A blogger who identifies as “democracy” posted this comment, with which I agree.
The bottom line is that Trump has lots and lots of Russian “mob” money, in Russia, the mob and the state are one and the same.
Trump has tapped tons of Russian moola, which is one reason he’s refused to release his tax returns, and in all likelihood, why Republicans in Congress refuse to force their release. Those returns would prove definitively the financial ties. But even without them, the ties have been well-established. The Financial Times did a deep look into the building of the Trump Tower in Toronto:
“Legal documents, signed statements and two dozen interviews with people with knowledge of the project and the money that flowed through it reveal that the venture connects the US president with a shadowy post-Soviet world where politics and personal enrichment merge…”
“it has become increasingly clear that many of the oligarchs who made their riches amid the downfall of the Soviet Union have protected their fortunes by advancing the interests of the ruling cliques at home. This wealth has been coursing through western markets, often disguised by shell companies. Trump’s sector, real estate, has long been susceptible to infusions of incognito money. A large proportion of sales of high-end US property takes place through companies whose true owners are hidden. A US Treasury investigation last year found that one in three cash buyers of top-end property was suspicious…”
“Trump has broken with presidential tradition by refusing to divest his holdings in the dozens of companies that comprise the Trump Organization or to release tax returns that might shine more light on what appear to be multitudinous conflicts of interest. In May last year, his decision to fire James Comey as head of the FBI triggered the appointment of Robert Mueller, himself a former FBI chief, as special counsel to investigate links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.”
https://www.ft.com/trumptoronto
Look, it’s clear. This is not hard to figure out. There was a very genuine royal screwing of the American Republic in November of 2016. Trump and the Trump campaign engaged in behavior that has to be called what it really is: treason. There’s no way around it. And while Trump and his tops dogs are directly responsible, there’s lots of blame to pass around. Charlie Pierce at Esquire calls it perfectly:
“Goddamn them all.”
“Goddamn the hackers. Goddamn the journalists who laundered the pilfered material. Goddamn any of them who treated Roger Stone as a source, or as a cute prankster, instead of the nasty vandal he’s always been. Goddamn the pundits who chortled over the pilfered material. Goddamn the politicians who profited from the hacking. Goddamn the politicians who minimized the hacking. Goddamn the politicians who still stonewall about the hacking. Goddamn the ‘activists’ who ranted about ‘McCarthyism’ when anybody pointed out that the 2016 presidential election had been poisoned from afar. Goddamn them all as traitors, if not to the American nation, then to everything that ever made that nation worth the bother.”
“They conspired, wittingly or unwittingly. They colluded, wittingly or unwittingly. They are accessories, before and after the fact, to the hijacking of a democratic election. So, yes, goddamn them all.”
And you know what? There are still people out there – hell, there are still commenters on this bog – who pretend to be unaware of just how serious this is, or worse, who purposefully turn a blind eye to it.
It’s going to get worse – and much weirder – before it gets better.
Gee. Maybe we should give some serous thought – when this is mostly over, if it ever really is – to the notion that public education in a democratic republic ought to teach and model the core values and principles on which the republic is based.
Goddamn us if we don’t.
**We finally got to the core of it: It’s treason. CK
Yup.
We finally got to the core of it: it’s VALUES!
IMPEACH!
And what then? President Pence?
Why not? President Pence will be dealt with after the treasonous Trump is dispatched.
Dealt with how?
Take them down one at a time.
I am not sure Pence is any better. He knows. Heck, he is probably part of it all. Manafort was the guy who pushed for Pence to be chosen.
That’s right. When you learn of wrongdoing, you want your President to step down. Since when do Americans say “oh I’m fine with the President breaking the law because I don’t like the Vice President”??
So I guess we should have shut down the Watergate investigation and let Nixon fire special prosecutors at will because “what then, President Agnew”?
If Americans have now abandoned the law because they don’t like the VP, we are inching closer to fascism.
It is not that I don’t like the VP. It is that (IMHO) he is just as dirty/guilty. Paul Ryan would be next, but he’s guilty as well (famous audio ‘it stays in the family’). Orrin Hatch would be tapped after the ink dries on those indictments. But my crystal ball could be totally off base.
