", head in the sand/fingers in the ears). relatively well-meaning people are also getting this, frankly, COMPLETELY WRONG.

the most commonly held view on all of this (afaict) is something like "they came up with some evidence on obstruction of justice but it wasn't enough to come to a clear conclusion." that is the shorthand, NPR-style 15-second update on the matter, and also one that i see and hear dejected trump-haters spouting as well. again - that is COMPLETELY WRONG. if you hear or watch people presenting that view - they did not repeat the report. it is not a matter of interpretation or bias. it is just wrong. please, if you hold that view, take a solid 45 minutes out of your day and read the introduction to Vol 2, and skim through the factual section.

the 2+2=5 is very very strong in the world today, it is bewildering

The accurate summary is "they came up with all kinds of evidence of obstruction of justice, but since a sitting president can't be indicted, they decided not to make a flat 'he obstructed justice' statement, instead choosing to leave it in the hands of a feckless, cowardly, and hopelessly partisan Congress and hope for the best."

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/439832-trump-approval-drops-to-2019-low-after-mueller-reports-release-poll

It's go back up 3% if he's able to hold his farts for a week.

In the absence of either Roger Stone or Assange becoming cooperative witnesses, I accept that Mueller was unable to prove criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the DNC hackers and their Russian backers. Too bad. The evidence of obstruction of justice has been both obvious and voluminous since roughly forever, but I never thought either this or the last Congress would remove him from office based on that charge.

I still think that investigators - federal or congressional - need to get deep into exposing his financial crimes before the tide would turn on Trump and he'd lose a good chunk of his own party. Barring some big breaks in that wall, there's probably not enough time before the election to successfully remove Trump.

The better course would be to defeat Trump's narrative of innocence and exoneration, and replace it with a narrative of culpability, venality, lying and incompetence, especially if the House Judiciary committee can get its hands on the evidence that Mueller used to spawn 14 ancillary criminal investigations and open out the conversation from just the Mueller Report and Russia.

adding to that last thought, the Republicans benghazied Hillary fore and aft without ever having to risk a move as fraught with dangers as impeachment, so you know that pounding away at a narrative through congressional investigations can undermine public confidence pretty thoroughly, even when there's not much evidence to work with.

what a shame that this innocent man is surrounded by all these criminals

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/opinion/sunday/mueller-report-trump.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

Sort of agree with Douthat here. Time to log off

https://i.imgur.com/i7VnNcK.png

your messageboard argument prompt for easter sunday

this HOM in the Glossary is Hannity, right?

https://i.imgur.com/uPOsTfx.jpg

hahaha

can i share that picture on FB?

Sure but I’m going to feel silly if it turns out to be Jim Harbaugh

it could be someone whose name is literally "Harm to Ongoing Matter"

looooool

Katherine pointed that out right after the report was released. I thought at first there was something to the fact that HARM fits right there too until she pointed out the same acronym exactly where Kavanaugh would go

there’s another HOM spot that is obviously Roger Stone

Rep. Ilhan Omar: Legalize marijuana everywhere, expunge records of those jailed for pot offenseshttps://t.co/3XCQ8p18Hr pic.twitter.com/6JqX9JfD2e

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) April 20, 2019

Clearly this is the latest step in her plan to destroy America from within.

no one will notice that the pot brownies are laced with sharia law

Rudy Giuliani declared on Sunday that President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort had been nearly “tortured” in jail as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and referred to one of Mueller’s lead prosecutors as a “hit man” before walking back both comments.

so manafort... wasnt tortured

"I love them. I know they like me too. It's the egg farmers of this country, the egg farmers," Trump says at the White House Easter Egg Roll.

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 22, 2019

AND THEY'RE FARMIN EGGS WHILE THE SLAVES ARE ALL WORKIN

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D4xCOfgWsAAjXhm.jpg

I was about to post that picture!

all Trump appearances should have him flanked by a costumed character. really helps set the right tone

how can someone with servants have the "oh shit i left the iron plugged in" look that melania has in that photo

Does this make Melania a mushroom farmer?

all Trump appearances should have him flanked by a costumed character. really helps set the right tone

― mh, Monday, April 22, 2019

what a mean thing to write about Melania

I'd never imply that Melania has any discernible sense of character

Not in public, at least.

The Giuliani/Tapper clip is getting replayed on local news here. I choose to take that as a good sign.

NEW: The US is threatening to veto a UN Security Council resolution because it talks about giving sexual and reproductive health support to victims of rape in conflict. https://t.co/xI2MsA9Oyo

— Julian Borger (@julianborger) April 22, 2019

Now here's a development I did not see coming, yet it's weirdly predictable.

Holy fuckin shit. This was a pop up ad on an article I was reading for a strip club in my town. He’s appearing at strip clubs. For $25 dollars. Lmao pic.twitter.com/4TNNF5Agxz

— Matt (@WhoCare6969) April 22, 2019

We already know he's got the G-strings...