Latest on the Trump-Putin campaign investigation, and more

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I picked a bad time to take a vacation to visit family. Shit hit the fan this week in Washington.

On Monday, former acting Attorney General Sally Yates and former director of national intelligence James R. Clapper testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee and destroyed the Trump administration’s false narrative about its handling of Gen. Michael Flynn lying about his foreign contacts. The Washington Post’s conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin has a good summary of the testimony. Sally Yates just threw the White House under the bus.

The Trump administration’s response for ignoring Yates’ warnings that Flynn was lying and not firing him for 18 days only after the Washington Post reported the story? “Baghdad Sean” Spicer claimed that Yates was a Democratic partisan and “painted her as essentially a double agent.” Sean Spicer says Sally Yates was a ‘strong supporter’ of Hillary Clinton. His evidence: Rumors. “The White House dismissed warnings about Michael Flynn from both President Obama and Yates, the former acting attorney general, because they were viewed as opponents with axes to grind.”

This no doubt is the same attitude that led the Trump administration’s disregard for President Obama’s personal warning to Donald Trump not to hire Gen. Michael Flynn. The “partisanship” in handling Gen. Flynn was a one-way street on the part of Team Trump, ignoring genuine concerns for U.S. national security.

CNN reports that federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn seeking business records, as part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling in last year’s election. CNN exclusive: Grand jury subpoenas issued in FBI’s Russia investigation:

The subpoenas issued in recent weeks by the US Attorney’s Office in Alexandria, Virginia, were received by associates who worked with Flynn on contracts after he was forced out as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014, according to the people familiar with the investigation.

In addition, the Senate Russia investigators have sent a request to the Treasury Department’s criminal investigation division (FinCEN is the federal agency that has been investigating allegations of foreign money-laundering through purchases of US real estate) for any information related to President Donald Trump, his top officials and his campaign aides. First on CNN: Senate Russia investigators ask Treasury for Trump team financial information:

The news comes just a few days after the revelation that Senate investigators sent broad-based requests for documents to four key potential witnesses in their probe: former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former adviser Roger Stone and former foreign policy adviser Carter Page.

Within hours after CNN reporting on the subpoenas came the bombshell announcement that President Trump was firing FBI Director James Comey.

Last week Comey testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee and gave erroneous testimony about the Clinton email investigation. FBI issues ‘supplement’ to clarify Comey’s incorrect congressional statement:

The Federal Bureau of Investigations sent a letter Tuesday evening aiming to clear up false statements said by Director James Comey to Congress last week that former Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin “forwarded hundreds and thousands” of emails to her husband’s laptop.

* * *

The FBI confirmed the distinction in its letter Tuesday, which read: “Although we do not know the exact numbers, based on its investigation, the FBI believes it is reasonable to conclude that most of the emails found on Mr. Weiner’s laptop computer related to the Clinton investigation occurred as a result of a backup of personal electronic devices, with a small number a result of manual forwarding by Ms. Abedin to Mr. Weiner.”

The Trump administration is laughably asserting Comey’s firing is based on a review of Comey’s handling of the Clinton email investigation by newly confirmed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein* — not the fact that the FBI is actively investigating members of the Trump campaign for coordination with Russian intelligence operatives. While the criticisms of Comey in Rosentein’s review are legitimate in my opinion, his review is but a pretense fig leaf for a decision that clearly has been contemplated for some time. F.B.I. Director James Comey Is Fired by Trump:

[O]fficials said that Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, pushed for Mr. Comey’s dismissal. But many in Washington, including veteran F.B.I. officers, saw a carefully choreographed effort by the president to create a pretense for a takedown of the president’s F.B.I. tormentor.

“I cannot defend the director’s handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton’s emails,” Mr. Rosenstein wrote in another letter that was released by the White House, “and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken.”