As the great Donald says often, “Let’s see what happens.”
Of course, Trump has become a cult figure to so many of his followers. Pence is a human being and is hard to imagine ever being the demagogue that Trump has evolved into. BTW good piece.
Trump is not a legitimate POTUS if he is a traitor who got elected due to Russian meddling that was condoned and coordinated by him and his campaign, as mounting evidence is demonstrating –and which we all witnessed when Trump publicly told Russia to find Hillary’s emails. I mean, didn’t you wonder at the time, “WTF?!?” Pence is not a legitimate VP either, since they were on the same ticket and both got elected the very same way.
Let’s wait to see what Mueller has on everyone. I think a lot of people in the GOP knew what was happening, including Pence. Some people have suggested that Mitchell knew about it and he wouldn’t let Obama’s SCOTUS appointment go through, cuz he knew he just had to wait to appoint a right-winger under Trump.
Based on their current behavior, the GOP wants to maintain power at any cost and they are willing to look the other way even when there’s strong proof of treason. So it’s not difficult to fathom that once they realized all that they could get out of having Trump as prez, they were willing to support whatever Trump was doing to garner that win for them. I think most of the GOP leadership is culpable for enabling and maintaining this farce, including the few who might have felt enough pangs of guilt after they won to decide to get out early, like Ryan et al. I think this scheme is likely to have included way more people than anyone ever imagined. These crooks are not all that bright either, so I bet there’s a lot of proof just waiting to be found…
Agreed.
And slightly forgotten is that it was McConnell that told Obama not to say anything about the meddling as it might throw the election.
Carolmalaysia,
My guess is that Trump has a strong yearning to do the very same things. I suspect he will do them, too, if there is nothing or no one to prevent him from copying Putin and the other fellow demagogues he’s enamored by. I think a lot of corrupt politicians here who have already been looking the other way regarding virtually every unethical and illegal thing that he does might let it fly, too. But not out of loyalty. I think that’s quid pro quo…
I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but Paul Street, a brilliant writer and thinker, explains why the Constitution was designed by the founders to really not allow the populist masses to shape the kind of government they want. That includes getting rid of the président.
While we can vote people in and out, it’s not so easy for our voting power to truly represent and actually practice democratic, egalitarian principles.
I still think we must think forward, resist, participate, run for office, etc. I still know that Americans can turn this nightmare trend around.
Nonetheless, this is required reading of ANYONE who choses to be politically literate or thinks of themself as such:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/07/13/time-to-stop-playing-simon-says-with-james-madison-and-alexander-hamilton/
The Federalist Paper #68 by Alexander Hamilton explains that the electoral college was created to provide a screening committee of the “best and brightest and wisest” to screen anyone chosen by the popular vote for the presidency. The electoral college was supposed to prevent frauds and con men from becoming president.
Well, that didn’t work!
No doubt, Hannity knew, too, and that’s why he publicly instructed people on how to delete evidence from their phones recently.
It’s rather amazing how many nefarious things these power-hungry idiots have done, and continue to do, in plain sight, probably because they are foolish enough to believe that they are going to get away with it. I tend to believe that, in the end, goodness really does prevail, and since so many folks on the planet have a stake in this, I don’t think the world will let that happen.
“A blogger who identifies as “democracy” posted this comment, with which I agree.”
Thank you democracy. Great posting.
Yes.
Protests should follow Trump wherever he goes demanding he release his taxes as I think they may very well show why he is partial to Russia. Trump just called the EU alliance a “foe!” Is he trying to distance himself from the EU to make it easier for Putin to move against the Balkan states? Why does Trump require a one-on-one meeting with Putin?
“We know that Trump doesn’t do a lot of prep work for these meetings. He kind of goes in and wings it,” Warner said on NBC’s “Meet the Press. “I really would feel much better if there were other Americans in the room.”
Trump is so clearly a fumbling foe of the free world.
“I might,” Trump told CBS News in an interview that aired Sunday when asked whether he would push Putin to extradite the 12 intelligence agents. “I hadn’t thought of that. But certainly I’ll be asking about it.”
