The Trump Presidency – 2016

[RainMaker]

He's been trying to get a bailout for 666 Fifth Avenue for awhile now. Thought he'd get it from China but they turned him down in the end. Guess Qatar was next. Will be interesting to see who they go to next.

It's kind of funny that Kushner was seen as some smart guy to have in the WH. His claim to fame is taking over his Dad's real estate business when he went to jail and taking on arguably the worst real estate deal in New York history. I can understand a desire to want business people in government but at least find some successful ones.

[Easy Mac]

So, when do we see DJT Jr. Get pardoned?

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

So, when do we see DJT Jr. Get pardoned?

Who is actually going to charge him with something?

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Who is actually going to charge him with something?

Can President Bush pardon people who haven't even been charged with a crime?

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

Can President Bush pardon people who haven't even been charged with a crime?

The question still stands

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I can understand a desire to want business people in government but at least find some successful ones.

I think that one issue is that successful business people probably have no interest in being in government. I think that the ones who enter politics are already self-selected to be not our most successful.

[JPhillips]

On June 9 2016 the Russian lawyer meeting happens

Shortly after the meeting Trump sends his first tweet about Hillary's emails

A couple of days later someone from the Trump campaign insists on removing language on Ukraine/Russia from the RNC platform. It's the only platform change the campaign insists upon.

Ten days later Wikileaks starts releasing DNC emails.

There's still no hot gun, but boy there's a lot of smoke.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I think that one issue is that successful business people probably have no interest in being in government. I think that the ones who enter politics are already self-selected to be not our most successful.

If you are super-successful it's more effective to throw your money around to control multiple politicians anyway (i.e. the Koch Bros).

Unless you're Bloomberg and just want to be King of a city for a while.

[digamma]

Tillerson and Ross in particular are quite successful, but neither seem to be all that fired up about being in Bush's cabinet. Contrast that to Hank Paulson under GWB who seemed to really believe he was doing a public service.

[JPhillips]

Holy shit. Jr. posted the whole email chain.

Here is page 4 (which did not post due to space constraints). pic.twitter.com/z1Xi4nr2gq

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017

Here's my statement and the full email chain pic.twitter.com/x050r5n5LQ

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017

[cuervo72]

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but it is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump - helped along by aras and Emin."

This is supposed to help his cause how, again?

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Holy shit. Jr. posted the whole email chain

Someone said that Don Jr. will end up convicted of involuntary manslaughter for causing his lawyer to drink himself to death.

[Butter]

Saying he released them because the NYT was going to release them later today, so he's trying to "spin" it.

[digamma]

There's nothing here, except for the part where I tried to collude with someone representing themselves to be a foreign government agent! Nothing!

[Easy Mac]

I don't know, I've always been told by Republicans that intent and ignorance of the law means you get off Scot free.

[JPhillips]

And the whole chain was forwarded to Kushner and Manafort before the meeting.

Imagine what else these dipshits wrote down.

[JPhillips]

"if it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."

I hope that adoption went through.

[NobodyHere]

So when do the impeachments start?

[rowech]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

So when do the impeachments start?

What laws have they broken though?

[JonInMiddleGA]

So we've learned what here? That the Russians deserve a Congressional Medal of Freedom for helping prevent further reign of terror by the Ds?

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

So we've learned what here? That the Russians deserve a Congressional Medal of Freedom for helping prevent further reign of terror by the Ds?

You're adorable

[Butter]

Originally Posted by rowech

What laws have they broken though?

You do have google, right?

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by rowech

What laws have they broken though?