Reaction in Washington was swift and fierce. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said the firing could make Americans suspect a cover-up. Mr. Trump lashed back later Tuesday night in a Twitter post: “Cryin’ Chuck Schumer stated recently, ‘I do not have confidence in him (James Comey) any longer.’ Then acts so indignant.”

Trump’s mental disorder with Twitter was not limited to Sen Schumer. Trump watches as Democratic senators criticize him on TV, fires back with mocking taunts. (Invoke the 25th Amendment already!)

Many Republicans assailed the president for making a rash decision that could have deep implications for their party. Representative Justin Amash, Republican of Michigan, said on Twitter that he now supports an independent commission to investigate the Russia links to Mr. Trump. He called Mr. Trump’s claim that Mr. Comey had cleared him three times “bizarre.”

“I’ve spent the last several hours trying to find an acceptable rationale for the timing of Comey’s firing,” Senator Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, said on Twitter. “I just can’t do it.”

The optics of James Comey’s firing could not be worse. Oh wait, this is the Trump administration, it can.

The day after firing the man who is investigating his campaign for coordination with Russian intelligence operatives, Trump is meeting with Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov. If this doesn’t have the optics of a “Fuck you all, you can’t touch me!” move, I don’t know what does. Trump to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov Wednesday.

Prior to meeting with the president, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Asked about the Comey firing by the media, Russian Minister Gets Sarcastic About Comey Firing:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov appeared to get irritated with reporters at the State Department in Washington on Wednesday, sarcastically remarking on the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

“Was he fired? You’re kidding?” Lavrov told reporters. “You’re kidding.”

Even the Russians are laughing at America’s legal system, like Trump. This should piss you off.

We now have a Nixonian (Trumpian) constitutional crisis. After Comey’s ouster, bipartisan calls grow for independent probe of Russia’s meddling in election:

After President Trump fired FBI Director James B. Comey on Tuesday, Democratic lawmakers renewed their calls for a special prosecutor to probe Russian meddling in U.S. elections — and could compel Democrats to take bolder steps that would paralyze Congress.

“If there was ever a time when circumstances warranted a special prosecutor, it is right now,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday morning.

Schumer requested that classified briefings be held for all senators on Trump’s decision to fire Comey, saying that senators need to meet behind closed doors with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein to learn why they recommended Comey’s dismissal. He also said that senators are likely to call Comey to testify about his firing and his previous oversight of the Russia investigation.

As Schumer spoke, most of the Democratic caucus was seated behind him — a rare sight at the start of the legislative day. Schumer had asked all Democrats to attend the morning session to help pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky).

* * *

But in a sign that Trump’s actions are drawing bipartisan concern, several senior Republicans cast doubt on the decision to fire Comey. Among them were Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who is up for reelection next year in a contest that Democrats believe could become competitive if anti-Trump sentiments sweep the nation.

Schumer also plans to convene a caucus meeting Wednesday morning so that Democrats can discuss a more formal response, aides said.

* * *

The boldest, most extreme step Democrats could take is to drag Senate business to a crawl. They could refuse to allow consideration of any legislation or nominees awaiting confirmation votes until Trump agrees to appoint a special prosecutor. They could allow committees to begin public hearings but use an obscure Senate rule to abruptly end the proceedings after two hours. In response, Republicans could try to work around Democratic objections, but the result would be to slow the pace of chamber’s work.

With dozens of Trump administration nominees awaiting confirmation hearings or up-or-down votes on the Senate floor, such a move would likely hamper executive branch agencies that now lack political leadership and draw the ire of Republicans.

But pressure to block Senate business began percolating late Tuesday.

* * *

Calls for an independent probe are becoming an emotional rallying cry for Democrats nationwide.

* * *

Among Republicans, only Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a longtime Trump foil, has called for an independent investigation separate from ongoing probes by the House and Senate intelligence panels.

Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), a frequent Trump critic, said he’s considering filing legislation that would establish a special prosecutor to probe Russia’s involvement.

