Russiagate

[SkyDekker 1,465]

rushmc

https://www.thebalance.com/current-u-s-federal-government-tax-revenue-3305762

Scroll down and look at the estimates for 2018 and 2019. Really looks like we're starving the damn government huh

What the hell do estimates and projections have to do with reviewing actual results? Guess you don't understand the difference, that would actually make sense.

But you still haven't answered why you used political ideology to try and prove your point that Trump is more patriotic than Obama when you think patriotism isn't subjective.

You don't understand that either do you?

[billvon 2,998]

>Many of you have claimed that it, the Trump tax plan, would reduce money to the
>government. That's not the case.

From the extremely conservative National Review:
================================
The Tax Cut Is Highly Likely To Reduce Revenue
By RAMESH PONNURU
December 5, 2017 9:18 PM

Many Republicans, including Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Susan Collins, have suggested that the tax cut will do so much to expand the economy that the new tax code will raise more revenue than the old one. This result is theoretically possible, but it is highly unlikely.

Several detailed attempts have been made to predict the effects of various versions of the Republican tax bill on revenue, and many of them have incorporated estimates of the effects on the economy. The Joint Committee on Taxation, the Penn Wharton Budget Model, the Tax Policy Center, and the Tax Foundation have all put forward their estimates. The last group, which is the most optimistic, found that the Senate Republican tax bill introduced a few weeks ago would cause revenue to be $516 billion lower over the next ten years. (The Senate passed an amended form of the bill this weekend.)

Collins, on Meet the Press on Sunday, cited several prominent Republican economists to bolster her contention that the tax cut would pay for itself and even lower the federal debt. None of them has said anything in public to that effect–they signed a joint statement saying that tax cuts will promote growth but not denying the conventional view that revenues will be lower as a result of the tax cuts–and two of them deny what she said. They say that the tax cut will raise economic growth and that this growth will soften the revenue hit to the federal government. But they predict that the federal government will take in less revenue if it cuts taxes than if it does not.
===============================

[rushmc 23]

SkyDekker

***https://www.thebalance.com/current-u-s-federal-government-tax-revenue-3305762

Scroll down and look at the estimates for 2018 and 2019. Really looks like we're starving the damn government huh

What the hell do estimates and projections have to do with reviewing actual results? Guess you don't understand the difference, that would actually make sense.

But you still haven't answered why you used political ideology to try and prove your point that Trump is more patriotic than Obama when you think patriotism isn't subjective.

You don't understand that either do you?

I'm not the one that politicizes things. The Democrats do.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[rushmc 23]

February already set a record. And that's under the new tax plan.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[SkyDekker 1,465]

rushmc

******https://www.thebalance.com/current-u-s-federal-government-tax-revenue-3305762

Scroll down and look at the estimates for 2018 and 2019. Really looks like we're starving the damn government huh

What the hell do estimates and projections have to do with reviewing actual results? Guess you don't understand the difference, that would actually make sense.

But you still haven't answered why you used political ideology to try and prove your point that Trump is more patriotic than Obama when you think patriotism isn't subjective.

You don't understand that either do you?

I'm not the one that politicizes things. The Democrats do.

Ah yes, always somebody else.

[DJL 235]

ryoder

*********Trump is more loyal to the US than Obama ever was!!!

Why?

I'm not sure I want to go down this path, it's surely long and full of facepalm.

I still don't understand why anyone bothers to respond to the troll.
I stopped reading the posts ages ago because it just isn't worth my time.

Yeah, I immediately regretted asking. It's kind of like that "Why is the American government the best government" scene from Thanks for Smoking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zNaeo8nPOo

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[billvon 2,998]

More on the NRA pipeline that may have provided Trump with Russian money, via McClatchy -

====================
NRA lawyer said to have had concerns about group’s ties to Russia
BY PETER STONE AND GREG GORDON

ggordon@mcclatchydc.com

March 15, 2018 07:27 PM

WASHINGTON
Congressional investigators are examining information that a longtime attorney for the National Rifle Association had concerns about the group's ties to Russia and its possible involvement in channeling Russian funds into the 2016 elections to help Donald Trump, two sources familiar with the matter say.

