The Russiagate conspiracy theory

[TerryM]

Gads!


Do we even know which way those Evil Doers will swing the midterms?


Republicans are their traditional enemies.
Democrats are the enemies du jour.
Jill Stein was seen dining with Putin, so the Greens are going to be the obvious beneficiaries of this enormous affront to American Democracy.


Imagine the pain as higher gas mileage is enacted. The horrors that environmental regulations will unleash. America may never build another coal generator.


Tell your local greeny that you are not a fool to be taken lightly. You've seen through her Kremlin Konnection. Her Pinko collaboration has colored her Green flag Mauve, and we'll never stand for a Mauve Movement in the land of the Red, White and Blue.


Terry 

[Neven]

The Russians could hack our very election infrastructure, disenfranchising Americans and even altering the vote outcome in key states or districts. Election security experts have warned of it, but state election officials have largely played it down for fear of spooking the public. We still might not know the extent to which state election infrastructure was compromised in 2016, nor how compromised it will be in 2018.

Which is why you need paper ballots. Tulsi Gabbard has proposed legislation for it, but given that neither Democrats or Republicans are particularly interested in that kind of fair play, I'm sure it will never get voted on. It would make a ton of sense, though.

Of course, the possibility that the Axis of Evil may hack the election is also a great way to push policies through. But not policies that benefit the American people or increase trust in the system.

[AbruptSLR]

These raids were conducted in coordination with Mueller's investigation:

Title: "Agents Raid Office of Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen in Connection With Stormy Daniels Payments"

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fbi-raids-trump-lawyers-office-1523306297

Extract: "Federal agents seize communications that cover topics including payments to former porn actress Stormy Daniels

Federal agents on Monday searched the office, home and Manhattan hotel room of President Donald Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, seizing communications between the lawyer and his clients that cover topics including payments to the former porn actress known as Stormy Daniels, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The searches were executed at the direction of the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, which has opened an investigation that is being coordinated with the office of special counsel Robert Mueller …"

Edit: I note that if the seized records indicate that Trump knew about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels then Mueller would have a strong case that Trump directly violated the campaign donation laws in 2016.

[TerryM]

These raids were conducted in coordination with Mueller's investigation:

Title: "Agents Raid Office of Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen in Connection With Stormy Daniels Payments"

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fbi-raids-trump-lawyers-office-1523306297

Extract: "Federal agents seize communications that cover topics including payments to former porn actress Stormy Daniels

Federal agents on Monday searched the office, home and Manhattan hotel room of President Donald Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, seizing communications between the lawyer and his clients that cover topics including payments to the former porn actress known as Stormy Daniels, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The searches were executed at the direction of the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, which has opened an investigation that is being coordinated with the office of special counsel Robert Mueller …"

Thanks for the hearty laugh.
With things as screwed up as they are on the international front it's probably necessary to clear the deck with a little bit of salacious domestic humor.


Violating attorney client privilege is a small price to pay if we can ascertain just what's behind Stormy's Plastic Protuberances.
Who knows what secrets might be hidden within those massive mammaries.
If one small thumb drive can store a zigabite of data, Stormy's Silicone Appendages could contain the whole Library of Congress, in triplicate.
Are communications the only things our brave G-Men are trying to seize!


Anna Nicole would be rolling in her grave, if she could roll over.
Terry 

[AbruptSLR]

Trump's initial response to the FBI raid on Cohen shows the depth of Trump's narcissism, as he turns his personal troubles into the troubles of the nation:

Title: "Trump blasts raid on his lawyer: ‘It’s a disgraceful situation’"

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/09/michael-cohen-fbi-records-trump-daniels-510921

Extract: "“I have this witch hunt constantly going on,” the president said. “It’s an attack on our country in a true sense.”"

Edit: I note that attorney client privilege does not apply to situations where an attorney and his client are conspiring to commit a crime.

[TerryM]

Edit: I note that attorney client privilege does not apply to situations where an attorney and his client are conspiring to commit a crime.

Are Conspiracy Theorists now running the FBI?!


There are (real)? world shaking events taking place, and we are blathering on about who paid an over the hill porn actress to keep her mouth shut? When was the last time anyone paid her to do that with her mouth?


Has Mueller debriefed Stormy to his full satisfaction? Was she also satisfied, or is there a chance that she was faking it?