Burr, who is leading the intelligence panel’s probe of Russian meddling, said in a statement that he is “troubled by the timing and reasoning” for Comey’s firing.

“His dismissal further confuses an already difficult investigation by the Committee,” Burr said.

Corker said that Comey’s “removal at this particular time will raise questions. It is essential that ongoing investigations are fulsome and free of political interference until their completion, and it is imperative that President Trump nominate a well-respected and qualified individual to lead the bureau at this critical time.”

Flake tweeted, “I’ve spent the last several hours trying to find an acceptable rationale for the timing of Comey’s firing. I just can’t do it.”

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who like Flake did not support Trump’s campaign last year, said that he would use his position as chairman of the Judiciary Committee oversight subcommittee to press for more information from the Justice Department. He also said that “the timing of this firing is very troubling.”

It’s past time for Congress to renew the special prosecutor law and to appoint a special prosecutor. It’s also time for Tea-Publicans on congressional committees to stop slow-walking and blocking the Trump investigations and to do their damned job!

* UPDATE: Numerous sources report today what the New York Times is reporting: Days Before Firing, Comey Asked for More Resources for Russia Inquiry:

Days before he was fired, James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, asked the Justice Department for a significant increase in resources for the bureau’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the presidential election, according to four congressional officials, including Senator Richard J. Durbin.

Mr. Comey made his appeal to Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, who also wrote the Justice Department’s memo that was used to justify the firing of Mr. Comey this week, the officials said.

“I’m told that as soon as Rosenstein arrived, there was a request for additional resources for the investigation and that a few days afterwards, he was sacked,” said Mr. Durbin, a Democrat of Illinois. “I think the Comey operation was breathing down the neck of the Trump campaign and their operatives, and this was an effort to slow down the investigation.”

Mr. Comey briefed members of Congress in recent days, telling them about his meeting with Mr. Rosenstein, who is the most senior law enforcement official supervising the Russia investigation. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself because of his close ties to the Trump campaign and his undisclosed meetings with the Russian ambassador.

* * *

In his briefing with members of Congress, Mr. Comey said he had been frustrated with the amount of resources being dedicated to the Russia investigation, according to two of the officials. Until two weeks ago, when Mr. Rosenstein took over as deputy attorney general, the investigation was being overseen by Dana Boente, who was acting as the deputy and is now the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Mr. Comey has said he was hoping that he would find a supportive boss in Mr. Rosenstein, and according to the officials, pressed for more resources so he could accelerate the investigation, which is also examining possible collusion between Trump associates and the Russian interference campaign. It was unclear how Mr. Rosenstein reacted to the request, or whether the White House was informed of it.

Despite reporting sourced to four congressional officials, including Senator Richard J. Durbin, “Justice Department spokesperson Sarah Flores denies Comey asked Rosenstein for more resources. She called reporting to the contrary ‘100% false,’ and told reporters she spoke directly with Rosenstein about the reports.”

CNN adds, White House: Trump thought about firing Comey since Election Day:

The surreal

Trump’s demeanor suggested defiance on Wednesday but also verged on the surreal.

With questions swirling about his links with Russia, he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Oval Office for talks he later said were dominated by Syria.

The Russian embassy, meanwhile, released photos of Trump shaking hands with Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, who is at the center of the Russia storm since his conversations with Michael Flynn led to the firing of the former national security adviser. As Steve Benen comments, “It’s almost as if [the Russians] were taking a victory lap.”

Then Trump sat down with Henry Kissinger, who served as secretary of state under President Richard Nixon, apparently unconcerned that the photo-op could fuel already circulating allusions to the Watergate scandal in the 1970s.

Developments and revelations about the Comey firing tumbled out at a frenetic pace on Wednesday.

Longtime Trump ally Roger Stone was among those who recommended to the President that he fire Comey, according to a source familiar with the conversation. Stone, who also is being scrutinized by the FBI as part of its Russia investigation, spoke to Trump after Comey appeared at a hearing last week on Capitol Hill, according to the source.