Cleta Mitchell, a former NRA board member who has done legal work for the organization, is on a newly disclosed list of people whom Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee are seeking to interview. Democratic investigators for that committee’s Senate counterpart also are interested in what she may know about relationships between the NRA or its allies and wealthy Russians, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
========================

[billvon 2,998]

And the latest news for the Trumpies to deny involves Trump's company negotiating with a bank that was illegal to work with under the law - just before the election. This was after the Russian involved told Trump's lawyer he would work with Putin to get Trump elected.

=====================================
Confirmed: Trump Organization did negotiate with a sanctioned Russian bank in 2016

Annalisa Merelli
March 17, 2018
Quartz

Felix Sater, a Soviet-born former Donald Trump advisor and real estate dealer, confirmed last night to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes that the Trump Organization negotiated with sanctioned Russian bank VTB to build Trump World Tower in Moscow.

Sater, a longtime US intelligence and defense resource, has been under scrutiny for an email exchange with his friend and Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, in which he boasted that the subsequently failed real estate deal to build Trump World Tower Moscow “will get Donald elected." “Buddy our boy can become President of the US and we can engineer it. We will get all of Putins (sic) team to buy in on this,” read an email sent to Cohen in November 2015.
=======================================

[Phil1111 1,149]

billvon

And the latest news for the Trumpies to deny involves Trump's company negotiating with a bank that was illegal to work with under the law - just before the election. This was after the Russian involved told Trump's lawyer he would work with Putin to get Trump elected.

=====================================
Confirmed: Trump Organization did negotiate with a sanctioned Russian bank in 2016

Annalisa Merelli
March 17, 2018
Quartz

Felix Sater, a Soviet-born former Donald Trump advisor and real estate dealer, confirmed last night to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes that the Trump Organization negotiated with sanctioned Russian bank VTB to build Trump World Tower in Moscow.

Sater, a longtime US intelligence and defense resource, has been under scrutiny for an email exchange with his friend and Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, in which he boasted that the subsequently failed real estate deal to build Trump World Tower Moscow “will get Donald elected." “Buddy our boy can become President of the US and we can engineer it. We will get all of Putins (sic) team to buy in on this,” read an email sent to Cohen in November 2015.
=======================================

I doubt that any of that would be news to Mueller. Banking licenses in Russia are all by Putin decree. Money laundering by trump Enterprises through the purchase of property. Has been established for 20 years.

Clearly Mueller is getting to the meat of the burger because trump went on a trump-a-tweet on the weekend. All bashing Mueller and his investigation. Tweets criticizing Mueller increase as the temperature of the meat increases.

Although Putin's re-election yesterday may have also had something to do with it. trump is disappointed that US media and its population isn't as malleable as Russia's. Give him credit he keeps trying to move his base to a Putin-Russia model.

Trump unrestrained in latest attacks of Mueller probe
President Trump unleashed on special counsel Robert Mueller over the weekend, signaling a shift in his criticism of the Justice Department probe into Russian election interference.

In a series of tweets on Saturday and Sunday, Trump took aim at Mueller, calling his investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia a "witch hunt" and suggesting bias on the part of Mueller.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/379048-trump-unrestrained-in-latest-attacks-on-mueller-probe

Mueller in case anyone with an objective mind forgets. Is a registered republican.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

I am going to predict that self-destructing emails are going to play a role in bringing down the Trump administration. That is right, emails are going to be the downfall of Trump.

[kallend 2,027]

On “Morning Joe,” John O. Brennan, a former C.I.A. director, speculated that the Russians “may have something on him [Trump] personally. I think he’s afraid of the president of Russia.”

On Saturday Brennan attacked Trump on Twitter after the president tweeted about his excitement over the firing of the deputy director of McCabe.

“When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history,”

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

Apparently there are a lot of 'former federal LEO' folks annoyed at the Twitter crap from Trump.

Comey & McCabe have both hit back.
Not terribly professional, but totally understandable.

NY Times

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[Phil1111 1,149]

Well its all too much for trump's former head council he has just resigned. Evidently rats jumping from a sinking ship is a reality.

John Dowd, President Donald Trump's head lawyer in the special counsel's investigation, has resigned, he confirmed to NBC News.
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/politics/John-Dowd-Resigns-Trump-Lawyer-Russia-Probe-477641243.html

Just another slow news day for trumpateers.