Why not ask what Mueller what he was talking to Yanukovych about in 2013? Were they colluding, conspiring, or was it something of a sinister nature?
When, and under what circumstances should a prosecutor recuse himself?
When, and under what circumstances should a prosecutor be removed?


A good attorney colludes and conspires with his client in such a way as to preclude a crime ever occurring. 
Terry
PS
Why don't we get back to Russiagate, you know, the name of the thread?

[SteveMDFP]

Edit: I note that attorney client privilege does not apply to situations where an attorney and his client are conspiring to commit a crime.

Are Conspiracy Theorists now running the FBI?!


There are (real)? world shaking events taking place, and we are blathering on about who paid an over the hill porn actress to keep her mouth shut? When was the last time anyone paid her to do that with her mouth?

Has Mueller debriefed Stormy to his full satisfaction? 

Mueller wasn't responsible for the raids on Cohen.  These raids were courtesy of the local US Attorney's office. 

It's not a crime to pay off a mistress for silence.  It is a crime if this was in furtherance of a campaign.  That is, if the payment was from Trump's pocket, he's failed to report this campaign expenditure.  If the payment was from Cohen's pocket (or any third party), it's a very large illegal campaign contribution.

Would you expect a US Attorney to suspend criminal case work just because global tensions are running high? 

Beyond this, the search warrant cited bank fraud as a crime with probable cause found. 
To me, this smacks of a RICO prosecution.  Penalties for RICO violations are ferocious.

[wili]

More on the raid:

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/michael-cohen-office-raid/index.html

And commentary by our favorite gossip columnist!

Earlier today the FBI conducted a raid on Donald Trump’s Attorney Michael Cohen, which was signed off on by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. While it’s been clear since last week that Mueller was zeroing in on Cohen, this move is so aggressive that it’s sending shockwaves across the political landscape. Now we’re getting confirmation that Trump himself was blindsided by the move, and that even his own advisers are admitting he has no plan for responding to it.

The New York Times was the first to report that Mueller and the FBI had raided Michael Cohen’s Office in New York City. Vanity Fair then confirmed that the FBI had also raided Cohen’s hotel residence. It was initially reported that Cohen was being targeted for campaign finance violations in relation to the Stormy Daniels payoff, but now the Washington Post is reporting that Cohen is also being targeted for alleged bank fraud.

Then came Trump’s response, or lack thereof.

Robert Costa of the Washington Post tweeted this:

“Briefly reached a WH official. Official said the WH doesn’t have a strategy for the Comey book. Paused. Then said that should answer my question of what’s the strategy for dealing with Cohen news.”

In other words, Trump truly does have no remaining strategy for any of this, beyond sitting back as it happens to him, and then tweeting angry things as it goes wrong for him.

http://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/blindsided-michael-cohen-donald-trump/9310/

So what is the trumpster-fire going to do in response. He's promised swift strong action in Syria. Is he gonna nuke something just to show that he can?

[wili]

bbbbbut...he's got that really super big, 'uge bigly button (much bigger that those other guy's buttons') which he can mash with his tiny little digits!

 

But a bit more to the point, here's some analysis from Axios that may be a bit more sober than I am right now 

Trump's next move: 3 options for striking in Syria

The world is waiting to see whether President Trump takes military action in response to a chemical attack that killed dozens of civilians in Syria, now that he's said he'll decide in the next 24 to 48 hours.
“If it’s Russia, if it’s Syria, if it’s Iran, if it’s all of them together, we’ll figure it out and we’ll know the answers quite soon,” he told reporters before a cabinet meeting. “So we’re looking at that very strongly and very seriously.”

Between the lines: Trump’s next move could be a preview of things to come now that National Security Adviser John Bolton has taken the reins from H.R. McMaster. Bolton has written thousands of words of op-eds, but it’s unclear what course he might advise in this specific situation.

Axios’ Jonathan Swan emails, “While Bolton is an interventionist hawk, he doesn’t favor interventions on humanitarian grounds. He regards his foreign policy views as ‘pro-American’ and says he views intervention entirely through that lens.”

    Bolton opposed strikes in 2013, when Barack Obama was deciding whether to enforce his “red line” in Syria, but praised the “very precise nature”of Trump’s strikes last year, per the NY Times.