Depends on how Clintonian the Trumps want to be with English

11 CFR 110.20 - Prohibition on contributions, donations, expenditures, independent expenditures, and disbursements by foreign nationals (52 U.S.C. 30121, 36 U.S.C. 510). | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute

(obviously biased, liberal, collegiate republication of the law)

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

Depends on how Clintonian the Trumps want to be with English

11 CFR 110.20 - Prohibition on contributions, donations, expenditures, independent expenditures, and disbursements by foreign nationals (52 U.S.C. 30121, 36 U.S.C. 510). | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute

(obviously biased, liberal, collegiate republication of the law)

Guess it depends on how the word contribution is defined as well as if intent is enough based on the evidence so far. (I'm sure there's more out there)

[Easy Mac]

I agree I want more information to bury them, but I'm at least OK that more keeps coming out that makes it harder and harder to get their idiotic policies through.

[Easy Mac]

The Senate Democrats have only confirmed 48 of 197 Presidential Nominees. They can't win so all they do is slow things down & obstruct!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2017

This would be funny if Republicans hadn't spent 6 months refusing to vote for a SUPREME COURT NOMINEE.

[digamma]

Obviously the unwritten part of that tweet is that there are like 400+ positions requiring Senate confirmation that Trumpsky hasn't submitted nominations.

[Thomkal]

So Donald Trump Jr and others can be easily deceived by foreign agents (excuse me Russian lawyers) who may have claimed they had information on their opponents-I'm sure the rest of the world takes notice. And they still cannot put out a believable defense or spin that can't be pointed out or found lacking two seconds after they said/tweeted it. Not one mention of the Russian adoption law Donald Trump Jr. was using for cover over the weekend in those notes he tweeted.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

The Senate Democrats have only confirmed 48 of 197 Presidential Nominees. They can't win so all they do is slow things down & obstruct!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2017

This would be funny if Republicans hadn't spent 6 months refusing to vote for a SUPREME COURT NOMINEE.

Putting aside that I generally agree with you about Big Orange's general asshatishness, you know you can't compare the two. The Supreme Court seat is of immense importance to the constituents who put those senators in office. Even the most important department heads in the fed government are unlikely to be within visual distance of the political importance of the Supreme Court seat.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

So Donald Trump Jr and others can be easily deceived by foreign agents (excuse me Russian lawyers) who may have claimed they had information on their opponents-I'm sure the rest of the world takes notice. And they still cannot put out a believable defense or spin that can't be pointed out or found lacking two seconds after they said/tweeted it. Not one mention of the Russian adoption law Donald Trump Jr. was using for cover over the weekend in those notes he tweeted.

It's truly one of the poorest conceived approaches to a cover up that has ever existed.

[RainMaker]

Why would his lawyer allow him to post that?

[SteveM58]

I don't see where money, or a "thing of value" was being offered to the Trump campaign. Yes, damaging info on your opponent could suggest a "thing of value" in a sense, but I'm not sure that's the spirit of the laws it resides in. It seems to be focused on materially enhancing and enriching things.

I'm certainly no lawyer though.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Why would his lawyer allow him to post that?

apparently, the first step in crisis management, or PR is to get ahead of the crisis before your opponents can. I think the NY Times was about to report on all of this and qualifies as the Trump's opponent here.

[JPhillips]

As I saw on Twitter:

OJ announcing he killed them wouldn't really be getting out in front of the story.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Why would his lawyer allow him to post that?

You should retweet every Trump family tweet with this quote

[JPhillips]

Contacted Trump Jr this morning on why he should publish his emails (i.e with us). Two hours later, does it himself: https://t.co/FzCttGSyr6

— Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) July 11, 2017

So Assange is in contact with the Trumps?

With friends like these...

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

Depends on how Clintonian the Trumps want to be with English

11 CFR 110.20 - Prohibition on contributions, donations, expenditures, independent expenditures, and disbursements by foreign nationals (52 U.S.C. 30121, 36 U.S.C. 510). | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute

(obviously biased, liberal, collegiate republication of the law)

I don't know if it constitutes as being illegal. It does throw his brother-in-law under the bus as there is nwo evidence he committed a felony.

