Russiagate

[quade 4]

ryoder

Issa is worried about his seat...

He's not the worst Republican. He's not the best either.

His climate denial stance is ridiculous.

I do appreciate he understands how the establishment actually works and how to push the right buttons to dog opponents. He had no qualms about using that to screw with Obama. I like the fact he's being reasonably balanced by doing the same against Trump.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[billvon 2,991]

How you know you're in trouble - when GWB starts sounding like the reasonable centrist.

On whether a special prosecutor is needed to investigate Trump's ties to Russia - "I think we all need answers ... I'm not sure the right avenue to take. I am sure, though, that that question needs to be answered."

On Trump's media bans - "We need an independent media to hold people like me to account. Power can be very addictive, and it can be corrosive. And it's important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power, whether it be here or elsewhere."

[Stumpy 284]

billvon

How you know you're in trouble - when GWB starts sounding like the reasonable centrist.

That was exactly my thought today. I'm sure Trump will be along soon to accuse him of fake news and being a liberal snowflake.

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[ryoder 1,590]

Video of the GWB interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AWuhq1AR2k

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

[billvon 2,991]

And now even republicans are demanding action on the latest Russian enabler:
=========================================
Sessions did not disclose meetings with Russian ambassador

By Evan Perez, Shimon Prokupecz and Eli Watkins, CNN

Updated 11:52 AM ET, Thu March 2, 2017

(CNN)Attorney General Jeff Sessions met twice last year with the top Russian diplomat in Washington whose interactions with President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn led to Flynn's firing, according to the Justice Department.

Sessions did not mention either meeting during his confirmation hearings when he said he knew of no contacts between Trump surrogates and Russians.

. . .

Several Republicans called on Sessions to recuse himself from Trump-Russia inquiries.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told CNN Sessions "should further clarify his testimony." Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, said "we need a clear-eyed view of what the Russians actually did so that all Americans can have faith in our institutions."

"Jeff Sessions is a former colleague and a friend, but I think it would be best for him & for the country to recuse himself from the DOJ Russia probe," said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, in a statement.

House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, in an interview with MSNBC, said Sessions should recuse himself for "the trust of the American people." An aide later said McCarthy was only referring to Sessions' statement that he should recuse himself if there was a conflict.
======================

[Phil1111 1,149]

trump has repeatedly denied any meetings with anyone from his campaign staff meeting-talking-communicating with anyone from Russia

There are the ones that have:

1.Paul Manafort
2. Michael Flynn
3. Jeff Sessions
4. J.D. Gordon -"Gordon, who managed the advisory committee as the Trump campaign’s director of national security"
5. Carter Page -another member of the Trump campaign’s national security advisory committee.
6. Yet to be disclosed by the press.
7.Yet to be disclosed by the press.
etc.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/03/02/exclusive-two-other-trump-advisers-also-spoke-russian-envoy-during-gop-convention/98648190/

[headoverheels 333]

Phil1111

trump has repeatedly denied any meetings with anyone from his campaign staff meeting-talking-communicating with anyone from Russia

There are the ones that have:

1.Paul Manafort
2. Michael Flynn
3. Jeff Sessions
4. J.D. Gordon -"Gordon, who managed the advisory committee as the Trump campaign’s director of national security"
5. Carter Page -another member of the Trump campaign’s national security advisory committee.
6. Yet to be disclosed by the press.
7.Yet to be disclosed by the press.
etc.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/03/02/exclusive-two-other-trump-advisers-also-spoke-russian-envoy-during-gop-convention/98648190/

Jared Kushner

[ryoder 1,590]

In last night's Seth Meyers "A Closer Look" segment, they have a great collection of video clips of Trump contradicting himself, beginning at 7:15

http://www.nbc.com/late-night-with-seth-meyers/video/jeff-sessions-trump-and-russia-a-closer-look/3479473

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

[sonnyblu 0]

ryoder

In last night's Seth Meyers "A Closer Look" segment, they have a great collection of video clips of Trump contradicting himself, beginning at 7:15

http://www.nbc.com/late-night-with-seth-meyers/video/jeff-sessions-trump-and-russia-a-closer-look/3479473

He contains multitudes. . .

[billvon 2,991]

Denials:

Nov. 11, 2016, spokesperson Hope Hicks: “There was no communication between the campaign and any foreign entity during the campaign.”

Feb. 15, 2017, Spicer: no one on the campaign had any contacts with Russia.

