Traitor Trump is openly soliciting foreign intervention in 2020 election

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team tried to arrange an interview of Donald Trump — who repeatedly had said he would be happy to do so — for more than a year before finally settling on Trump submitting answers to written interrogatories on certain Russia-related topics in November 2018, but no questions about obstruction of justice.

Predictably, Trump’s answers to written interrogatories were evasive and non-responsive. The Mueller Report states that Mueller’s team considered his answers to written interrogatories incomplete and imprecise because of the president’s lack of recollections — from the man who claims to “have the best memory.” The special counsel’s office again sought an in-person interview with Trump that he again declined. Full text of Mueller’s questions and Trump’s answers.

On Wednesday, Donald Trump gave an extraordinary interview to ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in the Oval Office in which he made an Admission Against Interest, i.e., “an out-of-court statement by a party that, when uttered, is against the party’s pecuniary, proprietary, or penal interest and that is admissible under both an exclusion (admission by a party-opponent) and an exception (statement against interest) to the rule against hearsay.”

Stephanopoulos got Donald Trump to admit what Robert Mueller had failed to do for two years: “Yeah I did it, and I’ll do it again!” ‘I think I’d take it’: In exclusive interview, Trump says he would listen if foreigners offered dirt on opponents:

Asked by ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in the Oval Office on Wednesday whether his campaign would accept such information from foreigners — such as China or Russia — or hand it over the FBI, Trump said, “I think maybe you do both.”

“I think you might want to listen, there isn’t anything wrong with listening,” Trump continued. “If somebody called from a country, Norway, [and said] ‘we have information on your opponent’ — oh, I think I’d want to hear it.”

Trump disputed the idea that if a foreign government provided information on a political opponent, it would be considered interference in our election process.

“It’s not an interference, they have information — I think I’d take it,” Trump said. “If I thought there was something wrong, I’d go maybe to the FBI — if I thought there was something wrong. But when somebody comes up with oppo research, right, they come up with oppo research, ‘oh let’s call the FBI.’ The FBI doesn’t have enough agents to take care of it. When you go and talk, honestly, to congressman, they all do it, they always have, and that’s the way it is. It’s called oppo research.”

President Trump lamented the attention on his son, Donald Trump Jr., for his role in the now-infamous Trump Tower meeting in June 2016. Stephanopoulos asked whether Trump Jr. should have taken the Russians’ offer for “dirt” on then-candidate Hillary Clinton to the FBI.

“Somebody comes up and says, ‘hey, I have information on your opponent,’ do you call the FBI?” Trump responded.

“I’ll tell you what, I’ve seen a lot of things over my life. I don’t think in my whole life I’ve ever called the FBI. In my whole life. You don’t call the FBI. You throw somebody out of your office, you do whatever you do,” Trump continued. “Oh, give me a break – life doesn’t work that way.”

“The FBI director said that is what should happen,” Stephanopoulos replied, referring to comments FBI Director Christopher Wray made during congressional testimony last month, when he told lawmakers “the FBI would want to know about” any foreign election meddling.

But on Wednesday, the president refuted Wray’s sentiment.

“The FBI director is wrong, because frankly it doesn’t happen like that in life,” Trump said. “Now maybe it will start happening, maybe today you’d think differently.”

Let’s break this down. Volume I of the Mueller Report documents that “a total of 272 contacts between Trump’s team and Russia-linked operatives have been identified, including at least 38 meetings. And we know that at least 33 high-ranking campaign officials and Trump advisers were aware of contacts with Russia-linked operatives during the campaign and transition, including Trump himself. None of these contacts were ever reported to the proper authorities.” TRUMP’S RUSSIA COVER-UP BY THE NUMBERS – 272 CONTACTS WITH RUSSIA-LINKED OPERATIVES. There is no dispute that these contacts occurred.