He will ask Putin’s permission. Putin will say no. That’s it.
Akademos: Trump states many times that he has ‘superior intuitive abilities’, ‘great genes’ and ‘superior intelligence’. What more does anyone need when meeting with leaders of other countries, especially someone like Putin?
Putin expects Trump to be pliable and not understand what is involved in international intelligence. Putin knows that Trump is malleable and not very bright. Why not pick someone like this to be ‘leader’ of the USA? Putin is working his destruction though our ignoramus Trump.
Putin knows that praise and flattery all that’s needed to win Trump over and he will give Putin anything he wants.
It might not just be flattery.
Maybe it is holding something over Trump’s head. Why else insist that no one else be in the room?
Trump was asked last week if he had prepared for his meeting with Putin. He answered, “I don’t need to. I’ve been preparing all my life.”
Yeah, at the 21 Club and all those casinos.
Having married Czech-born Ivana and Slovenian-born Melania has prepared him. It is the equivalent of seeing Russia from your house.
“Having married Czech-born Ivana and Slovenian-born Melania has prepared him. It is the equivalent of seeing Russia from your house.” – good job, GregB, good job. It does not matter that the Czechs hate Russians (not sure about the Slovenians, but they had their own Tito). It does not matter that the Czech Republic has been a member of NATO for twenty years. Nevertheless, its citizens suddenly became Russian proxies. Do you have the same opinion about the Asians, they are all the same, with the same goal and mindset? Showing Aryan tendencies, aren’t we?
BA, Melania’s father was a member of the local Communist party. I don’t think he was one of those Russian-hating Czechs. Now he lives with Melania’s mother in the White House. Isn’t life amazing?
He is 2 years older than Donald. https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/politics/g9968592/melania-trump-parents-amalija-knavs-viktor-knavs/
Quick correction: Melania is Slovenian, NOT Czech. The Czechs really DO hate Russia, and the Slovenes aren’t real complementary of them either. Both countries are both in the E.U. and NATO.
I heard Ron Paul interviewed on CNN today, defending Russia, saying we betrayed them by allowing former Soviet satellites to join NATO. We did not force them to join NATO. We did not invade them as he invaded Crimea and Urraine. They ASKED to join for protection against Putin.
I have lost all respect for Ron Paul.
Ahhh, BA, as Yosemite Sam said, “It’s a joke, son, don’t you get it?” How’s this work for you: our president* visited a doctor once and he now thinks that makes him a medical expert. Don’t overthink it.
This whole thing, and the timing of it, starting in the early 90s after the fall of the Berlin wall, makes me wonder if not just Trump, but other entrepreneurs, too, and many people in our own government, including the New Democrats under Clinton, saw what was happening when Russia “privatized” all that they owned and then so many people connected with government were able to get rich quick and became oligarchs…
I think light bulbs went off then for folks in power here. What’s been happening in the US since then is not all that different. Did privatization ever occur here before the Russians did it? If so, not on the scale that we have been seeing. (And yes, I know it could be a lot worse here, but I think it’s pretty bad as it is, and when was it ever a concern before?)
Leave a Reply to homelesseducator: Once Putin got in power he had the oligarchs pay him 50% of what they were earning…if they wanted to continue their business. Corruption is/was rampant. Putin is one of the wealthiest people in the world.
Trump say it is all Obama’s fault…meaning the Russian Military cyberattack.
Related to this, the president*, in an interview today, called the EU our enemies. On the eve of Putin’s Helsinki booty call, no less!
It’s like Putin is the ventriloquist and Trump is his dummy. I’m sure Putin does consider the EU his enemy, so he moves his hands and Trump mouths the words.