Trump immediately disputed that Stone was involved: “The Roger Stone report on @CNN is false – Fake News. Have not spoken to Roger in a long time – had nothing to do with my decision.”

Stone said he was not the source behind the reporting but added that he supported the firing of Comey “100%.”

* * *

[M]ultiple White House officials said Trump had been considering firing Comey for at least a week before he made Tuesday’s decision. Indeed, Trump revealed his anger in a string of late-night messages on Twitter May 2, exactly a week before his final decision was made public.

Trump’s decision came on a day when CNN reported that federal prosecutors had issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former national security adviser Michael Flynn seeking business records, as part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling in last year’s election, according to people familiar with the matter.

The top senators on the Senate intelligence committee, Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Mark Warner, met Comey on Monday and urged him to speed up the Russia investigation, CNN’s Sara Murray reported.

57 thoughts on “Latest on the Trump-Putin campaign investigation, and more”

  1. #comeyday and #comeydayiseveryday on twitter, if anyone cares to follow along.

    They’re saying Trump is busted bigly, it’s just going to take some time.

    Those Russian’s Trump had in the Oval Office yesterday? Those appear to be the handlers Putin assigned to monitor Trump. Goddammit.

    Trump bringing laughing Russian’s into the Oval Office the day after firing the guy investigating him for Russian ties should settle the debate on Trump’s mental fitness.

    Pence, Preibus, and Ryan may all go down with him, if the rumors are true, leaving us with acting POTUS Orrin Hatch.

    A mormon coup.

    Pence is a lying sack, pretty much everyone in the WH is right now. The GOP owns this.

    On the lighter side, Mellisa McCarthy is hosting SNL tomorrow.

  3. The Feds have ‘Trump tapes’ akin to Nixon’s ‘Watergate tapes’
    BY BRENT BUDOWSKY, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR – 05/11/17 01:40 PM EDT
    …
    During the Russia scandal that plagues the Trump presidency, there are also large numbers of recorded conversations that provide the equivalent of the Watergate tapes. I call them “Trump tapes”, which were legally recorded by counter-intelligence and law enforcement authorities for legitimate security and law enforcement purposes.

    The eavesdropping that created these tapes was originally aimed against foreign individuals with interests that are are hostile to America, including Russian targets. The tapes would include every mention by foreign intelligence targets of every individual associated with Trump with whom they spoke.
    ….
    It is 100-percent certain, based on public sources, that some form of Trump tapes exist. We do not know exactly how many tapes the Feds have, or exactly what they would prove if disclosed.
    ….
    http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/332939-the-feds-have-trump-tapes-akin-to-nixons-watergate

    • Seems SCG is a little shady, and owns Conservative Strikeforce, another shady outfit. They’ve been sued by Republicans, and they’re a Republican outfit.

    • SCG is related to Manafort and Stone via Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly, their old lobby firm.

      And wow! Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly never met a murderous dictator they didn’t like!

      SCG is pretty shady, this may not be related to #comeyday, we’ll see.

  5. And now reports of a large number of warrants being executed in Eastern District of Virginia, FBI, US Marshals involved.

    The basement of the EDVA was described as resembling a “judicial Armada” with a dozen or more FBI and US Marshals vans.

    Finally.

  6. According to the Baltimore Post and other outlets, “The FBI confirms agents are executing a search warrant at an office of a GOP fundraiser/consulting firm in Annapolis”.

    It begins.

  7. My goodness, I don’t think I have ever seen Tom and Liza and the gang quite so giddy with excitement! You would almost think that trump had confessed to colluding with the Russians, submitted his resignation, and reported to Fort Leavenworth to start serving a life sentence. And to what do we owe this display of giddiness? A combination of equal parts of wishful thinking, nothing of substance, a great yearning to see the GOP once again suffer a “watergate-style” humiliation and general silliness.