Trump's range of options, according to Jennifer Cafarella of the Institute for the Study of War...

    Pinprick strikes on the Assad regime, like those he ordered last April after a previous chemical attack. The downside: Those strikes failed to deter Assad.
    More damaging strikes targeted at the Assad regime, for example striking "numerous regime airfields and military bases, and warning the Russians in advance," Cafarella says. The downside: "It will not harm Assad's backers and therefore is unlikely to weaken his resolve."
    Strikes that would affect all three actors Trump named, hitting targets like joint Russian-Iranian bases or command and control centers. The downside: Russia has said it will retaliate to strikes that endanger Russian troops.

The bottom line: Cafarella says if Trump chooses option number 3, Russia, Iran, and Assad might limit their response to attempting to shoot down the U.S. missiles or aircraft. More dangerous is the possibility of a counter attack, perhaps on a U.S. warship in the Mediterranean.

The big question: Will Trump shift from his goal of getting out of Syria ASAP to a broader policy of constraining Iran, Russia and Assad?

https://www.axios.com/trump-blasts-fbi-raid-on-michael-cohen-as-disgraceful-situation-1523312632-f2fe7944-7b87-415a-b904-c6afd0cc9600.html

[wili]

More gossip (which, let's admit, is what we are all doing):

Robert Mueller just punched Donald Trump in the face. Here’s what happens now.

The FBI’s raid of Michael Cohen’s office and residence today was technically a move against Cohen on the part of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. But in reality it was Robert Mueller making a move directly against Donald Trump, as the records seized were communications between Cohen and Trump. Suffice it to say that Mueller just punched Trump in the face, so to speak. So now what?

Trump is, predictably, foaming at the mouth. In public he’s calling it a disgraceful attack on America. In private, suffice it to say that Maggie Haberman of the New York Times just tweeted this: “Trump is angrier than he has been at any point in the many fuming news cycles, according to two people close to him.” But keep in mind what Trump has done in similar situations like this, and also keep in mind that Mueller went into today’s raid with his eyes wide open.

Donald Trump fumed when Mueller’s team moved against Trump associates like Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, but he ultimately came to the conclusion that trying to fire Mueller would be too risky of a proposition. Trump is obviously closer to Cohen than he is to anyone else who’s been busted up to this point, but Trump is a creature of habit, and he’s made clear all along that he doesn’t think he has the political muscle to get away with trying to fire Mueller.

Robert Mueller clearly either thinks Donald Trump won’t try to fire him, or he has a contingency plan in case Trump does try to fire him. Mueller has consistently demonstrated that he’s better at this than Trump is, and that he’s several steps ahead of him. Trump could end up doing anything, because he’s spiraling out of control. But his most likely move will be to fume for awhile, and then conclude that sacrificing Michael Cohen is simply necessary in order to survive another day.

[TerryM]

Reality Time


Trump is being pushed from all sides to bomb Syria because of a painfully obvious false flag.


A false flag that had been warned of weeks in advance!


Kiss your kids tonight
Terry


I sat through the announcement of Kennedy's blockade of Cuba with an old man who had at one time been the highest ranking officer in London.(WWI) He explained that a blockade was an act of war, and that if a nuclear war started we'd be toast, (something about both belligerents flying over the Arctic).
He struggled up the stairs, which I'd never seen him attempt before, and kissed all 4 of his grandkids.
It was decades later that I discovered how close we'd really come.

[wili]

Here's the widely sited VF article on the apartment raid:

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/04/fbi-raids-michael-cohen-new-york-hotel

And some expert reflections on their import, from Politico:

"This is an incredibly aggressive move," said Ross Garber, a government investigations specialist with law firm Goodwin Proctor. "I would be very concerned if I were the President and Mr. Cohen. Senior DOJ officials must think they are on very sound footing."

Garber said Cohen's comments that he acted on his own behalf when arranging the $130,000 payment to Daniels and Trump's statement that he was unaware of the payment raised the possibility that the payment was not part of the attorney-client relationship.

"Comments to the press by both President Trump and Michael Cohen cast doubt whether Mr. Cohen’s communications and actions were part of legal representation of Mr. Trump or his organization, or instead had some other context or purpose. This raises significant questions about whether the attorney-client privilege or attorney work product protection applies," Garber said.