Feb. 16, 2017, Trump: “Russia is a ruse. I have nothing to do with Russia. Haven’t made a phone call to Russia in years. Don’t speak to people from Russia. Not that I wouldn’t. I just have nobody to speak to. I spoke to Putin twice. He called me on the election. I told you this. And he called me on the inauguration, a few days ago. We had a very good talk, especially the second one, lasted for a pretty long period of time. I’m sure you probably get it because it was classified. So I’m sure everybody in this room perhaps has it. But we had a very, very good talk. I have nothing to do with Russia. To the best of my knowledge no person that I deal with does. Now, Manafort has totally denied it. He denied it."
Feb. 19, 2017: White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus denies any connections between Trump team and the Russians.

Feb. 20, 2017, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee: “This is a non-story because to the best of our knowledge, no contacts took place, so it’s hard to make a comment on something that never happened.”

Reality:

May 13, 2016 from the WSJ: "A few minutes before he made those remarks, Mr. Trump met at a VIP reception with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak. Mr. Trump warmly greeted Mr. Kislyak and three other foreign ambassadors who came to the reception."

But perhaps the WSJ is the lamestream liberal media publishing FAKE NEWS. In that case we'll go to RushMC's favorite fake news source, Newsmax:

================
Trump, after Putin praised him, called the Russian leader “very bright” and a “strong leader.”

“I believe an easing of tensions, and improved relations with Russia — from a position of strength only — is possible, absolutely possible,” Trump said at his foreign-policy speech, in April. “Some say the Russians won’t be reasonable. I intend to find out.”

But on that same day, Trump met with Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, at a VIP reception along with three other foreign ambassadors.
=================

[Phil1111 1,149]

" Germans consider US as reliable a partner as Russia – poll
Published time: 4 Feb, 2017 02:58

Less than a quarter of Germans consider the US, under Donald Trump’s leadership, to be a reliable partner their country can trust according to a recent survey. Roughly the same number of respondents believe Germany can cooperate with Russia.

The Infratest dimap study reveals that German public trust in the US has dived to a record low, with only 22 percent of Germans supporting Trump’s policies, just two weeks after the Republican assumed office, Der Welt reports.

The new figures represent a 37 percent drop of trust compared to a similar poll conducted just before the US presidential election. In November 2016, 59 percent of Germans trusted the US compared to 22 percent now.
Read more
© Yves Herman NATO must share burden fairly, adapt to confront extremism & terrorism, US and Germany agree

The new survey also placed German confidence in Russia on almost the same level with the US. Only 21 percent of responders said they believe Russia to be a reliable partner. While also low, that number is nothing compared to the distrust towards Turkey, which has the miserly support of only four percent of Germans."
https://www.rt.com/news/376274-germany-us-reliable-partner-poll/

"German trust in the US as a global partner has plummeted since Mr Trump came to power.

It found that in November 2016, 59 per cent of respondents said the US was a trustworthy partner for Germany, compared to 25 per cent who would say the same about Russia.

Polling dated February 2017 found that trust in the US had dropped to 22 per cent. Trust in Russia also dropped, but only slightly, to 21 per cent."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/donald-trump-der-spiegel-american-psycho-front-cover-president-germany-magazine-a7562171.html

Majority of Americans trust media more than Trump, poll finds
A majority of Americans say they trust the media more than President Donald Trump, a new poll finds.

The Quinnipiac University poll asked participants if the media or Trump “tell you the truth about important issues.” According to the survey, 52% of voters trust the media, and 37% said they trusted Trump more.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/majority-of-americans-trust-media-more-than-trump-poll-finds-christie-turned-down-labor-secretary-offer-2017-02-23

[brenthutch 444]

If Trump were the Manchurian candidate that people keep wanting to believe that he is, here are some of the things he’d be doing:

Limiting fracking as much as he possibly could
Blocking oil and gas pipelines
Opening negotiations for major nuclear arms reductions
Cutting U.S. military spending
Trying to tamp down tensions with Russia’s ally Iran
That Trump is planning to do precisely the opposite of these things may or may not be good policy for the United States, but anybody who thinks this is a Russia appeasement policy has been drinking way too much joy juice.
Obama actually did all of these things, and none of the liberal media now up in arms about Trump ever called Obama a Russian puppet; instead, they preferred to see a brave, farsighted and courageous statesman. Trump does none of these things and has embarked on a course that will inexorably weaken Russia’s position in the world, and the media, suddenly flushing eight years of Russia dovishness down the memory hole, now sounds the warning that Trump’s Russia policy is treasonously soft.

