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© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018.Mueller ups pressure on Trump campaign aides with new charge
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Balakrishnan Gurumurti
Zwaan obviously failed to be a real professional; no professional can ever mislead investigation being a court officer. But he did. That it what shows obvious links of some election of his client, Here Trump might be the client who had forced him to do any thing favorable to him for Trump's election in 2016, possibly. if proved Mr Trump may be in trouble. His wife's Milena's status seems problem as her parents obtained GC not per se the immigration law it is alleged. Let us see how these men fare and how the turn of events would be.
starpunk
Trump is guilty of the largest treason in history. He would sell children - incl. his family, and even his girlfriend/daughter Ivana for authority and power and money. He sold himself to Putin and he's shown that he can't stay out of trouble. He is the biggest menace to the world today and he must be impeached out now!
Russell Leisenheimer
@strangerland
the point i was trying to make was that "texas" appeared to be confused about the timeline
Serrano
" possible collusion with Russia"
Oh my...
Farage: All sorts of things went on between Clinton-Russians
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmozMHDV6Co
Strangerland
If they were found to have done something wrong, hopefully Mueller would press as many well-supported charges as possible. The same as he has been doing with all those he has found so far, and the same as he should do for anyone else he finds moving forward, regardless of either party.
That said, it sure seemed like your post was a big long 'but Hillary...' post, with nothing whatsoever on what should be done with Trump's team if any illegal acts are to be found. Seems a little partisan...
theeastisred
Now that we know how the Kremlin operates, with multiple characters playing slightly different roles, sometimes appearing to have slightly different views, with lots of folksy down-home Americana and nearly-though-not-quite native-level English ability, a lot is much clearer to the rest of us on here. The only question is why they would bother with a parochial thing like Japan Today, though!
UknownPlayer
Alex Van Der Zwaan indictment the latest Mueller accusation to have nothing to do with Trump campaign, but may lead to big-time Dems. The London lawyer (and son-in-law of a Russian oligarch) indicted by Special Counsel Mueller's investigation for lying, will turn on and implicate Carter Page, who briefly had something to do with the Trump campaign – who will then finally provide the elusive shred of evidence of some sort of "collusion with Russia" that is so conspicuously lacking.
But there is a danger here, in turning over the rock of Ukrainian influence-seeking. You see, Ukraine, like most smart foreign countries that seek to influence American policy, spreads its money around to insiders of both parties.
https://qz.com/1211431/robert-mueller-indicted-van-der-zwaan-who-allegedly-laundered-ukrainian-president-yanukovychs-reputation/
The article above calls the process engaged in on behalf of the Ukrainians "reputational laundering," the flip-side of the scurrilous Steele dossier, intended to exonerate rather than slur, but engaged in by a shadow industry of international consultants and law firms.
Mueller might find connections to Dems instead of the Trump campaign because Alex van der Zwaan was involved in producing the report, BUT he was not the person engaged by the Ukrainian government. That was Greg Craig, a partner of the firm. And Clifford Sloan, another partner.
What we are NOT being told by the media is Greg Craig had been WH Counsel to Barack Obama and who also served as assistant to the President and special counsel in the White House of former Bill Clinton.
Craig directed the team defending Clinton against impeachment. Working with Clinton's COS, one John Podesta. The other partner at Skadden responsible for producing the report is Clifford Sloan who was an Associate White House Counsel to President Bill Clinton at the same time as Greg Craig.
Why would two Clinton reps produce a report in 2012 for the pro-Russian government of Yanukovych? Well when Hillary took over as SOS, US policy toward Ukraine was clear - very much anti-Putin. Then came the infamous 'Russian re-set'.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-clinton-ukraine/hillary-clinton-tells-ukraine-door-to-nato-open-idUSTRE6605IS20100703
In the Reuters article Clinton visited Ukraine to meet with Yanukovych & other leaders of the Putin-backed team. Consistent with the re-set but also disappointing for anti-Putin crowd, her tone was surprisingly positive about Yanukovych.
Of course, there were other reasons why it was in Clinton's private interests to ensure Yanukovych remained in power. Why? Because she & Bill were being paid a fortune by one of Yanukovych's billionaire backers at the time, Victor Pinchuk.
How much? From 2009 up to 2013 (the year the Ukrainian coup erupted), the Clinton Foundation received at least $8.6 million from the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, which is headquartered in Kiev. Also, in 2008 Pinchuk, who had made a fortune in the pipe-building business, had pledged a five-year, $29-million commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative.
Many aren't aware, but Ukrainians (read 'Pinchuk') were the single-largest donors to the Clinton Foundation as evidence here in this article.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/wikileaks-clinton-foundations-pay-play-ukraine-oligarch-show-support-coup/222011/
Pinchuk is an extremely clever man, who switches sides when the winds dictate. His objective is simple: making more money. LOTS of it, too.
