The Josh Hawley clip - interesting…
Reddit comment: "Just an unfortunate friendly reminder: While it’s amusing how easy it is to catch conservatives in hypocrisy, like we are with the FBI raiding Trump’s lair, they do not, and will never, care.
Conservative ideology requires hypocrisy in order to exist. It’s not a bug, or a feature. It’s the operating system."
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I’ve not read this thread but if you get a chance read the two books by Carol Leonig the things are the best farce/comedy I’ve ever read.
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Yeah. I have finished her 2 books: “A Very Stable Genius” (Book 1) and “I Alone Can Fix It” (Book 2). Cannot stop but chuckle at the chaos.
Bob Woodward’s trilogy: “Fear”, “Rage” and “Peril” are good read as well.
Another worth checking out: “A Warning” by Anonymous (the whistle blower revealed to be Department of Homeland Security official Miles Taylor)
Probably should go to the Book reading thread.
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Thought I’d just drop them in, I’m with you it was the funniest and most tragic thing I read all last year.
Garland appears to be calling Trump’s bluff. After all the phony outrage about the inappropriateness of it and the lack of transparency, today the DOJ petitioned the court to unseal the warrant and used Trump’s own call for transparency as part of their justification. This now puts Trump in a position of either sitting back to watch the details become, or object to that happening and then having to explain why he now doesn’t want that transparency.
Interestingly, one of the singers of the document was the head of the Counter Intelligence department of the DOJ, which maybe gives some insight into what this whole thing is about (i.e. its not about the records per se but who they are concerned is getting access to them).
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Washington Post reporting that docs related to nuclear weapons were among items FBI sought at Trump’s home. Potential issues of where they are stored, capabilities, etc.
My conspiratorial take is that Trump is utterly up to his neck with the Russians. I believe Putin has had the goods on him since the old beauty pageant days when he misbehaved in Moscow. Significant kompromat. Since then Putin has helped put him in the White House and all the other stuff we’ve seen in recent years.
And now Putin wants more detailed info on America’s nuclear capabilities, and for what reason, who knows? But it doesn’t sound good. And Trump has furnished the info to his master, as he is owned, enabled and enriched by Putin.
Could be balls, but that’s my speculative take on this one, at this stage. Trump has been acting as an agent of Russia, not in the usual spy sort of way, but in the sense that his poor character has been ripe for exploitation, and the old vices of man - money, sex and power - have meant that Trump has been Putin’s bitch for years.
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if Putin really has anything in Trump, then he would have a hold on Trump and be able to take the “piss” out of him as and when he wanted.
I dont think Trump has the balls of “steele” needed to really stand up to Putin!
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It sounds too much like a trashy filmscript until you realise it’s DT we’re dealing with. Considering the scandalous behaviour he’s brazened out, it would have to be something really shocking.
Reality is probably something more mundane.
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More worryingly, imo, is the implication that he’s given info to the Saudi’s. A nuclear armed Saudi Arabia does not bear contemplating.
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I could we’ll believe that Trump would happily get into bed with anyone who could increase his wealth and time in the Whitehouse. Putin certainly fits the bill there.
Trump has proven time and time again that he is beyond parody and will sink time and time again to new depths of corruption and moral depravation, so I believe the above is more than possible.
It would seem unlikely that the information that would pass through his hands would do much to help build a nuclear weapon.
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I think it is Russian focused, but hopefully it won’t be long before we know.
I liked Garland throwing down the gauntlet and unsealing the warrant and speaking yesterday. Trump has been whining about the ‘raid’ and mobilizing his base about how unjust it all is, and how lawless and politically motivated the DOJ and FBI are. It’s a very dangerous path, as people will be rising up to fight on Trump’s behalf, such as the fella in Ohio yesterday who was shot dead by the police as he tried to break into an FBI place. I think that is just the start of what could happen, as Trump may attempt to mobilize a mob - again - for his own purposes.
In this instance, the purpose would be to stop the truth from coming out, while he whines and establishes a false narrative. So the AG has made a smart move here. He has essentially challenged Trump’s lies, that it was an unlawful and politically motivated move, by unsealing the warrant and daring Trump to thus put it in the public domain, so his base is aware of why they lawfully searched Mar a Lago.
I doubt Trump will want to do that, but I hope he is so brazen that he does. Then let’s see what it’s all about.
My legal knowledge is lacking, but in addition to the summary that is in the public domain (12-15 boxes of government owned paperwork) there will also be an affidavit, detailing the specific items that are believed to be held, hence the raid.
That’s what I want to come out. Let Trump’s base know what he has been doing. Let the world know.
As I say, I suspect it is Russian related, with regard to nuclear capabilities, as even great nuclear powers like America might have a chink in the armor, which is of great interest to an adversary like Russia.
But arguably it could be that Trump has helped the Saudis in their quest for the bomb. If that has been the case, it will be interesting to see if there is any outrage among his base, which is staunchly pro Israel.
Saudis and Israeli are actually allies. They actually trade with each other.
You’re thinking of Iran
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Oops, my mistake. I thought Saudi and Israel didn’t like each other either, in a Muslim/Jew sort of way.
Obviously I know Iran and Israel are enemies, and that Iran helps the battle against an occupying Israel via proxies.
Saudi-Israel relationship is difficult to understand. They do sort of hate each other. But they hate others around them more, so are mutually useful, and from that there has been an easing of state-state relations.
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This.
The challenge with Trump is he is so unmoored from he norms of normal human conduct that a lot of people struggle to comprehend the information that comes out about him. We typically need to a nice bow on a story for it to make sense and sink in, and with Trump there are so many criminal tentacles that you just cannot do that. People seem o treat that as a reason to be suspicious of the accusations when really it is just a relfection of how depraved he is, how incapable he is saying “no” to any scheme that he things will return some value to him no matter who or what he has to sell out to do it. Russia Komromat provides a comforting way to make sense of a lot of what we saw from him in office, but unfortunately there is a lot about his conduct that doesnt explain. I think this is one of those examples.
I think the strand that probably needs pulling is this one related to Tom Barrack and the various schemes that were being played in the Middle East.
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They are quite open that they are allies actually. The house of Saud is only interested in maintaining power. Thus they are firmly wedded to the US-Israeli alliance. The Saudis also hate Iran
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