The big takeaways I would argue is that it proves the Russians were trying to help Trump win. It proves the Trump campaign and administration habitually lied about it. Where it goes or how deep it goes is anyone's guess. But those are facts both sides agree on.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

So we've learned what here? That the Russians deserve a Congressional Medal of Freedom for helping prevent further reign of terror by the Ds?

Funniest thing to come from this are all the faux-Patriots now having to shill for Russia.

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

But those are facts both sides agree on.

I still don't feel that's true

[JPhillips]

Yeah, the GOP response today has been:

Concerned

Don't know anything

No big deal

I probably would have done that, too

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

I still don't feel that's true

Jr tweeted out the e-mails. It's kind of hard to deny it now.

[molson]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Why would his lawyer allow him to post that?

I don't think it's a coherent legal strategy, but all of the shit that comes out of this administration has a magical way of just getting us all used to the smell of shit. None of it seems like a big deal on its own anymore. I've seen dozens of "will this be the last straw?" articles over the last 6 months. I can't even imagine what any of these people could do to actually shock us at this point.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by molson

I don't think it's a coherent legal strategy, but all of the shit that comes out of this administration has a magical way of just getting us all used to the smell of shit. None of it seems like a big deal on its own anymore. I've seen dozens of "will this be the last straw?" articles over the last 6 months. I can't even imagine what any of these people could do to actually shock us at this point.

Wouldn't it be smarter from a PR standpoint to just point and yell "fake news!" when the NY Times published the story? He basically admits the campaign did collude with the Russians and also admit to having lied for the past year. I just see no upside at all in posting the e-mails from his perspective.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Holy shit. Jr. posted the whole email chain.

Here is page 4 (which did not post due to space constraints). pic.twitter.com/z1Xi4nr2gq

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017

Here's my statement and the full email chain pic.twitter.com/x050r5n5LQ

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Wouldn't it be smarter from a PR standpoint to just point and yell "fake news!" when the NY Times published the story? He basically admits the campaign did collude with the Russians and also admit to having lied for the past year. I just see no upside at all in posting the e-mails from his perspective.

because 46% of the county would continue yelling that "Shillary" is worse and would have murdered 60 million toddlers in front of Obamacare death panels with Ukranian plutonium... because everything has to be equal.

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Jr tweeted out the e-mails. It's kind of hard to deny it now.

No spin zone

Trump, Jr. smart to release emails. Tabloid guy set him up w Russian lawyer who promised Hillary dirt. She didn't deliver. That's the story.

— Bill O'Reilly (@billoreilly) July 11, 2017

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

No spin zone

Trump, Jr. smart to release emails. Tabloid guy set him up w Russian lawyer who promised Hillary dirt. She didn't deliver. That's the story.

— Bill O'Reilly (@billoreilly) July 11, 2017

Tabloid guy? Goldstone was just an intermediary for Agalarov who is extremely close to Putin. This "Russian lawyer" was someone who is also heavily tied to Putin and the government. They are essentially foreign agents.

Like I know his audience isn't that bright and will buy anything he's selling, but he has to know better.

She's just a lawyer!

Hey, look what I found. Veselnitskaya sitting behind @McFaul at a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Russia, June 14, 2014: pic.twitter.com/Sb3LiEAnrD

— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) July 11, 2017

[Atocep]

Regardless of whether or not she was or wasn't a foreign agent or did or didn't have information, she passed herself off as a foreign agent with information and Trump's team was all over it.

And yet another meeting with Russians that Kushner forgot to mention on his clearance.

[Easy Mac]

I just enjoy that no one in the liberal media thought Trump would be elected, but before there was even a hint of a Russian story, O'Reilly proposes that the media was already planting seeds for there to be a Russian scandal for a non existent Trump presidency.

Think about that.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Wouldn't it be smarter from a PR standpoint to just point and yell "fake news!" when the NY Times published the story? He basically admits the campaign did collude with the Russians and also admit to having lied for the past year. I just see no upside at all in posting the e-mails from his perspective.

This was exa tly my thought too: why buck the esablished trend?