Did Clinton disclose what was going on with Pinchuk? Hell no. She deliberately LIED about even meeting him as evidence in this article.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/emails-show-clinton-denied-then-met-with-ukrainian-donor/article/2600040
How convenient that the Obama MOU (between the Clinton Foundation and Obama admin) restricted transparency only to donations from 'foreign governments'. It was a sham document from the start, as it permitted oligarchs to either donate as individuals, or as proxies for governments. Not that it mattered - the Clintons breached it anyway.
https://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/memorandum_of_understanding_clinton.pdf
The propaganda centers are also missing key names when discussing the Manafort/Gates indictment? So far we have CRAIG & SLOAN, the two Clinton larcenists at Skadden that Mueller might need to look into.
But another player in this mystery who is largely ignore my MSM is none other than TONY PODESTA. You see Tony is somehow under radar in all of this but his connection have far more significance. Podesta was working the pro-Yanukovych lobbying scheme with Manafort the whole time, via The Podesta Group. Manafort was also using Mercury LLC, another lobbying group. Mercury did the GOP side of the aisle, Podesta the Democratic side of the aisle.
Podesta was also a top contributor to the Clinton campaign and is responsible for bringing in big donors for Hillary. What we don't know is how much money Podesta & Manafort made from this Ukrainian scheme (or Mercury). I may be wrong but I think we will see that Podesta was also far more heavily involved in the entire scheme than I know - and acted as an intermediary between Bill Clinton/ Clinton Foundation, as well as Hillary as SOS.
I wonder how would Mueller handle these connections in relation to the Clintons and their small army of purloiners were selling the USA to the highest bidder - and Hillary Clinton was using State as a sales department for the Clinton Foundation. Is this all going back to Hillary and the Clinton Foundation? Well time will tell...
We will see what the next moves by Mueller are. It is a very good test for his supposedly impartial, unbigoted expedition. Interesting to say the least!
Strangerland
I'm unclear, what is the point you guys are making about Zwaan? Are you just providing additional information, or are you expecting us to know something that you're not saying?
Russell Leisenheimer
also from the article:
Zwaan last spoke to Gates and Person A in September 2016 and secretly recorded both calls. Moreover, he "deleted and otherwise did not produce emails sought by Mueller’s office" and an unidentified law firm, the document continued.
Texas A&M Aggie
From the article:
The case involves work that van der Zwaan, a 33-year-old Dutch citizen, performed in 2012
ArtistAtLarge
Never.
It was all a lie. The GOP have even straight up admitted it was all a lie.
http://tplnews.com/justice-department-finally-ends-hillary-uranium-lie-admits-the-entire-thing-was-bogus/
Serrano
wtfjapan - So far Mueller ain't got nothing on Trump. And if Fox News is propaganda, what is CNN and MSNBC?
wtfjapan
When is Mueller going to charge Hillary and Barack with colluding with the Russians to sell them 20% of our uranium? you never know maybe he will, first he has to get finish the investigation hes doing now. Imprisoning Obama or Clinton isnt a magical "get out of jail free" card for Trump, thats not how justice works. Personally ID be happy if Clinton went to jail along with Trump as long as both are found to be guilty with facts and proof to back it up. Presently Id warrant a guess Mueller has far more evidence about Trump than Clinton, some youtube propaganda doesnt really count. only time will tell
wtfjapan
Nope. if Mueller brings charges and shows proof, Trump is guilty. Why wouldn’t he be if so? until and if that happens Mueller and the FBI have to continually weather the Trump propaganda that he and the FBI are corrupt without any hard evidence as proof. And then Trump (if he has the nads) can always fire Mueller before the truth is revealed. There was another POTUS that had a very similar mindset to Trump in attacking those investigating him and media reporting about him, his name was Nixon.
Serrano
When is Mueller going to charge Hillary and Barack with colluding with the Russians to sell them 20% of our uranium?
Madverts - Miss Jared Kushner? You sure?
Oh my...
Probe into anti-Trump dossier expands to Obama
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSF0XtG_Qog
Madverts
Our Russian bots seem panicked. In overload even.
I guess Miss Jared Kushner's indictment is coming real soon.
Nastrovia!
SuperLib
Done? Rosenstein oversees the entire investigation on a daily basis. If a Mueller's is doing something inappropriate, as you claim, the Rosenstein is either in on it or doesn't know what you know. Which is it?
Serrano
Mueller sure knows how to waste taxpayers' money.
"Bueller? Um, he's sick"
Har!
Blacklabel
I agree. Now tell the media and the liberals who been saying he is guilty of “something” since 2016 to abide by that.
takeda.shingen.1991@gmail.com
not necessarily so, prosecution would have to show proof beyond reasonable doubt.
How many times must it be explained to you? How many different ways can it be explained? The investigation is ongoing. Whether or not Trump is charged depends entirely on what the investigation turns up. If Trump did nothing wrong, then the special commission will be shut down. If there is evidence Trump, or anyone else did anything illegal, Mueller will recommend charges.