From Wikipedia:
“Demagogue
Political orator who panders to the audiences fears and emotions
‘Methods of demagogues’
1. Scapegoating
2. Fear-mongering
3. Lying
4. Emotional oratory and personal charisma
5. Accusing opponents of weakness and disloyalty
6. Promising the impossible
7. Violence and physical intimidation
8. Personal insults and ridicule
9. Vulgarity and outrageous behavior
10. Folksy posturing
11. Gross oversimplification
12. Attacking the news media”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demagogue
#13 should be added: Methods of Donald Trump
what a list…
+
uses the “big lie”
+
controls the message
(NFL players are anti-military and USA… every immigrant is a rapist and gang member in your backyard… so-called asylum seekers are lying about conditions and using their kids… it was cold in Washington so there is no global warming…
+
says enough to appease the mainstream and then reverses course for his base and tweet followers (DACA, bumpstocks, tariffs…)
add them all up – – – sounds like 1938 Germany to me… seriously (control all three branches, denounce anything intellectual, control media, blame victims…
Who came to DT’s rescue when no US bank would loan him money (because of 6 bankruptcies) to continue his business in real estate? Who bought condo’s way over asking price? Who came to visit the US in their private jets? Just how did DT buy the golf property in Scotland with cash?
Putin has something big on DT. Bigger than the pee tapes. In fact many of the high rolling GOP is caught in this. They are covering and ignoring to save themselves.
Mueller has more shoes to drop.
Yes, the financial thing is the most disturbing.
Cheryl Yes . . . “Just don’t reveal my finances or call in my loans.” CBK
I don’t care if you are conservative, moderate, progressive, or socialist.
The evidence is clear. We saw the right wing Republicans grilling FBI Agent Pete Strzok claiming that all of this is false because Strzok sent an e-mail expressing his disgust at Trump when he attacked the grieving parents of an American soldier who died serving his country. That’s all the “evidence” they need to know there is nothing there.
We see self-identified progressives (and many fake right wing trolls pretending to be progressives) claiming that all of this is false because they just haven’t seen enough evidence yet. Which is pretty ironic since they didn’t need anything but innuendo to claim that the DNC ran an entire corrupt primary in which every single action they took was to make sure that Hillary Clinton won.
This is not hard. This is not difficult. Trump has insulted our allies, ordered a change in the RNC platform to benefit Putin, and not once has Trump made any move to do something that Putin would not like.
When a husband meets with a man offering to kill his wife, and soon after his wife is murdered by people associated with that man, we can’t know for sure whether it is just a coincidence that it happened. After all, the husband whose wife was murdered claims he didn’t accept the offer of the guy to kill his wife. They just discussed adoptions.
But when that husband whose wife was killed spends the next 18 months doing favors that benefit the guy who met with him offering to kill his wife, it strains credibility for someone to say “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that the husband just happens to be doing favors for the man who offered to murder his wife and whose associates did murder his wife.”
Trump covers for Putin when it comes to his having journalists killed. There will be nothing good coming out of this meeting in Helsinki. Putin is a vicious dictator who eliminated Russia’s short stint with democracy. I have been watching [DVR] “America’s Greatest Threat: Vladimir Putin” on the History channel.
…………
…After Russian President Vladimir Putin called Donald Trump “very talented,” the GOP frontrunner has defended Putin against suspicions that Putin kills journalists who don’t agree him.
It started on MSNBC’s Morning Joe last month when host Joe Scarborough asked about it.
Trump responded, “He’s running his country, and at least he’s a leader, unlike what we have on this country. I think our country does plenty of killing also, Joe, so you know.”
“I’m confused,” Scarborough pressed. “You obviously condemn Vladimir Putin killing journalists and political opponents, right?”
“Oh sure, absolutely,” Trump conceded.
A few days later, Trump defended Putin again, to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. “You’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, at least in our country. It has not been proven that he’s killed reporters.”..
Does Vladimir Putin kill journalists? – http:///punditfact/article/2016/jan/04/does-vladimir-putin-kill-journalists/
…………………………………………………………..
List of journalists killed in Russia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The dangers to journalists in Russia have been well known since the early 1990s but concern over the number of unsolved killings soared after Anna Politkovskaya’s murder in Moscow on 7 October 2006. While international monitors mentioned a dozen deaths, some sources within Russia talked of over two hundred fatalities.[1] The evidence has since been examined and documented in two reports, published in Russian and English, by international organizations. These revealed a basic confusion in terminology that explained the seemingly enormous numerical discrepancy: statistics of premature death among journalists (from work accidents, crossfire incidents, and purely criminal or domestic cases of manslaughter) were repeatedly equated with the much smaller number of targeted (contract) killings or work-related murders. The Remembrance Day of Journalists Killed in the Line of Duty in Russia is observed on 15 December every year.