[TerryM]

Paul Roberts seems almost as worried as I

http://thesaker.is/on-the-threshold-of-war-paul-craig-roberts/

"There was NO chemical attack by Syria. I know that for an absolute 100% fact. I would bet my life on it. Yet here is the US president declaring a total non-fact to be something “we all witnssed.” Little wonder that the Russians have concluded that the West is ruled by a gang of thugs supported by an infinitely lying and hypocritical media while the general public in the West has been hopelessly zombified."

Terry
edit - The comments should be read.

"While the United States and their pugs, led by France, are staging a “chemical attack” in Syria – the Russian TV aired a story last night where we see the “white helmets” make up the “corpses” who get up before filming – "

[Neven]

Extract: "“I have this witch hunt constantly going on,” the president said. “It’s an attack on our country in a true sense.”"

What percentage of the American people agrees with this? And is this percentage going up or down?

[TerryM]

Extract: "“I have this witch hunt constantly going on,” the president said. “It’s an attack on our country in a true sense.”"

What percentage of the American people agrees with this? And is this percentage going up or down?

According to fivethirtyeight Trump is up for the year, but down since February. He stands at a -13% net approval among likely voters.

At the moment, of the post WWII Presidents, only Truman, Carter, Reagan, and H.W.Bush were less popular during their first term.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/voters/
Terry

[AbruptSLR]

Beyond this, the search warrant cited bank fraud as a crime with probable cause found. 
To me, this smacks of a RICO prosecution.  Penalties for RICO violations are ferocious.

In this context, the bank fraud charges are likely associated with Cohen's home equity loan for the $130,000 payment to Stormy.  It seems highly unlikely that Cohen was truthful to the bank about the intended use of the loan.  This caused the bank to file a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR), and it is also likely that Cohen lied to bank during the banks due diligence associated with the SAR document.

[AbruptSLR]

Mueller wasn't responsible for the raids on Cohen.  These raids were courtesy of the local US Attorney's office. 

For those who are confused by this issue, I note the Mueller referred this matter to the FBI for their investigation, and Geoffrey Berman (Trump's appointee to replace Preet Bharara) the Interim United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York approved the investigation of this issue.  Then for the judge to issue the search warrant, the FBI had to submit sufficient evidence that Trump had conspired with Cohen to commit a crime associated with silencing Stormy Daniels before the 2016 vote, as the judge would not issue any warrant associated with any prior crime on Trump's part due to attorney client privilege.

[wili]

Thomas wrote: "If what Trump said is true..."

 

Thanks for the laugh!

Just a note, thought--the raid was apparently not Russia related, so further discussion should go on the general Trump thread, not here.

Just sayin'...

[AbruptSLR]

I further note that Geoffrey Berman had previously been law partners with Rudy Giuliani, and that Giuliani is a subject in the Mueller's Russiagate investigation.  Thus, the fact that Berman approved the investigation of Cohen's (& by extension Trump's) activities associated with silencing Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 vote; suggests that Giuliani may well have cut a plea deal with Mueller, as otherwise Berman would have needed to recuse himself from any Russiagate investigation (due to his past links to Giuliani).

[AbruptSLR]

Just a note, thought--the raid was apparently not Russia related, so further discussion should go on the general Trump thread, not here.

Just sayin'...

As Mueller referred this matter to the FBI, I believe that the discussion of this issue belongs in this thread.

Edit: Furthermore, I note that if Mueller gets Cohen to flip on Trump then this topic could lead to a lot more revelations about the Trump-Russia matter as Cohen knows more secrets about Trump than anyone else.  Also, if Trump decides to pardon Cohen, Mueller may add this as another example of Trump's obstruction of justice in the Trump-Russia matter.

[AbruptSLR]

Mueller wasn't responsible for the raids on Cohen.  These raids were courtesy of the local US Attorney's office. 

For those who are confused by this issue, I note the Mueller referred this matter to the FBI for their investigation, and Geoffrey Berman (Trump's appointee to replace Preet Bharara) the Interim United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York approved the investigation of this issue.  Then for the judge to issue the search warrant, the FBI had to submit sufficient evidence that Trump had conspired with Cohen to commit a crime associated with silencing Stormy Daniels before the 2016 vote, as the judge would not issue any warrant associated with any prior crime on Trump's part due to attorney client privilege.