Blacklabel
Nope. if Mueller brings charges and shows proof, Trump is guilty. Why wouldn’t he be if so? The witch hunt is the fact they can’t even tell us what crime trump himself committed much less prove it.
Blacklabel
As I said, Rosenstein had a part and it’s done. It’s obvious by liberal reaction to what he said about the indictments, you totally ignored It.
wtfjapan
Probably same thing you will do when Mueller announces no charges, just refuse to believe it. same will happen if he does, Trumpsters will refuse to believe it also, Mueller is corrupt like the FBI, total witch hunt etc etc , all because dear leader says so without any hard evidence to back up his pitiful claims.
SuperLib
By the fact? You've yet to give us any facts on Rosenstein. All just made up stuff.
Keep avoiding the question all you want. Rosenstein must be playing a part in your imaginary conspiracy somehow. Either that or he's being honest.
Tommy Jones
When Trumpmsays something his cheerleaders don't like, it was a joke. Got it.
Texas A&M Aggie
"Trump didn't directly appeal to the Russians to dig up dirt on Hillary?"
Uh, nope. He was making a joke. The quote in the BBC link posted above was cherry picked. His full answer to a reporter when asked about Hilliary's missing emails was:
"Russia, I hope you are listening. I hope you find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will be rewarded mightily by our press. Let's see if that happens."
-- Candidate Donald J. Trump, July 26, 2016
Tommy Jones
He did.
She didn't.
Tommy Jones
Blacklab: What Did your last post mean?
Blacklabel
here we go:
*So why did Obama do nothing about Russia until after Trump won and Obama was on his way out?
*You have to prove that someone committed a crime, else they didnt. Even if its someone you hate.
*Rosenstein's purpose was to get Mueller appointed as Special Counsel. He is irrelevant from here on out as shown by the fact liberals wont even accept what he said the indictments meant.
*Mueller himself has done nothing inappropriate(yet), its his team members, ex team members and several FBI people.
*Mueller realizes at some point he is going to have to shift his focus back to "the election" and will need to look at the "other side" too. As long as he does that, people will accept his results. If he doesnt, he wont escape the claim of "bias". Indicting people simply for lying? we know lots of people on the other side lied too. Much more important people than some nobody in Russia and the Papa guy drunk in a bar.
Tommy Jones
More of that omniscience.
Tommy Jones
This is akin to saying gravity didn't exist until it was proven to.
Tommy Jones
Trump didn't directly appeal to the Russians to dig up dirt on Hillary?
http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-36909520/donald-trump-urges-russia-to-find-hillary-s-emails
Tommy Jones
Clearly you don't given your constant assertions that it's taking too long so there is nothing to be found.
First it's taking too long. Now the investigators are acting with haste.
Mueller's trying to come up with facts. His mandate allows him to charge any crime he uncovers.
That why we are seeing this splashed across the headlines?
The scrutiny certainly is suspicious.
Tommy Jones
First, Mueller's mandate is real, so you don't need the quotes.
Second, that you don't care goes a long way in explaining your posts.
SuperLib
Complete and utter fabricated garbage that exists totally within your imagination. Rosenstein's exact words:
"I’m satisfied, Congressman, because based upon what I know, which is different from what accounts may appear in the media, based on what I know, I believe that Director Mueller is appropriately remaining within his scope and conducting himself appropriately."
The above means absolutely nothing except someone trying to smear two people when he has absolutely nothing verified to fall back on. So they are "swamp members." Great. Utterly meaningless, but great.
So again, tell me about Rosenstein other than, "He's OK." What role would he have to play in order to fit your imaginary narrative that everyone is out to get Trump?
Strangerland
You guys make everything about her. You were the first one to bring her up in this thread.
And if we need to re-investigate trump 30 or 40 times, it’s all good. You guys showed us that!
Blacklabel
How many times was she investigated where she couid he indicted if a crime was found or when she was found to have lied?
Zero. Hilarious! 4th of July weekend coming up again maybe they can interview her again off the record with her coconspirators in the room as her “legal counsel” again. Maybe Comey can come back as a special guest and do the interview.
But this isn’t about her. So ok mueller never gonna announce Trump is innocent. So I guess at some point he or Rosenstein say the investigation is “complete” then we imply the rest? That’s kinda anticlimactic after all the liberal impeachment/treason. nonsense.
Strangerland
Of course not, he hasn't even been charged with anything of which to be guilty.
I agree, and on that note, if they don't find anything on Trump, my opinion will be that he hasn't been investigated at all. I won't admit otherwise until after some investigation finally finds him guilty of something.
takeda.shingen.1991@gmail.com
And your opinion is based on? Cool story, random internet poster dude. Unless, you're member of congress our relevant office holder, matters as little as mine.
Anddd, let's not forget Benghazi. How many times was that investigated?