While Robert Mueller concluded that he did not have sufficient evidence to conclude that there was the crime of a “conspiracy” between the Trump campaign and these Russian contacts — specifically because he found Donald Trump, Jr., was “ignorant of the law” in order to prove the element of intent to violate the law (unbelievably defying the legal maxim that “ignorance of the law is no excuse”) — Volume I of the Mueller Report documents substantial “collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia-linked operatives.

Stephanopoulos was asking about this in the context of Donald Trump, Jr. testifying to the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday about his Trump Tower meeting with Russian contacts. This is why Donald Trump was so agitated and defended the actions of his idiot son in taking a meeting with Russians who offered to provide “dirt on Hillary Clinton”:

Stephanopoulos asked whether Trump Jr. should have taken the Russians’ offer for “dirt” on then-candidate Hillary Clinton to the FBI.

“Somebody comes up and says, ‘hey, I have information on your opponent,’ do you call the FBI?” Trump responded.

“I’ll tell you what, I’ve seen a lot of things over my life. I don’t think in my whole life I’ve ever called the FBI. In my whole life. You don’t call the FBI. You throw somebody out of your office, you do whatever you do,” Trump continued. “Oh, give me a break – life doesn’t work that way.”

Maybe for the Trump crime family that has a long history of working with mob related figures in the casino business, the construction trades in New York, and laundering money for Russian oligarch investors. But it is against federal law for a foreign government to offer anything of value and for an American politician to accept anything of value in an election:

52 U.S. Code § 30121 – Contributions and donations by foreign nationals

(a) ProhibitionIt shall be unlawful for—

(1) a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make—

(A) a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election;
(B) a contribution or donation to a committee of a political party; or
(C) an expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication (within the meaning of section 30104(f)(3) of this title); or

(2) a person to solicit, accept, or receive a contribution or donation described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) from a foreign national.

(b) “Foreign national” definedAs used in this section, the term “foreign national” means—

(1) a foreign principal, as such term is defined by section 611(b) of title 22, except that the term “foreign national” shall not include any individual who is a citizen of the United States; or
(2) an individual who is not a citizen of the United States or a national of the United States (as defined in section 1101(a)(22) of title 8) and who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence, as defined by section 1101(a)(20) of title 8.

The Mueller Report documented that the Trump campaign did in fact solicit and accept offers of assistance from Russia-linked operatives. Mueller failed to prosecute.

Donald Trump in this interview is effectively saying, once again, “Russia, if you’re listening… I want your assistance to do it again.” Donald Trump is openly soliciting foreign intervention by foreign governments in the 2020 election. He is saying that he intends to violate the law, again:

Asked by ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in the Oval Office on Wednesday whether his campaign would accept such information from foreigners — such as China or Russia — or hand it over the FBI, Trump said, “I think maybe you do both.”

“I think you might want to listen, there isn’t anything wrong with listening,” Trump continued. “If somebody called from a country, Norway, [and said] ‘we have information on your opponent’ — oh, I think I’d want to hear it.”

Trump disputed the idea that if a foreign government provided information on a political opponent, it would be considered interference in our election process.

“It’s not an interference, they have information — I think I’d take it,” Trump said. “If I thought there was something wrong, I’d go maybe to the FBI — if I thought there was something wrong. But when somebody comes up with oppo research, right, they come up with oppo research, ‘oh let’s call the FBI.’ The FBI doesn’t have enough agents to take care of it. When you go and talk, honestly, to congressman, they all do it, they always have, and that’s the way it is. It’s called oppo research.”

Trump has no self-awareness that this is a national security breach. For federal employees with a security clearance — but for being elected president, Donald Trump would never qualify for a security clearance — they are required to report any contacts with individuals of any foreign nationality. Clearance Self-Reporting: General Requirements:

All holders of a security clearance must keep their security office informed about anything that might have a bearing on their continued eligibility for access to classified information or that might signal an increased vulnerability to foreign intelligence targeting. Your cooperation in doing so is an important part of the “continuing evaluation” process.

The kinds of information that must be reported by all cleared personnel are described below.