    “(Tom) I believe Trump will be called an “un-indicted co-conspirator”, that’s what the secret grand jury called Nixon back in the day.”

    Tom, the “unindicted co-conspirator” is a term made up during the Watergate years to express the frustration prosecutors felt when they were so certain a particular person was guilty, but they couldn’t prove it. In other words, it sounds ominous, but it means nothing. The democrats loved the term because it was all they had after all the millions of dollars spent on investigations without being able to get the people they truly wanted to get. It allowed the democrats to pretend something of substance had ocurred when, in fact, nothing had happened.

    “(Liza) So, given what the Republicans used against Bill Clinton, it would seem that it pales in comparison to where the Russia investigations might lead…”

    Liza, there is a problem with your concept: Republicans were able to prove that Clinton was guilty. So far, there is nothing to indicate any of the accusations you all throw back and forth against Trump are true. That may be a small thing to you, or you may have already found Trump guilty, but in the real world that makes a difference. A BIG difference.
    “(Tom) I’ve fired people, in the corporate world…”

    The “corporate world” you and I live in, Tom, is not the same “corporate world” Trump lives in, any more than any other facet of our lives are the same as his. What you and I might do in our world bears little resemblance to what someone in Trump’s world will do. You don’t like that, I know, but it is one of the hard facts of life. Trump is uber rich and uber powerful…we aren’t. To compare what you would do, with what he would do is an exercise in silliness.

    “(Tom) Go find Claude Johnson’s twitter account, @TrueFactsStated. He’s been right in the past about some of these issues…”

    And he’s been wrong in the past on many of these issues.

    “(Tom) …and he’s saying there are grand juries handing out sealed indictments now. I suspect Comey will have the last laugh.”

    How disappointed are you going to be when these grand juries don’t materialize?

    “(Tom) It really ticks me off that my country needs to go through this crap again. Watergate was horrible. People don’t remember.”

    It doesn’t tick you off, Tom. Based on this message response string alone, you are almost giddy with delight at the prospect of, once again, working at destroying the GOP. Nothing gives you greater pleasure than what you are doing right now.

    • Steve to Tom: “Nothing gives you greater pleasure than what you are doing right now.”

      OMG, Tom, is that true?

      😉

    • Steve, Steve, darling Steve, you disappoint me. Your entire comment is an attack on Tom and me. Calling us giddy and silly and essentially clueless.

      We will pause now to remind BofA readers that STEVE VOTED FOR DONALD TRUMP.

      Now, I could go on to develop that fact into a comment similar to yours from a different perspective, of course, but I think I’m going to leave it right there.

      • Yes, Liza, my comment was an attack on you and Tom, albeit a very mild one. I really haven’t seen you two so excited any other time you have been posting. I just had to comment on it.

        And, yes, I did vote for Trump. At the time, though, it was less a vote for Trump than a vote against Hillary. Since that time, though, Trump has done a lot of things I approve of and he hasn’t been near as embarassing as I thought he he was going to be, so I have slowly bu surely moved in his direction.

        Please keep in mind that I happen to like both you and Tom. We have opinions that are 180-degrees out from each other, but you have good strong feelings about things, you write very well, and both of you present arguments and points of view that are worth responding to. It is a great pleasure that I have you two to spar with on occassion. If I didn’t respect you, I would just ignore you or I would just make short snide remarks. By the way, I was surprised to know we are about the same age…I thought you were a much younger woman because of the fresh, yet intense, style with which you write.

        • Yes, they say it’s good for us old folks to stay engaged and slow down the dementia processes occurring in our brains. 🙂

  8. trump is NOT! nixon. he won’t cover for anyone but himself. indite manafort or flynn means nothing to trump he will say he fired them for it. watergate democrats controlled house and senate. clinton, republicans did. maybe after 2018 elections(a long way off) but republicans in house won’t impeach except in your dreams. obstruction of justice was voted in house committee by democrat majority in watergate. saying trump must be guilty is not the same thing as evidence but too many media types and liberals think it is so. how many of you think republiscum in house will vote for impeachment?