In related news (how horrific the Trump cabal is), from the LA Times, 2-14-18:
On the eve of the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, one of the nation’s bedrock environmental laws, the Trump administration delivered a churlish anniversary present: It gutted the law.
Three days before Christmas, the U.S. Interior Department quietly issued a reinterpretation of the law, effective immediately. It freed private interests — most notably, energy companies — from criminal prosecutions and fines for the deaths of migratory birds killed by industrial practices.
[snip] The threat to birds follows a Trumpian playbook. In its dismissal of all or key parts of the Environmental Protection Act, the Clean Air and Water acts, and President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, the administration has signaled its intention to nullify environmental laws and regulations that impede fossil fuel extraction. It does this by legal reinterpretation — as with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act — or by reductions in enforcement efforts and agency destaffing. It doesn’t bother trying to pass legislation, which can be blocked. Never mind birds — the only part of the environment this administration cares about is what is under the ground, available for pumping. End quote.
What a disaster and tragedy for our country, from A to Z, from top to bottom, there is no end to the damage that Trump and his cabal of thugs is doing to this country. This was also reported on NPR today which even cited the Koch brothers as aiders and abetters in the destruction of the environment.
“horrific” and “churlish” are words used explicitly by you, Joe, to pinpoint the occasion. I agree. Is anyone listening to what Joe just posted? I am. Reread.
You are not alone in your reading of Joe’s comments. Joe is one of those commenters who brings new information to this blog that enriches the discussion. Thanks, Joe.
I agree with speduktr. Joe’s comments are always good, insightful reads.
Thanks, Joe. I hear that Trump or Zinke wants drilling in the Grand Canyon. They are shameless.
If Zinke and the Utah delegation of Congress get their way, there will be EIGHT TIMES as much coal mining outside of Bryce Canyon National Park as there is now. https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2018/07/13/there-will-be-eight-times/
I’m shocked that more Utah residents are not concerned about that.
Welcome to Utah. A lot of general people hate what is going on, but the elected “leaders” think that Utah land should be sold to the highest bidder.
This guy has lost it if he ever had it. He’s got a private meeting with a career KGB agent and what’s he doing? Tweeting about the media being the enemy and some lifelong FBI agent who texted he didn’t like him.
Preparing all his life? Well if making daddy happy, I guess he puts Putin and Kim as dictators to appease in that category.
Preparing all his life? He’s a flim flam real estate loser, reality tv game show host, racist.
And, again, Putin is KGB like none of probably can imagine.
Pence… ? any one of them will take us to conservative days like Bush, Reagan, and others. Conservatives, clueless tea partiers, and some right-wingers. Pendulums swing.
But it won’t be like this.
What is going to kill the country is that every one of them are afraid to speak up – speak out – no integrity – complicit – and sooner than later blood on their hands.
Yes – public education’s #1 purpose is perpetuation of our democracy. Problem is half these folks didn’t go to public school and the other half may have gotten the civics, but not the values.
Another very worrisome action today by Trump. He said “Germany is a captive of Russia.”
Trump has a very long history of publicly accusing others of the crimes he is guilty of.
Yes ! Worse than a fifth grader.
Let’s consider what’s transpired in just the last 48 hours.
FiveThirtyEight – and a host of other media – report the Muller indictments, with something like this:
“Mueller has filed charges against five American, one Dutch and 26 Russian nationals, along with three Russian businesses. Of all those indicted, five people have pleaded guilty — including one who has already served prison time — and Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, is awaiting trial…”
Republican campaign consultant John Weaver, who’s followed all the Trump craziness, reacts to the Mueller indictments with this tweet:
“Russian interference & the probable conspiracy DID IMPACT the 2016 election. Anyone who says otherwise is ignorant or lying.” The emphasis there — “DID IMPACT” — are Weaver’s, not mine. But he’s exactly right.