Hilarious.
viking68
Object Permanence?
Bueller? Um, he's sick.
Blacklabel
The FBI Director leaking his memos to his friend to force the creation of a special counsel for Hillary happened when exactly? She testified under oath, when was that? There were notes taken and her answers documented to compare them with previous statements, when?
My opinion is that Hillary hasnt been investigated at all (yet). She has just been the subject of many, many hearings and meetings that had no power to make her tell the truth or punish her in any way.
Blacklabel
Oh cool then base on this logic Trump isnt guilty already! great news.
Strangerland
That would be known as pulling your ‘pub. You know, that technique your team created by investigating Hillary 43 times.
viking68
More false hopes and conspiracy theories.
Prosecutors never say someone isn't guilty. They just don't file an indictment bringing charges.
So, the only news conference with an attorney saying someone is not guilty will be held by a defense attorney. . . after charges are filed.
Blacklabel
Yet none of those are the allegations. So when Mueller announces Trump isnt guilty, just make up new allegations and start all over?
Mueller and Rosenstein are swamp members. Which makes it even better when they have to admit no wrongdoing can be found.
takeda.shingen.1991@gmail.com
Good to know you're down with the swamp.
Totally. Nothing at all odd with the change in stance, shifting to a more Pro-Russian bend. Also, nothing odd about Trump refusing to sign off on the sanctions. Certainly nothing odd about Donny criticizing US INtelligence, while praising Russia. I'm sure ;)
yakyak
The charges against Mr Manafort and Mr Gates do not relate to Mr Trump's campaign but to the alleged concealment of payments from the pair's Ukrainian business dealings up to 2016. A "nothing burger".
viking68
Like Trump did before his latest Tweet storm when he was told what those statements mean, you are simply reading what you want to read in the statements.
"In this (the) indictment" and "in this illegal activity" are not exactly legalese, but they were carefully chosen words with meaning.
This is how conspiracy theories come about and people fail to understand what they are reading. I am sure Fox has been pushing this false hope to the true believers.
Blacklabel
Nope I said I’m fine with him and Mueller too. It’s hilarious to me that liberals won’t accept what Rosenstein said, even knowing he is against Trump.
Probably same thing you will do when Mueller announces no charges, just refuse to believe it.
takeda.shingen.1991@gmail.com
Is an odd thing to say after,
Obviously you aren't "fine" with Rosenstein. Just being a Republican isn't good enough; you've gotta be a dyed-in-wool true Trump believer or else you're part of the lying, diahonest, globalist swamp.
Quite hilarious.
Blacklabel
He actually hasnt said nothing inappropriate has happened, he just hasnt said it has (yet). Seems he is leaving that to the IG report coming out soon.
Blacklabel
Im fine with Rosenstein. You guys are the ones who wouldnt accept it when he announced this:
"Now, there is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity. There is no allegation in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election."
Whats not clear about that? Rosenstein is a swamp creature that will do what he needs to do to stay employed. Its the media and partisan liberals who keep trying to say every single day Trump is guilty of "something" with no proof who are the problem. If i have to wait for the results, then you dont get to say he is guilty every day until the results come out, you gotta wait too.
SuperLib
Black, if your going to post more links from CNN than everyone else combined, then at least spare us the soapbox speeches against CNN.
So tell me about Rosenstein. He has to be in on it, right? What's his motivation? What have you verified? He's the one who has seen all of the information and says nothing inappropriate is happening. What does that mean to you?
Blacklabel
You didn’t read the article. CNN told me it’s a conspiracy theory that Democrats or Russia or the FBI had ANYTHING to do with the dossier. They obviously did.
CNN is killing you guys narratives with all the things they say are false that we later find are true or things they say are true that are found to be false.
SuperLib
sigh You have zero idea of what happened with that dossier. Zero. The trick you fall for is believing you actually have all of the information.
Lets just throw out one example. Rosenstein oversees every part of the investigation. He has all of the information. He's testified that he has seen no inappropriate behavior from Mueller or anyone on his team.
Convince me he's corrupt and in on it. Tell me his motivation, and tell me what verified evidence you have.
Blacklabel
https://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/19/politics/donald-trump-conspiracy-dossier/index.html
heres one! No way that the DNC and Hillary and the FBI would have anything to do with a Russian dossier. Total conspiracy theory from orange dotard.
Not only did they, Hillary paid for it, a top guy at the DOJ his wife worked with them to write it, a foreign spy talked to Russians to get it, the FBI used it to spy and then funneled it through an Obama State Department guy for release.
These are all facts and only one example.
Blacklabel
Yeah except why did the majority of the “conspiracy theories” turn out to be true? That’s the point of those, that there is obviously no chance in hell that even one of those could be true. But yet we found out they were.
and now Hillary lost cause of racism? That’s a new one.
SuperLib
The danger with Russia is that we've never had a President or a base so easily duped by conspiracy theories and racism, two things Russian propaganda agents can find an unlimited supply of.
