Opposition research—negative information about one’s political opponent—costs thousands of dollars. It is valuable. President Trump told George Stephanopoulos that he would be willing to listen if a foreign government offered dirt about a political opponent. The law says that such offers should be reported to the FBI at once. Trump seems to be unfamiliar with the law and the Constitution (e.g., freedom of the press, the emoluments clause, etc.). Guess they didn’t teach civics at the Hill School or Wharton.
Statement from Ellen L. Weintraub, chairwoman of the Federal Election Commission:
“Let me make something 100% clear to the American public and anyone running for public office: It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election. This is not a novel concept. Electoral intervention from foreign governments has been considered unacceptable since the beginnings of our nation. Our Founding Fathers sounded the alarm about ‘foreign Interference, Intrigue, and Influence.’ They knew that when foreign governments seek to influence American politics, it is always to advance their own interests, not America’s. Anyone who solicits or accepts foreign assistance risks being on the wrong end of a federal investigation. Any political campaign that receives an offer of a prohibited donation from a foreign source should report that offer to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
She tweeted this and titled her tweet:
I would not have thought that I needed to say this.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Yet, “the stable genius (NOT!)” repeatedly keeps breaking the laws and rules that govern the United States, and the Republican Party does nothing and supports him.
Until DT ends up in prison for his crimes, he will never stop and even then he will find a way to haunt us from his prison cell.
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Correct, Lloyd. This country is dying FAST with him as potus. He works for Putin.
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This morning on the radio, I heard his most recent statement, which contradicts everything he said to Stephenopopolus. Does trump mean to set up these controversies in order to deflect attention from some other thing? Is he truly clueless and periodically gets out of his scripted parameters?
His original statement is reminiscent of an incident that happened during the American Civil War. The Confederate capital of a blockade running ship was bragging about it in a Carribean port, which aroused the ire of a union commander. This led to an international incident. A quiet Confederate would have most surely have been more successful, but the incident, known in history as the Trent Affair, did not unfold that way.
The unfolding of the trump story will most certainly be told by historians trying to understand whether to portray him as a crafty manipulator or a loose cannon.
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Is he clueless? This is the guy who confers with “the prince of Whales.”
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The “Prince of Whales”.
Trump was probably tweeting about Moby Dick, a book “he has heard great things about from many people around the world that think Trump is a stable genius,” but Trump never read that book or any book.
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Meanwhile, in an alternative universe:
“Well, there are trade-offs in this job. As President, I have very little time for my scholarly work or even for my spiritual practice, which I’ve had to cut back to a half hour of Kripalu meditation yoga each day. But I really can’t justify spending the time that these take when there are great evils in the world to be righted, such as the desperate poverty and random violence to which the poor–families and children–of Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador are routinely subjected. My fluency in Spanish, is, of course, a great gift there, and I am grateful to the wonderful teachers I had, and to my parents, for giving me this gift of fluency in Spanish and Arabic and my passable knowledge of Mandarin. I hope that once those problems of systemic poverty are sufficiently addressed, there will be time for me to return to work on my book about the history of grassroots liberation movements worldwide, but first things first.”
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I hope some very wealthy smart people are keeping a list of these outrageous, egregious, hurtful, embarrassing, fear-mongering above-the-law statements and then lists them in hundreds of full page ads in small town, red-state newspapers. They can’t deny them or call it fake news if they are actual quotes. And I would headline it:
“Do you want this man solely responsible to possess launch codes, your children’s future, and your daughter’s safety.”
More full page ads “Dear Senator and Representative, why are you afraid to comment on these outrageous statements?”
Whether it matters or not, call your Senator and Representative.
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The Dems would be smart to run Trump against himself in ad after ad.
Shot One
State the principle, big white letters against a black background: It is illegal and treasonous to accept help form a foreign power seeking to interfere with free elections.
Shot Two
Trump asking Russia to hack Hillary’s emails.
Shot Three
Trump telling Stephanopoulos that he would gladly accept dirt on opponents from a foreign power.
30 seconds, max.
You could run a thousand of these and not run out of material.
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My first wife was Chinese. After my divorce, I married a Russian. Although both of them resided in the USA legally, it was some years, before they were eligible to apply for citizenship.
Both of my wives were involved in US politics, prior to their citizenship. We made contributions to candidates of our choice, and distributed literature,etc.
Free speech applies to all persons, including aliens.
The government taxed both of my wives with the same enthusiasm and efficiency that they taxed citizens. Forbidding legal aliens to vote, is clearly taxation without representation.
The candidates that we supported financially, were only too happy to take our money, and our volunteer efforts.
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