[kallend 2,027]

wolfriverjoe

Apparently there are a lot of 'former federal LEO' folks annoyed at the Twitter crap from Trump.

Comey & McCabe have both hit back.
Not terribly professional, but totally understandable.

NY Times

WASHINGTON (NYT)— The president’s lead lawyer for the special counsel investigation, John Dowd, resigned on Thursday, according to two people briefed on the matter, days after the president called for an end to the inquiry.

Mr. Dowd, who took over the president’s legal team last summer, had considered leaving several times in recent months and ultimately concluded that Mr. Trump was increasingly ignoring his advice, one of the people said. Under Mr. Dowd’s leadership, Mr. Trump’s lawyers had advised him to cooperate with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who is investigating Russia’s election interference and possible ties to Trump associates as well as whether the president obstructed the inquiry.

The president has instead in recent days begun publicly assailing Mr. Mueller, a shift in tone that appears to be born of the president’s concern that the investigation is bearing down on him more directly. He has also privately insisted he should sit for an interview with the special counsel’s office, even though Mr. Dowd believed it was a bad idea.

Mr. Dowd’s departure marks the most prominent shake-up for the president’s legal team since he took over from the president’s longtime personal lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz.

It is not clear who will run the team in his place. Mr. Trump’s other personal lawyer for the investigation, Jay Sekulow, is liked by the president and recently brought on one of his longtime friends, Joseph E. diGenova, to join the team.

Ty Cobb, the White House lawyer for the investigation, came aboard around the same time as Mr. Dowd and Mr. Sekulow and advocated on behalf of cooperating with the special counsel. But the president has discussed with close associates in recent days whether to fire Mr. Cobb, while reassuring Mr. Cobb that he had no plans to do so.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[kallend 2,027]

It's been a long time since rushmc explained to us what is the correct interpretation of all these events and how they relate to the nothingburger.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

kallend

It's been a long time since rushmc explained to us what is the correct interpretation of all these events and how they relate to the nothingburger.

fake news
deep state
FBI is a lieberal institution out to get honest patriotic Republicans

Basically all the soundbites that were tested by CA in 2014

[billvon 2,998]

>The president’s lead lawyer for the special counsel investigation, John Dowd, resigned
>on Thursday

Smart man. I wouldn't want to be the lawyer for a man who is doing his best to sabotage his own case, and won't listen to anyone who isn't as much of a "stable genius" as he is.

Some other smart lawyers out there too:

===========
Katelyn Polantz
CNN

9:46 AM - 22 Mar 2018
@kpolantz

UPDATE: 4 defense attorneys at different large law firms have been approached to join Trump's legal defense team in recent weeks. All 4 turned him down.
===========

[kallend 2,027]

Boom boom boom.

Another two bite the dust:

www.nytimes.com/2018/03/25/us/politics/trump-digenova-toensing.html

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[billvon 2,998]

From the article:
===========
President Donald Trump has decided not to hire two lawyers who were announced last week as new additions to his legal team, leaving him with a shrinking stable of lawyers as the investigation by the special counsel, Robert Mueller, enters an intense phase.
===========

"Intense phase?" All the Trumpie legal experts were telling us this 'nothingburger' would be over around Thanksgiving!

==============
AUGUST 18, 2017 / 11:49 AM / 7 MONTHS AGO
White House lawyer Cobb predicts quick end to Mueller probe
Karen Freifeld

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House special counsel Ty Cobb predicts the cloud of an investigation into Russian meddling in the U.S. election will soon be lifted from President Donald Trump and says he would be “embarrassed” if it still hangs over the president in 2018.

Cobb told Reuters this week that he talks to Trump on an almost daily basis and has been in contact with the team of Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

. . .

“I’d be embarrassed if this is still haunting the White House by Thanksgiving and worse if it’s still haunting him by year end,” Cobb told Reuters, adding: “I think the relevant areas of inquiry by the special counsel are narrow.”
=================

[billvon 2,998]

And today a new patty for the nothingburger - Manafort hired a Russian intelligence officer, his partner Richard Gates knew of his connections, and he communicated with him often during the election.

There's going to be some hating on Manafort by the Trumpies after this.