    • Well, censored, I don’t think that people like us who have access only to the news that is reported can predict what might happen. We are not insiders like Trump, for example, who is obsessed with stopping investigations that are about him.

      While it is true that Republicans now control the House and Senate and likely would not impeach and convict Trump, it is also true that public opinion might cost them their sweet gigs. And I think it could be argued that Trump’s presidency at barely four months old has a downward trajectory.

      And it is truly astonishing to me that any citizen regardless of party affiliation, wouldn’t support the investigations into Russian tampering with a US presidential election. For the president himself to attempt to obstruct such investigations is outrageous and justifies all of the public’s suspicions and speculation about his involvement. For God’s sake, man, it is our country.

      • liza you get astonished to easily. you want republican conservative libertarians to think like you and they don’t! in the play and movie incident at vichy the jews couldn’t understand why the nazi’s were unloading a train full of war material to put them on it. it was hurting the war effort. they finally realized the nazi’s didn’t care! getting rid of them was more important. when are you and other liberals going to realize THEY DONT CARE! they are EVIL>

        • What the American People Are Saying About Trump
          by Nancy LeTourneau May 11, 2017 2:19 PM

          It can be frustrating to watch what Donald Trump and his administration are doing and not see any signs on the horizon that congressional Republicans are stepping up to the plate to stop him. But that can cloud our vision and lead us to believe that he has more support than he actually does.

          While it is just one poll and all caveats apply, the most recent one from Quinnipiac paints a devastating picture for the man in the White House. They note that Trump got a bit of a bump after the missile strike in Syria, but he’s back down now to a near-record negative 36 – 58 percent job approval rating—and that is from a poll conducted before the announcement about Comey being fired. The drop holds true for groups that have been an important part of his base.

          Read more…
          http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/05/11/what-the-american-people-are-saying-about-trump/

          • pollster marc penn has pointed out the pollard using everyone now not likely voters. they even poll illegal aliens now to get trump;s numbers down. if likely voters are polled he is around 485.

  10. hey all unless they can indite trump it means nothing he will fire anyone one he needs too and won’t think twice about it. he covers for nobody. get trump or you get nothing.

    • Come on captain, you remember Watergate, you know what an unindicted co-conspirator is.

    • Well, Trump is obviously concerned about what the investigations will turn up and he seems mostly concerned about the FBI.

      Will it take a smoking gun to resolve this? Like a video of Trump discussing a little quid pro quo with Putin and his translator?

      Maybe not. Maybe obstruction of justice is enough to get Trump to resign. Maybe what possible co-conspirators say under oath will be enough. But I guess we’ll have to wait and see if our “democratic institutions” are up to the task. It does appear at this time that a lot of Republicans in Congress are going to have to think long and hard about what happens to them if they support / do not support Trump.

    • So, given what the Republicans used against Bill Clinton, it would seem that it pales in comparison to where the Russia investigations might lead:

      Impeachment of Bill Clinton
      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

      “The impeachment of Bill Clinton was initiated by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998, against Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice. These charges stemmed from Clinton’s extramarital affair with former White House Intern Monica Lewinsky and his testimony about the affair during a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him by Paula Jones.”

    • So, given what the Republicans used against Bill Clinton, it would seem that it pales in comparison to where the Russia investigations might lead:

      Impeachment of Bill Clinton
      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

      “The impeachment of Bill Clinton was initiated by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998, against Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice. These charges stemmed from Clinton’s extramarital affair with former White House Intern Monica Lewinsky and his testimony about the affair during a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him by Paula Jones.”

  11. The only real evidence of ANY collusion between a campaign and any other party or parties in the last election is the collusion between the media and the Clinton campaign.
    Otherwise, zip, zero, nada!

      • That was September 16, 1968, I was nine years old, and I remember it like it was yesterday.