[billvon 2,991]

>If Trump were the Manchurian candidate that people keep wanting to believe
>that he is, here are some of the things he’d be doing:

He'd offer to drop sanctions against Russia in return for their help in his election.

He'd hide his Russian income at all costs, and refuse to release his tax returns.

He'd name Jon Huntsman - the man he once refused to talk to because "he gave away our country to China" - as Russian ambassador.

He'd support Putin, then deny that he's ever spoken to him or met him.

He'd have his campaign staff meet with the Russian ambassador frequently, then deny ever doing so.

He'd ask Russia to hack his opponent and release what they found.

Good thing he's never done any of those things.

[gowlerk 2,192]

Most people understand that he is not a Manchurian candidate. But when he stood up and asked in public for Russia to help him by releasing more stolen communications he made it clear that he was willing to collude with Russia.

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[aphid 0]

billvon

He'd name Jon Huntsman - the man he once refused to talk to because "he gave away our country to China" - as Russian ambassador.

I didn't know about this appointment. I thought he was a very decent candidate when he ran briefly for the party nomination back in 2012.

He has served under both Bush's & also Obama. What are your issues with him in this new posting?

[normiss 800]

Other than his stance on same sex marriage, I have thought the same of him for the most part.

[TriGirl 318]

aphid

***
He'd name Jon Huntsman - the man he once refused to talk to because "he gave away our country to China" - as Russian ambassador.

I didn't know about this appointment. I thought he was a very decent candidate when he ran briefly for the party nomination back in 2012.

He has served under both Bush's & also Obama. What are your issues with him in this new posting?

My interpretation of that comment was because the president previously didn't like him for "giving [everything away] to China," implying he would also give what's left to Russia.

See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus

Shut Up & Jump!

[brenthutch 444]

billvon

>If Trump were the Manchurian candidate that people keep wanting to believe
>that he is, here are some of the things he’d be doing

He'd name Jon Huntsman - the man he once refused to talk to because "he gave away our country to China" - as Russian ambassador.

.

Is that the same Jon Huntsman that Obama appointed?

[SkyDekker 1,465]

billvon

>If Trump were the Manchurian candidate that people keep wanting to believe
>that he is, here are some of the things he’d be doing:

He'd offer to drop sanctions against Russia in return for their help in his election.

He'd hide his Russian income at all costs, and refuse to release his tax returns.

He'd name Jon Huntsman - the man he once refused to talk to because "he gave away our country to China" - as Russian ambassador.

He'd support Putin, then deny that he's ever spoken to him or met him.

He'd have his campaign staff meet with the Russian ambassador frequently, then deny ever doing so.

He'd ask Russia to hack his opponent and release what they found.

Good thing he's never done any of those things.

Don't forget:

Hide his new 19% ownership in Russian state oil somewhere offshore until after his presidency.

[billvon 2,991]

=================
Sources: FBI investigation continues into 'odd' computer link between Russian bank and Trump Organization

Jose Pagliery, CNN

Updated 6:00 AM ET, Fri March 10, 2017

(CNN)Federal investigators and computer scientists continue to examine whether there was a computer server connection between the Trump Organization and a Russian bank, sources close to the investigation tell CNN.

Questions about the possible connection were widely dismissed four months ago. But the FBI's investigation remains open, the sources said, and is in the hands of the FBI's counterintelligence team -- the same one looking into Russia's suspected interference in the 2016 election.

. . . .

Internet data shows that last summer, a computer server owned by Russia-based Alfa Bank repeatedly looked up the contact information for a computer server being used by the Trump Organization -- far more than other companies did, representing 80% of all lookups to the Trump server.
===================

[rushmc 23]

It is beginng

https://theintercept.com/2017/03/16/key-democratic-officials-now-warning-base-not-to-expect-evidence-of-trumprussia-collusion/

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

[kallend 2,027]

When can we expect an apology from the Liar-in Chief?

www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/19/house-intel-committee-chairman-there-never-was-trump-tower-wiretap.html

...

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

[SkyDekker 1,465]

Comey just confirmed there is an ongoing investigation into the ties between Russia and Trump.

Edited:

Interesting to see how Republicans on the committee are only interested in asking questions regarding the leaks. No questions at all regarding a now confirmed ongoing investigation into collusion between Trump and Russia.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

FBI pretty much called the president a liar.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

Don't think Schiff will be getting a Christmas card from Trump this year.