============================
Mueller team reveals Manafort business associate’s connection to Russian intel service
BY MAX GREENWOOD - 03/28/18 08:51 AM EDT 1,812
The Hill


The FBI believes a business associate of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort had ties to Russian intelligence, including during the 2016 presidential race, prosecutors said in court documents filed Tuesday.

The documents, filed by special counsel Robert Mueller's team, allege that Richard Gates, a longtime business partner of Manafort and President Trump's former deputy campaign manager, was aware that an unidentified associate "was a former Russian Intelligence Officer."

The documents also allege that Gates and the individual continued to communicate with one another in the months before the 2016 presidential election. Such communication "was pertinent to the investigation," prosecutors said.

The FBI's assessment was made public in a sentencing memo filed late Tuesday in the case of Alex van der Zwaan, a London-based lawyer, who pleaded guilty last month to lying to investigators about his contacts with Gates and the unidentified associate.

In the memo, prosecutors said that van der Zwaan acknowledged to special counsel investigators in an interview that Gates had told him of the associate's ties to a Russian military intelligence agency, the GRU.

The individual in question is referred to in the court filings only as "Person A." The Washington Post reported Tuesday, however, that the associate matches the description of Konstantin Kilimnik, a longtime Russian employee of Manafort's.
==============================

[ryoder 1,590]

billvon

The documents, filed by special counsel Robert Mueller's team, allege that Richard Gates, a longtime business partner of Manafort and President Trump's former deputy campaign manager, was aware that an unidentified associate "was a former Russian Intelligence Officer."

Uh...riiiiight.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Phil1111 1,149]

ryoder

***The documents, filed by special counsel Robert Mueller's team, allege that Richard Gates, a longtime business partner of Manafort and President Trump's former deputy campaign manager, was aware that an unidentified associate "was a former Russian Intelligence Officer."

Uh...riiiiight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvI6eIRaJAw

[ryoder 1,590]

Phil1111

******The documents, filed by special counsel Robert Mueller's team, allege that Richard Gates, a longtime business partner of Manafort and President Trump's former deputy campaign manager, was aware that an unidentified associate "was a former Russian Intelligence Officer."

Uh...riiiiight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvI6eIRaJAw


I have read most of the books by ex-CIA agent Robert Baer.
He commented in one that when he encounters people overseas whom he met while stationed there as an agent, they never believe him when he tells them he is no longer with the CIA. The implication was that for an agent to actually cut ties with an intelligence service, is unusual among foreign nations.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Remster 30]

ryoder

*********The documents, filed by special counsel Robert Mueller's team, allege that Richard Gates, a longtime business partner of Manafort and President Trump's former deputy campaign manager, was aware that an unidentified associate "was a former Russian Intelligence Officer."

Uh...riiiiight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvI6eIRaJAw


I have read most of the books by ex-CIA agent Robert Baer.
He commented in one that when he encounters people overseas whom he met while stationed there as an agent, they never believe him when he tells them he is no longer with the CIA. The implication was that for an agent to actually cut ties with an intelligence service, is unusual among foreign nations.

[russian accent] You no cut ties with KGB... KGB cut you in ties! [/russian accent]

Remster

[Phil1111 1,149]

ryoder

*********The documents, filed by special counsel Robert Mueller's team, allege that Richard Gates, a longtime business partner of Manafort and President Trump's former deputy campaign manager, was aware that an unidentified associate "was a former Russian Intelligence Officer."

Uh...riiiiight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvI6eIRaJAw


I have read most of the books by ex-CIA agent Robert Baer.
He commented in one that when he encounters people overseas whom he met while stationed there as an agent, they never believe him when he tells them he is no longer with the CIA. The implication was that for an agent to actually cut ties with an intelligence service, is unusual among foreign nations.

IMO about 40% of people are programed to tell the truth and about 40% to lie. Its similar for salespeople that when they want to persuade someone they go into sales mode and sell a position.

If you think about a spy, be it an ordinary intelligence gatherer, or whatever. If they run across something interesting. Of course they will drop a dime. Its like the Australian diplomat Alexander Downer who first reported the trump /Hillary e-mail/ drunken disclosure.

Or trump, even when he dosn't have to lie he does. Even when he dosn't have to exaggerate, he does.