I reiterate that a federal judge would not issue a search warrant for Cohen unless the FBI submitted convincing evidence that Trump actively conspired with Cohen while silencing Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 vote.

[wili]

Oh, I'm sure it will lead to Cohen flipping on a lot of Russia related stuff. And of course "I'm no the boss of you" or anyone else, so you can have whatever discussion wherever you want.

I just found it interesting that this particular raid seems to be quite focused (as such things must be legally, as I understand) and the focus is on other things than Russia stuff... for now.

And yes, it initiated with Mueller, but he specifically referred it to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (a Trump appointee) because it was not directly related to the Russia stuff. I hadn't fully realized this till this morning, and just wanted to bring it to everyone's attention for clarity, clarity that I think would be helped by (for now) keeping the discussion in a separate place...but maybe that's just me? 

"...a federal judge would not issue a search warrant for Cohen unless the FBI submitted convincing evidence that Trump actively conspired with Cohen while silencing Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 vote."  I completely agree with this, and it is quite damning, indeed.

[AbruptSLR]

I choose to believe that Neven was sloppy when he named this thread Russiagate, and it would be wise for him to rename this thread the Mueller Investigation.

Furthermore, this morning Trump tweeted:

"Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump 

Attorney–client privilege is dead!"

However, if for some reason Trump believes that Cohen truly when rouge and cut the NDA with Stormy without Trump's permission; then Trump should be applauding the raids on Cohen, as Trump must then believe that at least Cohen's bar license should be revoked.

[AbruptSLR]

Clearly, Trump associates the FBI's raids on Cohen with Russiagate as: a) when reporters asked him if these raids increase the probability that he will fire Mueller, Trump responded: ' We'll see what happens.'; and b) Trump's legal team says that as a result of the raids Trump is 'less inclined' to agree to an interview with Mueller.  To me Trump's responses to the raids make him look more guilty and I think that the media should say as much:

Title: "Inside the West Wing with Trump enraged"

https://www.axios.com/trump-reaction-cohen-mueller-raid-4de566f7-2b18-4419-a689-69ec81666ffc.html

Extract: "Sources close to the president say that a political dispute with special counsel Robert Mueller has turned visceral and personal after the feds' raid on the New York offices of Michael Cohen, Trump's personal lawyer and fixer.
...
... said, repeating back a question: "Why don't I just fire Mueller? ... Well, I think it's a disgrace what's going on. We'll see what happens. But I think it's really a sad situation when you look at what happened. And many people have said, 'You should fire him.""

&

Title: "President Trump 'less inclined' to sit down with special counsel for interview after raid on personal attorney: Sources"

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-trump-inclined-sit-special-counsel-interview-raid/story?id=54362470

Extract: "In the wake of an early morning FBI raid on his personal attorney, sources close to President Donald Trump and his legal team say the president is “less inclined” to sit down for an interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team."

[Buddy]

Thomas wrote: "If what Trump said is true..."

 

I still can't stop laughing......

[AbruptSLR]

The linked commentary piece (by a law professor) makes the case that Cohen is likely in 'serious legal jeopardy':

Title: "Michael Cohen is in serious legal jeopardy (Commentary)"

http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/index.ssf/2018/04/michael_cohen_is_in_serious_legal_jeopardy_commentary.html

Extract: "When your lawyers need lawyers, it's usually a bad sign. When your lawyers have their offices and homes raided, it's a really bad sign. News that federal investigators on Monday took the extraordinary step of executing a search warrant at the legal office of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's longtime personal attorney, indicates that Cohen is suddenly in serious legal jeopardy of his own.
...
We also know that a search warrant, unlike a grand jury subpoena, requires prosecutors to go before a federal judge to demonstrate probable cause that a crime has been committed and evidence of that crime can be found in the premises to be searched. Before approving a search of a lawyer's office, a judge would want to be satisfied that there was some substance behind the prosecutors' allegations. This is not just some prosecutorial fishing expedition; it bears the imprimatur of a federal judge."

[TerryM]

Meanwhile, all is quiet on the Russiagate front, possibly because of Mueller's reaction to photos that surfaced show him interacting with Ukrainian Evildoer Yanukovych back in 2013, the same time that he accuses Manafort of doing Yanukovych's bidding.


Is a recusal in the offing?