Hell, former W Bushite David Frum called this — along with others — quite a while back in The Atlantic, BEFORE we knew details about that Trump Tower meeting and the new set of Mueller indictmets
“”the outline of the case is no mystery…Democratic and Republican Party servers were hacked by foreign agents, yet the Moscow-friendly folks at Wikileaks somehow only obtained the contents of Democratic servers…Meanwhile, Donald Trump ran a campaign that seemed almost designed to please Russian President Vladimir Putin…The campaign then rewrote the Republican platform in ways sure to please Putin. Trump selected as his principal foreign-policy adviser a retired general previously paid by Russia’s English-language propaganda network, RT…Trump himself publicly urged the Russians to do more hacking of his opponent’s email…Trump endorsed Putin’s war aims in Syria…He suggested he would not honor NATO commitments against Russia…He condoned the invasion and annexation of Crimea…Do Americans really need secret information from the CIA to discern the pattern here?”
Well, some obviously need lots more than the truth filled in with tons of facts.Yesterday, on Meet the Press, all-round right-wing nut job Hugh Hewitt, whined that the mainstream media in America – which was complicit in spreading Republican and Russian propaganda in 20016 – was now “trying to infuse Donald Trump with a sort of willful blindness he doesn’t demonstrate” toward Putin and Russia. And while Trump said he doesn’t need to prepare, and and then did “prepare” for the so-called “summit” with Putin by playing golf — and pimping his golf course, a money-loser that was likely purchased and rehabbed with Russian money — Hewitt said that the media tries to make it look like Trump is unprepared. So – per the original post here – Goddamn Hugh Hewitt too.
To his credit, Chuck Todd – not always the sharpest of interviewers – responded to Hewitt with this, directly accusing Trump of
“An attack on the free press while overseas, just hours before meeting with one of the most brutal journalist-killing authoritarians in the world.”
And Trump? What did he have to say? How did he respond?
“Trump has refused to acknowledge assessments of Russian election interference, and he continues to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the investigation that has uncovered the latest alleged crimes. In recent days, Trump again blamed the Obama Administration for failing to stop Russian meddling, called special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation a ‘rigged witch hunt,’ and raised conspiracy theories about a ‘deep state’ ought to undermine his presidency — flying in the face of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s plea to ‘avoid thinking politically as Republicans or Democrats’ when considering the news.”
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that “hours before he was due to meet the Russian president, Trump focused his ire on his own country and the investigation into possible links between his 2016 campaign and Russia.”
Journalist Ryan Lizza summarized it all in a tweet:
“Trump called EU a ‘foe’
“Trump called American media ‘enemy of the people’ ”
“Trump congratulated Putin, who kills journalists at home & assassinates foes in Europe, for putting on a soccer tournament.”
Yeah.
All elected federal officials take on oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
That is not what’s happening. Not even close.
There is a very real, clear and present danger to the Constitution and to the Republic.
Article III, Section 3. Call it what it is.
Meanwhile, David Corn at Mother Jones, who has reported doggedly on the Russian ratf*cking, tweets this:
“A person who says she loves Jesus Christ tweeted this @ me:
‘David Corn & many others deserve to be imprisoned for aiding and abetting knowingly acts of treason. Set stiff precedent. Treason = firing squad. Seriously he helped to try to bring down a president. God intervened.🙏🏻’ ”
Hmmmm. Treason equals the firing squad, huh? Better be sure we shoot the right people.
And goddamn that person.
democracy: Thank you for the summary!!! I see NOTHING good coming out of the Trump/Putin meeting. What does Putin have over Trump?
could be any number of things, but clearly MONEY is one of them.
I am not a subscriber to the NYT but thought this summary of Trump/Putin was quite revealing. Trump bows to Putin and attacks our allies.
…….
Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today:
President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia are in Helsinki, Finland, for their first summit meeting. Our reporters are providing live updates.
Mr. Trump spent the eve of the meeting finding fault with allies, former President Barack Obama and the news media. Asked during an interview with CBS whom he considered to be his biggest foe globally, he named the European Union, citing “what they do to us on trade.”