Trump's theories about birtherism, voter fraud, a corrupt justice system, etc, all can be reduced to junk science. Trump promoted a misrepresented and debunked paper from a group of researchers about voter fraud, one who actually came out to say that Trump got it wrong. The result? The President ordered an investigation into fraud.
That's the difference between the average Joe believing nutball theories and the President doing the same. The President can actually make policy from it. It's dangerous when he can't seem to tell fact from fiction.
His base is the same type with over 40% of them believing pizzagate was true and a vast majority thinking Obama isn't American. Just ripe for the taking by the Russians. After uncovering Obama's true birthplace, and after uncovering millions of illegal voters, now they are setting their sights on the explosive situation with dozens and dozens of corrupt FBI agents trying to take down their President..all because they don't like him.
Should we be surprised?
Racism is the other danger. In Tennessee, the Russians set up a fake GOP twitter account that looked like the official party account. They built a base that dwarfed the real GOP Twitter account. How? Conspiracy theories about Clinton and lots and lots of racism. Lots. Around 150,000 people followed that account as a news source.
Again, we are dealing with massive numbers of people who can't separate fact from fiction and these people are voting, and they are being led by a man who falls into the same traps. I'm honestly starting to think that they don't want to take any action against Russia because they enjoy the partnership. Probably better info than "the lamestream media."
viking68
Mueller already knew the answers to questions asked of the attorney. When the attorney lied, Mueller just charged him. Skadden is now bending over backwards to help and repair its reputation.
So, Mueller's message to Trump and Co is don't lie. Kinda hard though since whatever Trump's successes have been have been based on lies.
Alfa Bank connections again? Alfa Bank was pinging Trump servers along with a Davos foundation. Kushner also met with them although they were subject to U.S. sanctions.
No, things are looking worse every day for Trump and Co. Not looking good.
wtfjapan
Also this indictment doesn't equal collusion. Keep trying. we dont need to try , thats Mueller's job. Its the Trumpeters that have to try as they're the ones making up the excuses. Looks like Mueller is past the entree and starting to get stuck into the main course. What he serves up next is anyone's guess, I doubt itll be a "nothing burger" as many continually sprout. LOL
Serrano
"Wonder who will be the loser in this contest?"
It won't be Trump.
Oh my...
BREAKING: MUELLER INDICTED RUSSIANS FOR FACEBOOK ADS THAT HAD ZERO IMPACT ON TRUMP WINNING ELECTION
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rBeR2nN7N0
Jimizo
Patience, patience. These things take time.
Mueller can’t just go on Twitter and type out half-baked, factually incorrect gibberish on the spur of the moment. Imagine what it would do for his credibility among reasonable people if he asked his followers to check out something like a non-existent tape.
Let the man do his job like a professional, thoughtful and serious adult.
CrazyJoe
Finally someone who is really draining the swamp (instead of becoming a part of the problem).
Thank you Mueller!
A life-long dedicated law enforcement professional of the highest caliber is investigating a guy who sells time shares in failing properties. Wonder who will be the loser in this contest?
Serrano
"Trump campaign aides"
When the heck is Mueller gonna get Trump himself? haha
Oh my...
Nunes: No one interested in Clintons-Russia collusion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noUhz0DUqKY
SuperLib
It sure seems like a lot of Trump fans are using a defense that requires a lot of mind reading. "Mueller did this because he hates Trump and will ruin his career and reputation to go after him. The agents investigating Trump all hate him and will ruin their careers and reputations to indulge their bitter hatred of him. And Rosenstein is in on it too, looking to take down Trump because of his personal hatred and...."
What they are doing is inventing a motive since one isn't there. The right wing media just kind of shrugged and said, "Let's just say they all hate him and that's why they are doing it." So now we have people with decades of experience and sterling reputations suddenly flipping some kind of switch and abusing their power all because....they just don't like Trump.
Think about it. The biggest piece of the puzzle, motive, is built completely on their belief that they know what these people are thinking.
Blacklabel
Best explanation I have seen so far:
>
Blacklabel
Yes, that appears to be too much to ask. Im all for "waiting" for the results of the investigation, even though my personal opinion is that it is nonsense and hurting our county by preventing us from moving on to protect our next elections.
But what Trump is not going to allow for libs and MSM to talk about it every day like something has been proven when it hasnt been.
Look at the guy above, "4 top aides have pled guilty!!" so obviously Trump is guilty too. No actually, they havent. There are not 4, they are not all "top aides" and some pled not guilty.
Blacklabel
Done AFTER Trump was already elected when Obama was on his way out the door. Reason was to (a) complicate the first days of Trump's presidency and (b) to support the new "Russia collusion" story made only after losing.
If Obama knew about all of this earlier in 2016 (and he and Biden admitted they did), why didnt he take any action until after the loss?