        We had three TV stations back then, you could choose between The Huntley-Brinkley report or Cronkite, something like that.

        I was well informed on Nixon/Vietnam/Watergate from watching the nightly news with my dad, a lifelong Republican.

        The news folks were a money loser for the stations, mandated by law to provide a certain amount of programming for the public good in exchange for using the public airwaves.

        News at night, kids shows in the mornings.

        Reagan and Bill Clinton put an end to all that. Now we have actual fake news channels calling actual news channels fake news.

        And that’s a big part of the reason why we have a failed business manager corrupt Manhattan real estate salesman reality TV game show host pussy grabber stinking up the White House with old man farts right now.

        Sock it to me?

        • Yeah, it’s a mighty sad decline from Cronkite and Huntley-Brinkley to what passes for news reporting these days.

          My best memory of Richard Nixon is the day he resigned. I was at Florida State and there were like a zillion of us gathered in the student union watching this one TV. Nixon gave his resignation speech and the room went crazy.

          I expect that Trump’s resignation would have much the same effect. And I certainly hope that our young folks get to experience that joy.

  13. comey told trump he has no evidence against him 3 times. this is like when stalin signed nonaggression pact with hitler and confused communists. democrats are confused the democrat party hates comey then loves comey now hates comey. waiting for the democrat party to tell them what to think!

    • The Democratic Party loves the truth, that’s why this matters. You are an operative for Republicans.

    • Comey screwed up bigly multiple times over the last year, angering both the left and right.

      Doesn’t matter. You don’t fire the guy investigating you, and you don’t fire a human being the way they fired Comey, and you don’t blame Comey for doing things almost a year ago that you have praised him for multiple times.

      Trump tried to kiss the dude at one point, literally.

      I’ve fired people, in the corporate world, a world Trump is supposedly knowledgeable of, you document your case, you meet with HR prior to the sit down and firing, and you come up with a plan on how to handle the firing.

      You don’t send your ex-body guard over to the guy’s office while he’s out of town, drop off a letter, and let the guy find out about it on TV screens in LA where he’s recruiting new agents.

      I’m pretty sure he would have resigned if asked, which would have been the right thing to do. Trump being a coward chose to hide in the White House while other’s did his dirty work.

      The constant repeating of DAG “Rod Rosenstein” as being highly respected by everyone on both sides of the aisle reminds me of the talk about Colin Powell before he went before the UN.

    • @censored “…comey told trump he has no evidence against him 3 times.”

      I believe that Trump said that Comey told him on three occasions that he (Trump) wasn’t under investigation. True or not, it’s very different than having no evidence. That’s what investigations do, produce and/or corroborate evidence.

      All of Trump’s actions seem to be motivated by his intention to kill, cripple, and/or slow down the Russia investigations.

      Now, if I were a cynical person with respect to Trump’s motivations, which I am, I’d say that he’s got something to hide. He would be doing all of this for the benefit of others associated with him? Nope, naw, never, hell to the no . He is a narcissist.

      • Trump has been tweeting that Clapper said there was no collusion between Trump’s folks and Russia, but what Clapper actually said was he wouldn’t have seen that evidence if there was any.

        Trump’s a salesman, and you have to parse their words very carefully.

        Spicey and now Huckabee’s lying kid pull the same crap.

        I know how they work, I confess that I was in sales for a few years. In my defense, marketing folks are way worse.

        • Well, tricky salesmen can only get so far. I’m willing to bet that the just the sheer number of people involved in this clusterf***, including their useful idiots, seems to indicate that the truth will be known and hopefully soon.

    • And this:

      Trump asserts Comey told him he’s not under investigation
      By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press MAY 10, 2017 — 3:30PM

      WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump asserted in his extraordinary letter firing James Comey that the ousted FBI director told him three times he’s not under investigation, a questionable claim that if true would be a startling breach of protocol.

      “Wouldn’t happen,” said one former federal prosecutor who led criminal cases against public officials.