By attacking Europe and starting a trade war with America’s closest allies, Mr. Trump has already advanced the agenda of Mr. Putin, analysts say. Anything that stokes divisions inside the United States, or between America and its allies, is viewed by Moscow as a victory.
The same Russian military intelligence service now accused of disrupting the 2016 U.S. presidential election may also be responsible for the nerve agent attack in Britain against a former Russian spy…
Mr. Trump has raised more than $88 million for his re-election campaign, giving him a dramatic head start on prospective Democratic challengers in the 2020 race. Those challengers may include Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has all but announced her candidacy, as well as former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kamala Harris of California and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
— The First Draft Team
Seriously….”Trump has raised more than $88 million for his re-election campaign…”…who gives money to a traitor?
The answer is obvious.
Harry Dexter White?
treachery and betraying the country? Yep…
Helsinki isn’t glamorous enough for the meeting with Putin because he wants to work up a rapport. Trump says that Putin, ‘He’s been very nice to me the times that I met him”. [Trump is so easily manipulated.] Trump claims that what he did in Singapore was a ‘masterstroke’ and believes he is a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. He believes that his personality will get whatever he asks from Putin. He has no idea with whom he is dealing.
Putin is not going to be charmed by this ignorant idiot. What will Trump give away to keep Putin’s great friendship?
…………………………………
Summit fever: Trump reaches for big moment with Putin…AP
…Though Trump originally expressed concern that Helsinki was not glamorous enough and favored hosting Putin at the White House, the president was reassured by aides that it would be an effective backdrop. And long believing in the power of personal connections, he has insisted to aides that it was essential to sit down with Putin to establish a rapport.
“He’s been very nice to me the times I’ve met him. I’ve been nice to him. He’s a competitor,” Trump said of Putin last week in Brussels. “You know, somebody was saying, ‘Is he an enemy?’ No, he’s not my enemy. ‘Is he a friend?’ No, I don’t know him well enough.”…
Though the results from the North Korea summit are debatable, Trump has told confidants he believed it was a masterstroke, according to three outside advisers and White House officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private conversations…
Always favoring bold gambits that would separate him from his predecessors, Trump believed that the historic meeting with Kim was potentially his ticket for a Nobel Peace Prize and would become an essential part of his legacy. While summits with Russian leaders are far more common, Trump believes a similar boost would occur if he can improve relations with Moscow and get Putin to make concessions never attained by President Barack Obama.
“I could say: ‘Would you do me a favor? Would you get out of Syria,’” Trump said in an interview with Fox News last month. “‘Would you do me a favor? Would you get out of Ukraine?’”…
There were calls from Capitol Hill for the president to cancel the summit after Friday’s indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence officers accused of hacking Democrats in an effort to help Trump.
“If President Trump is not prepared to hold Putin accountable, the summit in Helsinki should not move forward,” said Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
But the White House has insisted the meeting is on. Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on the conclusion that Russia was behind the hacking and frequently derided special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible links between Russia and his campaign as a “witch hunt.” But he said in Britain that he would raise the election meddling with Putin even as he played down its impact.
“I don’t think you’ll have any ’Gee, I did it. I did it. You got me,’” Trump said on Friday, invoking a television detective. “There won’t be a Perry Mason here, I don’t think. But you never know what happens, right? But I will absolutely firmly ask the question.”
Colvin reported from Glasgow, Scotland.
https://apnews.com/6f78cad4eb024bf2a2d47b2df035f664
Twitter: “Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!”
Trump made the startling claim ahead of his first, high-risk summit with Putin in Helsinki, Finland.
Gives you a clue about how supine and spineless Trump will be when he meets Putin and asks him if the rumors are true about hacking. Putin will say no, and that ends that. Then Putin will tell him to take US out of Syria and Trump will say yes. Then Putin will tell him to recognize Russia’s right to invade Crimea and Ukraine, and Trump will agree.
Diane, he is a wimp.
Trump told reporters he would raise the issue of Russia’s role in the election, though he doesn’t expect Putin to acknowledge any wrongdoing.