Andrew Topolski
Ken Starr anyone? at least he started out with actual crimes and had to deal with actual obstruction but the, result was a clown show and Mueller is doing worse. unnamed Russians, the horrible crime if lying to the FBI and declaring a collusion to do, not sure is, all he has. the guy has zero credibility and even killed his own investigation when he, started coercing convictions of lying. the problem is anyone convicted of lying is by definition a liar and not a credible witness. the next time the political parasite elites need to fabricate crimes and investigation s, at least make up an actual crime which is plausible
Tokyo-Engr
@Strangerland...
I am very much against Trump but fully realize I am not "anti-Trump" enough for many on this website. As a classical liberal non partisan having no political affiliation it is interesting to read the debates.
I was referring to the part of the article below....but who knows?
"The indictment handed down last week has renewed a debate about whether Obama did enough to counter the Kremlin when he was in office. President Trump weighed in over the weekend with a series of tweets, including one that charged, “Obama was President, knew of the threat, and did nothing.” Obama did take some steps to punish the Russians for their interference, expelling Russian diplomats and closing two of their diplomatic facilities in the U.S. But a former senior Obama Administration official I spoke to accused Trump of doing less to counter the Russians than Obama did, saying, “What Obama did is on the record. What Trump has not done is on the record. He is the one who has done nothing.” But at least some of Obama's advisers say they believe that the former President should have done more. "
Strangerland
Oh, you’re one of those who doesn’t understand how investigations work. I posted it above. It should clear up your confusions.
Texas A&M Aggie
A Dutch Brit committing a crime in 2012; years before President Trump threw his hat in the ring.
Guess it's too much to ask to see a real crime, committed at some point while Donald Trump or his team was campaigning for office, that involves the election result in some way, shape or form. . . .
Strangerland
The same guy who claimed he was going to drain the swamp.
Strangerland
And that ignores the fact that the major players in the investigation are Republicans.
1glenn
Whilst he continues to repeat "There was no collusion!", four of his top aides have pled guilty to felony criminal charges in relation to the probe. If he has nothing to be ashamed of, he should be open and forthcoming in all testimony on this subject. Instead, he is making it look like he too is guilty of felonious misdeeds.
PTownsend
I don't know what you mean by 'side', but if you mean the intelligence agencies I'd say they're on the side of the US public. The US executive serves the US public. As do the intelligence agencies, who also look out for the Constitution.
And why can't people on all sides and in between wait for the findings to come out? (Assuming they'll be allowed to.)
Those trying to subvert the investigations or calling for them to end don't seem to care much about the US public and the US political systems, though I know many Trump supporters have long called for destruction of US systems. Balance and separation of powers for example?
Blacklabel
as soon as Trump says the Russians had any involvement, the media and libs will twist that to try to show he is illegitimate(your goal in all of this).
So because you refuse to not use dirty tricks like that, he won’t directky admit it. So move on.
Blacklabel
Until your side proves he did, then he didn’t. It’s that simple. But that hasn’t stopped you all from talking about it like it’s a fact over the last 15 months.
PTownsend
You must have connections deep inside the deep state to know that.
PTownsend
I feel your anger. But emotion aside, do you really think that 'liberals and the media' can be lumped into a singular entity? Don't you think there could be a range of possible reactions?
Or are nuanced responses too complex for extremists who want to reduce the world to binary terms.
Strangerland
The ‘pubs control all three houses, and Trump’s inability to lead is somehow the fault of the Democrats. Yeah, right. You didn’t think that one through did you.
Blacklabel
and if not that, they will keep trying to ruin his reputation, his marriage, or his family by decades old gossip. Whatever it takes! #resist
Blacklabel
He was President, he SHOULD have known about it in 2014 when others knew. Let me guess, he only knew about it when he read it in the paper just like the rest of us (his "go to" response).
If that is true, he is the most incompetent or uninformed President in history, or a liar (take your pick). No way he couldnt have known everything with all that spying and unmasking going on.
Blacklabel
I know what DIDNT happen in reality. Trump didnt collude with Russia to get elected.
Blacklabel
Trump cant do anything because of liberals and the media reactions.
if he admits Russia had any impact at all on our election, liberals and the media will take that admission and turn it into "he only won because of the Russians". That is a totally different thing than Russians attempted to interfere and it cant be proven as true that he won because of Russians. Russians didnt vote, Russians didnt decide to not go to swing states to campaign, didnt have illegal servers in the closet, etc etc
The Russians did try to interfere, we have been shown that. The hoax and the witchhunt is not that they interfered but that Trump colluded with them and encouraged it while they did it. There is no proof any of this changed anything and Trump would have won with or without their attempts.
Liberals and the media wont stop with their attempts to use Russia to delegitimize the election results and Trump's win. That plays right into what the Russians wanted by doing this in the first place, to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election. If liberals and the media would unlink all this from Trump himself, it would be helpful to our effort to stop it from happening again.