* * *

Foreign Contacts: All cleared personnel must report contacts with individuals of any foreign nationality, either within or outside the scope of their official activities, in which:

• • • “Illegal or unauthorized access is sought to classified or otherwise sensitive information.
    • The employee is concerned that he/she may be the target of actual or attempted exploitation by a foreign entity.”

This raises a number of national security concerns. There is already substantial evidence to believe that the Russians have “kompromat” (compromising information) on Donald Trump by which they can influence his decisions. Trump has already shared highly classified intelligence with the Russians, and this may be ongoing.

Trump loyalists have made much ado about the Christopher Steele dossier (oppo research on Donald Trump), concocting an entire “deep state” conspiracy theory around it to claim a “coup” against Trump. Who is to say that a foreign adversary would not provide false information to the Trump campaign to use against his Democratic opponents? I suppose if it inures to the benefit of Republicans, well that’s different, that’s OK.

Trump has ordered his new Roy Cohn, his “fixer” Willam “Coverup” Barr, to “investigate the investigators” who investigated his campaign’s numerous and repeated contacts with Russia-linked operatives. There is every reason to believe that Trump is serious about his threats to prosecute these federal law enforcement officers for having investigated his campaign. Justice Dept. Seeks to Question C.I.A. in Its Own Russia Investigation:

Justice Department officials intend to interview senior C.I.A. officers as they review the Russia investigation, according to people briefed on the matter, indicating they are focused partly on the intelligence agencies’ most explosive conclusion about the 2016 election: that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia intervened to benefit Donald J. Trump.

The interview plans are the latest sign the Justice Department will take a critical look at the C.I.A.’s work on Russia’s election interference. Investigators want to talk with at least one senior counterintelligence official and a senior C.I.A. analyst, the people said. Both officials were involved in the agency’s work on understanding the Russian campaign to sabotage the election in 2016.

While the Justice Department review is not a criminal inquiry (yet), it has provoked anxiety in the ranks of the C.I.A., according to former officials. Senior agency officials have questioned why the C.I.A.’s analytical work should be subjected to a federal prosecutor’s scrutiny. Attorney General William P. Barr, who is overseeing the review, assigned the United States attorney in Connecticut, John H. Durham, to conduct it.

This is intended to have a chilling effect on the intelligence agencies and the FBI from doing their job to protect U.S. elections from foreign influence campaigns. Christopher Wray, FBI director, warns: 2020 presidential race at risk from foreign adversaries. While I have not yet seen any reporting on this, it would not surprise me in the least to learn that Donald Trump has ordered that the intelligence agencies and the FBI are not to investigate presidential campaigns in 2020 — well, at least his campaign — so that he can solicit and receive assistance from foreign governments without further threat of being investigated.

There is reason to believe foreign collusion is already occurring. When the Mueller Report was released, Trump’s TV lawyer Rudy Giuliani aka “Bat Boy” said, as Trump did in his interview above, There’s ‘Nothing wrong’ with the campaign accepting information from Russians. Bat Boy is openly working with foreign governments to dig up dirt on Trump’s Democratic opponents. Rudy Giuliani Plans Ukraine Trip to Push for Inquiries That Could Help Trump. There has been no response from Trump’s Department of Justice. It falls to congressional Democrats who are actively discussing opening a probe into Rudy Giuliani for his overseas political and consulting work, including a recent attempt to uncover dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden. House Dems Preparing Investigation of Rudy Giuliani for Ukraine Shenanigans.

I’m sorry but we are now well past the point of opening more investigations. We have a president who is openly soliciting foreign interference in our presidential election, his TV attorney is actively pursuing that interference, and his Attorney General is pursuing the intelligence agencies and FBI to prevent them from investigating the ongoing collusion between the Trump campaign and foreign governments. We are at a “break glass” moment in our history.

For the love of God, Nancy Pelosi, if now is not the time to impeach Vladimir Putin’s Russian asset, when? The fate of the Republic rests in your hands. You have to impeach now.