“What am I going to do?” Trump asked. “He may deny it. I mean, it’s one of those things. All I can do is say, ‘Did you?’ and ‘Don’t do it again.’ “
setting up his WeBelieveAnythingYouSay followers with reasons to let him work hand-in-hand with Putin.
All DT cares about is his own legacy – getting a Nobel Peace Prize
I think Trump is finding success in casting doubt among his supporters on the whole investigation simply by calling it a “witch hunt.” That’s good enough for them.
Meanwhile, the power-hungry GOP are doing everything they can to preserve the “patriotism” of their constituents so they can continue their reign of terror by looking the other way at the evidence and trying to find fault with anyone who criticizes Trump, i.e. Agent Strzok.
The Democrats have been singularly mobilized toward November’s mid-terms since the presidential election and the Republicans know it.
Anyone else think Mueller might be waiting for the new Congress to possibly get that crucial connective piece: Trump’s tax returns?
Mueller just might have DT’s returns already. The latest indictments give a lot of detail showing those on both sides of the globe that he has the goods. It sends the message: Here’s a hint of what we know; how much are you willing to wager that we don’t know a lot more about Russian contacts and collusion?
The Washington Post has a good take on it: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/07/15/putin-must-wonder-what-else-america-knows-about-russia/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f4bd0f18972f
It would be interesting if Finnish intelligence figured out a way to plant a bug and record the meeting between Trump and Putin. After all, what an American President and Russian leader discuss is certainly of national interest to Finland.
Highly unlikely, I know.
LG: I read on some site that it is completely possible for Mueller to already have Trump’s tax returns. I forget the legal term used but if crime is involved and it is necessary for his returns to prove something, then it can be done silently without notification. Hope this is the case and that Trump’s destiny is awaiting him. He has led a crooked life his whole life. Why can’t some of this be against the law?
It probably is, but no one ever made a case. Especially with white collar types of crime, if no one ever brings it to the attention of the authorities and provides enough evidence for a trial, people like Trump just go their merry way.
Mueller is not waiting on Trump or on Republicans on Congress.
There’s much more to come fairly soon.
Mueller knows (as Comey did not) that it is completely inappropriate for any federal agency (including the FBI) to interfere in the electoral process, that is, to make any pronouncements in the midst of an election. When it gets close to the November elections, he will go silent.
We must hope that he winds up his investigation before then, and before the Republicans in Congress impeach Rod Rosenstein so they can put in a stooge to fire Mueller.
Stephen Colbert’s take is brilliant and truer than ever:
“Now, I’m not ready to say that our president is a Russian agent, but I have an agent — and he doesn’t do as much for me as Trump does for Russia.”
How are we supposed to get any justice when our “Great Leader’ doesn’t believe he was elected with the help of the Russians? This Orange IDIOT is tearing apart this country and now stands up for Russia. I don’t have words to describe how much I dislike [hate] this creep.
………………
The New York Times
July 16, 2018
NYTimes.com »
BREAKING NEWS
President Trump, standing beside Vladimir Putin, refused to say whether he believed U.S. intelligence or Russia on election interference in 2016
Monday, July 16, 2018 12:16 PM EST
President Trump said he raised the issue of Russian interference in the 2016 American election, and President Putin again denied any involvement, in their first face-to-face talks.
BBC News Headline:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44852812
“Trump sides with Russia against FBI at Helsinki summit”
Shocking. Really, Trump has jumped the shark and if the Republican Party follows them over this cliff, they should be ashamed.
I truly hope that we will hear the end of the complicit left who insist that calling out a treasonous President is not as important as bashing Democrats for caring too much about “identity politics” (apparently some progressives think Democrats caring about African-Americans and LBGTQ issues is wrong and Dems should shut up).
What Robert Mueller Knows—and 9 Areas He’ll Pursue Next
https://www.wired.com/story/what-robert-mueller-knowsand-9-areas-hell-pursue-next/?utm_source=The+Point+with+Chris+Cillizza&utm_campaign=281229e552-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_07_10_06_33_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a4165679e3-281229e552-89341105