Strangerland
Maybe. None of us have any idea of what information they have, so personally I don't make any prediction one way or the other. I see them more as a way for people to state what they hope the investigation results may be, as no one not part of the investigation team has enough information to be able to make an educated guess one way or the other as to what the results will be.
Strangerland
Ok, I just read that, and I don't see anything in there that supports the assertion that Obama "knew about it since 2014".
I stand by my declaration of fake news.
PTownsend
And if you're an American you must be grateful to the intelligence agencies. They're looking out for the interests of the majority of American citizens by investigating a president, those in his family, those he's appointed to positions of authority, and those in the US and throughout the 'globe' who've backed him to determine if any laws have been broken.
You don't want to have a criminal for US President, do you?
Tokyo-Engr
@Strangerland....not necessarily 100% true (this is not 100% fake news). Below is a link to an interesting article from the New Yorker (a rather liberal publication) about this subject. It is an interesting conundrum as the U.S. and President Obama knew about Russia's involvement in 2014 (as admitted by an Obama official) and did something (albeit very little) about it.
https://www.newyorker.com/sections/news/assigning-blame-for-russias-election-meddling
I am very much anti-Trump but I think the Russian investigation will not end up anywhere significant (but if I am wrong then by all means action should be taken on the findings).
There are plenty of other things that demonstrate Trump is unfit for office due to his megalomania and other traits (such as his Twitter responses to the Fla shootings over the weekend).
Strangerland
Once again, an amazing display of omniscience! Bravo! Bravo! Please, give us more inside information!
You're team is seriously amazing at their ability to know the inside details of the investigation. Truly impressive.
Strangerland
No, I don't know. I don't have this amazing talent of omniscience that so many on your team seem to share.
Um, yeah. Once again you show you don't understand how investigations work. See my post above that explains it.
bass4funk
I can’t speak for everyone, but the majority of us do know how this works, but it seems in their haste and feverish attempt to find anything to snag Trump, if Mueller can’t get Trump on a collusion charge, he will try to go for an obstruction charge. Now we also know there is more pressure on the FBI as a whole and with Nunes investigation going on and some of the top players being exposed for what their true motivations are, this so called investigation is slowly coming apart and coming under more suspicious scrutiny with each passing day.
Strangerland
Is it? I don't see that as the title of the thread, nor any topic that anyone has stated anywhere. So actually, I'll go so far as to say the topic isn't Russia.
Only your team's MSM.
Maybe if you tried getting out of the bubble to find out what's happening in reality, you wouldn't be so angry all the time.
Strangerland
Well that's obvious, because you keep whining about what he's doing, even though it's exactly what he's been mandated to do.
Good to know you are willfully ignorant on the matter though, it gives us all a point of reference is to where your comments are coming from. That point being willful ignorance.
Strangerland
Fake news.
stormcrow
@Blacklabel & Wolfpack
Let's say that you're both right, but it still doesn't excuse this president from not doing anything in regard to safeguarding our elections and punishing the Russians. If Hillary had won and was acting this way towards the Russians right now, my feelings would be exactly the same. Whoever the president is has an obligation to the country's national security when it come to foreign adversaries messing with us.
Blacklabel
I dont care about Mueller's "mandate". We all know what he is there to find, and who he is supposed to be finding it against. He isnt finding it. CNN says he is looking at Kuschner's China dealings and he is intererested in Trump Jrs recent trip to India? huh?
The topic is RUSSIA. You know, what the media been screaming about for 18 months. How they were able to use their illegal influence to make Trump win the election. This is unacceptable as it had already been promised to Hillary. Anything else about Ukraine, financial crimes by others, can be handled by regular law or tax enforcement unless it is directly related to Trump.
Even Flynn is going to go free in the end, you know? so Mueller is trying his best to at least get something to stick on Manafort years before he even met Trump.
Strangerland
Amazing display of omniscience! Please tell us more of the inner workings of the campaign that is mere mortals are not privy to the knowledge of.
Strangerland
You guys don’t seem to have an understanding of how investigations work.
They start with the little guys, find someone who was doing something they shouldn’t, get them to flip and give the information they have. After a few of the little guys, they take the information they’ve gathered and use it to move up a level, getting a bigger fish. Apply pressure and repeat, up to the top.
The idea that the big charges would be laid before all the little pieces have been cinched up just shows a clear lack of understanding about what you’re talking about. Or a desire to discredit the investigation so that it can be called corrupt in the future as an attempt to deflect attention to its findings if they are not good for team red.
bass4funk
Why didn’t Obama do anything about the Russians? He knew about it since 2014, but didn’t do anything. Maybe if Hillary hadn’t meddled in the Russian elections we all wouldn’t be in this mess.
Bububu4
You have exceptionally bad reading comprehension skills. Zwaan is being charged with lying about contacts he had with Trump’s right hand man Gates and a ‘Person A’ in 2016. Anything else significant happen in 2016????