      Comey has publicly confirmed the FBI is investigating possible contacts between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia.

      Trump offered no details about exactly what he was told or when. The White House declined to provide backup or explanation for Trump’s assertion in the letter.
      More…

      http://www.startribune.com/trump-asserts-comey-told-him-he-s-not-under-investigation/421912453/

      • I was wondering about that. How could Comey say Trump wasn’t under investigation while so many of his staff are?

        I believe Trump will be called an “un-indicted co-conspirator”, that’s what the secret grand jury called Nixon back in the day.

  14. Ted Lieu‏Verified account @tedlieu 13h13 hours ago

    “Consciousness of guilt”: When a person being accused of a crime does something an innocent person would not do. #TrumpRussiaInvestigation

    • Go find Claude Johnson’s twitter account, @TrueFactsStated.

      He’s been right in the past about some of these issues, and he’s saying there are grand juries handing out sealed indictments now.

      I suspect Comey will have the last laugh.

      The Apprentice, Twilight Zone Edition (not mine, but sounds about right).

      • Very interesting. No wonder Trump has been in a rage about the Russia investigation and hiding for five days.

        And this. How does this work with a corrupted Attorney General? Sessions surely must see he’s going down with Trump about now, but on the other hand he’s not the sharpest tool in the box.

        Eric Holder‏Verified account
        @EricHolder
        9:01 PM – 9 May 2017

        To the career men and women at DOJ/FBI: you know what the job entails and how to do it. Be strong and unafraid. Duty. Honor. Country.

        • That’s the thing, right? Sessions said he’d recuse himself from investigations on either the Trump or Clinton campaigns, yet his fingerprints are all over the firing of Comey.

          Sessions lied under oath about meeting with the Russian ambassador.

          This is all so weird.

          Investigating Trump
          James Comey
          Sally Yates
          Preet Bharara

          Fired by Trump
          James Comey
          Sally Yates
          Preet Bharara

          It’s time for the GOP rats to start jumping ship or be remembered for their support of the most corrupt White House ever.

      • This should be Claude Taylor, not Johnson, the @TrueFactsStated twitter handle is correct though.

        There’s an unverified rumor that passports were put on hold for about 50 people related to the sealed indictments, possibly some Kushner family folks included. And then there’s a rumor that Rex Tillerson released those holds.

        I’m hoping that’s all just rumors, because a US Secretary of State interfering with an FBI investigation is just too frightening.

        The grand jury indictment stories seem solid, the grand jury’s were kinda’ confirmed by Comey when he testified for the Senate.

        It really ticks me off that my country needs to go through this crap again. Watergate was horrible. People don’t remember.

        The GOP owns this.

        Well, the GOP and the media who gave Trump 2 billion in free air time and Hillary Wall Street Kissinger who wanted to run against Trump because her and her campaign staff are so f’n smart.

        • Yes. The GOP owns this and they will continue to try to suppress it. Witness the cancellation of Comey testifying n Thursday.

          • This is so bad, but there’s always some humor to be found.

            Last night, Spicey was hiding from the press. From the Washington Post:

            “After Spicer spent several minutes hidden in the bushes behind these sets, Janet Montesi, an executive assistant in the press office, emerged and told reporters that Spicer would answer some questions, as long as he was not filmed doing so. Spicer then emerged.”

            OMG I hope Melissa McCarthy does an SLN bit on that.

            That little fella’ hiding in the bushes, chewing gum and questioning his life choices, is epic.

          • If I were Spicer, this is the moment when I would exit stage right. He’s a fool, but not yet considered a criminal. The jig is up, he needs to save himself.

      • Louise Mensch has been tweeting news ahead of the MSM as well, and has my favorite quote of the day:

        “Hey @RealDonaldTrump
        Seems like #Comey day is every day from now on, m0therfuck3r
        #GrandJuryNY”

        I did change the spelling a little.

        Her twitter handle is @LouiseMensch.

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