There is a significant reality difference between "evidence beyond a reasonable doubt" at trial and impeachable "high crimes and misdemeanors" by a majority vote. By their meeting with Russian operatives, members of Trump's inner circle indicated their willingness to use the fruits of a Russian hack attack on the Democrats. Don 'Veto' even went so far as to publicly encourage Russian election meddling when he told Russia he 'hoped they found the 30,000 missing emails', referring to the communications stolen by Russian spies. Instead of telling the FBI about what they knew of Russian interference, Don Veto and his minions lied about their Russian business contacts, further encouraging the espionage operation. Individual I insisted the Kremlin was not involved even after US intelligence concluded the Russians were the perps. How unpatriotic! Trumpland could not have coordinated more if they had used semaphore to signal the Kremlin: they knew of Russian involvement and did nothing, or worse, denied it was happening.
Mr. Barr has directed the Justice Department to identify all information that may be withheld from the public under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 6(e), which provides for withholding of grand jury information in a criminal investigation or prosecution from the public. Nevertheless it will be some weeks, perhaps even months, before the public reads even a redacted version of the Mueller Report. The stone wall of the neoliberal elite that controls politics in the USA is unbreached.
The question now is: can 'Merica afford six more years of corrupt Don Veto Trumpilini, who once kept a copy of A. Hitler's speeches on his Mar-a-Largo night stand; a man who speculates about presidency for life; a foreign policy maker who befriends autocrats around the globe? Can it afford a racist demigod that plays to the fascist mob by issuing thinly veiled threats like this: "I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump–-I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough--until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.” The man's undemocratic impulses are too dangerous to ignore. Therefore, it is vital to the health of this nation's remaining democracy that the House committees redouble their efforts to make public the Corruption of Trump. Whether the rot that plagues our system of government extends into those committee rooms, remains to be determined.
*Robert Mueller has been praised in the CMM for his thoroughness and impartiality--a genuine G-man. The truth is that Mueller has his biases just like any other human being. His main bias is protecting the institutions of the government he zealously serves. In his testimony before the Congressional Joint Inquiry into the 911 attacks, then FBI Director Mueller testified on June 18, 2002, that “while here [in America] the hijackers effectively operated without suspicion, triggering nothing that would have alerted law enforcement and doing nothing that exposed them to domestic coverage.” That simply is not true. As the Joint Inquiry led by Senator Bob Graham (D FL) found out, two of the hijackers that flew an airliner into the Pentagon were known to a paid FBI informant in San Diego. Both the CIA and the NSA had enough information about these two jihadists to connect them to Osama Bin Laden as well as about the intended use of aircraft as bombs prior to the 9/11 attacks. As Graham would later describe in his book the FBI also, “insisted that we could not, even in the most sanitized manner, tell the American people that an FBI informant had a relationship with two of the hijackers.” The Bureau opposed public hearings on the subject and deleted any references to the situation from drafts of the Joint Inquiry’s unclassified report. Is there any reason not to suspect such lack of candor now, when confronted with such unprecedented disloyalty by a US president?
{22.03.2019}Robert Mueller has submitted his long awaited investigation into the Russian Connection to the Attorney General. Now, the question is: how much of that report will the public get to see? The House voted unanimously to urge the Attorney General to release the entire report. Even Don Veto has twitted that the report should be publicly released, believing perhaps that it exonerates him from the general allegation of collusion, after earlier posting that the report should be kept on the shelf. US Person certainly wants to read it. Apparently Mueller is not recommending further indictments; so far, 34 indictments and guilty pleas have been entered. Mueller is following Justice Department policy that a sitting president should not be indicted for federal crimes. By one authoritative count Individual I has attacked the legitimacy of the Special Counsel's investigation over 1,000 times.
Several committees investigating the corruption of Trump are underway on the Hill. The House Judiciary committee alone made voluminous records requests to eighty-one individuals and entities. Among those cooperating are American Media, parent company of the National Enquirer, which paid Stormy Daniels hush money for her story about intercourse with Don 'Veto'. Others providing documents include former national security advisor Michael Flynn's lobbying firm, former advisor Steve Bannon, confidant Thomas Barrack, and the National Rifle Association. So far about 8,000 pages of documentation have been produced.
A key witness, Rick Gates, who is cooperating with the Mueller investigation, has refused to testify on advice of his legal counsel. His advisors left open the possibility of his testimony in the future. Mueller signaled that Gates is still cooperating in multiple investigations. Gates was a key witness in the Virginia trial of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort last summer. He was present at a meeting with Ukrainian oligarch Konstantin Kaliminik where confidential polling information was handed over.
Michael Caputo has also refused to testify to Congress, although he has been interrogated by the Special Counsel and has testified twice before Congress. Caputo is allegedly the go between Roger Stone and Wikileaks. Former Trump legal spokesman, Mark Carollo, has refused to testify on the grounds of attorney-client and work product privileges. The House Ways and Means Committee chairman, Richard Neal, has yet to request Don 'Veto''s tax returns. Activists are pressuring him to request them immediately under an obscure law passed in the aftermath of the Teapot Dome scandal. Neal has hesitated to act, saying he wants to first build public support for the request. Activists say his pace is indefensible, pointing out that thousand of public calls and twits have been made to House Democrats in support of examining Individual I's returns.
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| credit: Tom Toles, Washington Post Wackdoodle sez: He's a legend in his own mind! |