Wolfpack
Trump sold weapons to Ukraine to oppose Putin’s invasion. Obama practically invited Putin’s invasion through his Nevel Chamberlain like rhetoric. Trump has acknowledged Russian interference. He just recognizes that Putin’s is using the American Left to wage a coup effort on his behalf and he isn’t shy in defending himself.
Blacklabel
And when were these things done? before the election when they mattered?
You forgot one....
“This is my last election ... After my election I have more flexibility,” Obama said, expressing confidence that he would win a second term.
“I will transmit this information to Vladimir,” said Medvedev, Putin’s protégé and long considered number two in Moscow’s power structure.
katsu78
Before the election, you guys wanted us to believe Hillary was angling for a nuclear war against Russia. Now you want us to believe they're working together in an elaborate shadow campaign.
bass4funk
Thank God for the judge to gives us clearly analysis of what the real facts are. I feel much better now.
http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/02/20/judge-nap-michael-flynn-case-mueller-indictment-13-russians
stormcrow
U.S. Response to Russia Election Meddling
Obama Administration:
Obama personally warned Putin against interfering
Imposed sanctions on Russian individuals and entities
Expelled 35 Russian dimplomats
Closed two Russian compounds in the U.S.
Trump Administration:
Refuses to condemn interference
Has not imposed Russian sanctions overwhelmingly approved by Congress
This is not about which political party you favor or belong to. This is about defending our democracy from a hostile foreign adversary. Trump is committing malpractice as president by not taking any action. What does Putin have on Trump which is preventing this president from taking the necessary steps to protect our elections and punishing the Russians? Maybe Trump is more afraid of Putin than he is of Mueller.
Wolfpack
You get the impression that after more than a year of investigation Muellers team can’t come up with anything on Trump that they can call collusion so they are beating the bushes looking for something in Trumps multitude of business related transactions that can be called a crime just so he can be prosecuted for something- anything. Mueller is putting tons of pressure on guys for things they did way before Trump even thought about running for president. If he had anything proving collusion he would have put in an indictment already instead of chasing down Putin’s minions who were running an ineffectual troll farm in New Jersey.
Meanwhile Hillary paid one former foreign intelligence officer to buy opposition research dirt on an American citizen from current foreign intelligence officers from Russia. And that information was used to spy on another American citizen who worked for her competitors political campaign under a law put in place after 911 to go after foreign terrorists. Hello Mr Mueller! There is some collusion staring you right in the face. But of course he is too busy going after Manafort’s business dealings with Ukraine.
Strangerland
Maybe you should read Muller’s mandate, then you would actually know what this is about, rather than the misinformation you appear to have allowed someone to lead you to believe.
CrazyJoe
The thing about Mueller's witch hunt - he keeps catching all these witches.
yakyak
Yeah,so slowly the world is falling asleep and has lost interest.
yakyak
Will never happen, very small fish for the sheeple. Also this indictment doesn't equal collusion. Keep trying.
Russell Leisenheimer
i have to wonder how all these russia connected guys ended up on trump's campaign team. poor vetting or looking to suck up to russia? either way, a bit more bad news for trump.
Blacklabel
and once again nothing that helps us to know anything more about Russian involvement in the 2016 election. which is supposedly what this is about.
If this indictment is only for lying and destroying email, that’s a problem for someone we all know, not Trump.
PTownsend
If you're an American citizen, I'm sure you'll want to see the investigations continue so the truth will be determined and anyone in any party (or in any country) found culpable held accountable.
I agree Putin's far ahead in this. Obama warned, but Republicans (the party that formerly opposed foreign intervention in US politics, formerly opposed excess government spending, and formerly backed something they called 'family values') stopped him. I'm sure Republicans glory in this Obama failure.
Republicans - you own this mess!
serendipitous1
but it is coming.
Blacklabel
Nothing to with Trump. Ukraine related activity in 2012 that he and Manafort were doing with Podesta group. It’s so far away from Trump that it’s actually right next to Hillary.
serendipitous1
Trump's impeachment can't come soon enough.
dcog9065
Good to hear. Every last Russian connected traitor involved in this needs to pay
Wolfpack
So what does this have to do with Trump? Mueller and the Dems are playing right into Hillary and Putin’s hands.
PTownsend
Before Trump’s presidency it was rare when I sided with the FBI or any other US intelligence agency.
But now that the intelligence agencies are uncovering Trump’s global criminal connections, more power to them.
Money laundering? Ties to drug money? (Google Trump Panama) Influence peddling? The list keeps growing.
Hopefully the global powers in DC and around the world will allow Mueller’s team to continue and will allow them to publish their findings.
Laguna
Will be interesting to learn who "Person A" is. Banking? Alfa Bank is notorious for money laundering.
Simon Foston
Wait for the usual Trump fanboy shills to be all over here dismissing this as inconsequential.
katsu78
Ever so slowly, the walls are closing in for Trump and his regime.