Do the Democrats want the younger Biden's business dealings in Ukraine brought into the full light of day? Is it possible to convict Manafort without deep sixing the Dems main lobbyist, and can Kerry's sion stand the scrutiny?


Mueller certainly will need to take care lest he brings the whole corrupt establishment down with him.


Isn't trial by inference fun! 
Terry

[TerryM]

Yulia has been released from the Salisbury hospital today, you might remember that as the hospital that has "never treated any patients for nerve agent poisoning".

Thank heaven that no one "jumped the gun" on this one. Could have created a nasty, and totally unnecessary international incident.

Terry

https://www.rt.com/uk/423659-yulia-skripal-discharged-hospital/

[Tor Bejnar]

Extract: "“I have this witch hunt constantly going on,” the president said. “It’s an attack on our country in a true sense.”"

...

I actually believe the President this time.  He claims to have a witch hunt constantly going on. (He uses Fox News, Twitter and some Department Secretaries.)  He acknowledges that his witch hunt is an attack on the USA. 

[SteveMDFP]

Meanwhile, all is quiet on the Russiagate front, possibly because of Mueller's reaction to photos that surfaced show him interacting with Ukrainian Evildoer Yanukovych back in 2013, the same time that he accuses Manafort of doing Yanukovych's bidding.

Is a recusal in the offing?

Wildly improbable.  Mueller's interactions with Yanukovych were in the context of official business, specifically joint anti-terrorism efforts after the Boston Marathon bombing:

When Mueller Worked With Manafort’s Dictator Client
https://www.thedailybeast.com/when-mueller-worked-with-manaforts-dictator-client?ref=scroll

As for recusal regulations in the DoJ, the specific list is found on p.2, here:

https://www.justice.gov/ust/file/volume_8_ethics.pdf/download

Not even close.

[sidd]

Wheeler and White weigh in:

https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/04/09/michael-cohens-stormy-weather/

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/10/opinion/trump-michael-cohen-fbi-raid.html

sidd

[Buddy]

5.....4.....3......2.......1......

We're pretty darn close to the FIRST constitutional issue to be decided in RussiaGate.  We'll see how Traitor Donnie will try to get rid of Mueller/Rosenstein/etc.  Coming days or weeks? We'll see....

The information from Cohen's office likely has some pretty damning things...... 

 

[TerryM]

Jimmy has his own opinion re. the third Syrian "Gas Attack". (The first two didn't happen.)



Personally it seems as though they aren't even trying anymore. It's our story. You know it's B.S. We know it's B.S. We know that you know that it's all B.S., but there isn't a damn thing you can do about it 'cause we've got the power.

It's not a Democracy, not a Kleptocracy, not an Oligarchy, nor a Dictatorship. Is a Plutocracy and Pluto doesn't care what the mice think.

Terry

[Neven]

I choose to believe that Neven was sloppy when he named this thread Russiagate, and it would be wise for him to rename this thread the Mueller Investigation.

Hey, I can't help it that it silently went from collusion to corruption to Stormy Daniels! 

Feel free to open a new Mueller Investigation thread. I'm sure we'll have another helping of 'Russia, Russia, Russia' real soon that can go into this thread.

[TerryM]

Meanwhile, all is quiet on the Russiagate front, possibly because of Mueller's reaction to photos that surfaced show him interacting with Ukrainian Evildoer Yanukovych back in 2013, the same time that he accuses Manafort of doing Yanukovych's bidding.

Is a recusal in the offing?

Wildly improbable.  Mueller's interactions with Yanukovych were in the context of official business, specifically joint anti-terrorism efforts after the Boston Marathon bombing:

When Mueller Worked With Manafort’s Dictator Client
https://www.thedailybeast.com/when-mueller-worked-with-manaforts-dictator-client?ref=scroll

As for recusal regulations in the DoJ, the specific list is found on p.2, here:

https://www.justice.gov/ust/file/volume_8_ethics.pdf/download

Not even close.

Don't be so sure Steve. I've seen pictures of an actual handshake between Mueller and Yanukovych that are at least as damning as the photo of Jill Stein at a table with Putin.


Terry

[AbruptSLR]

5.....4.....3......2.......1......

We're pretty darn close to the FIRST constitutional issue to be decided in RussiaGate.  We'll see how Traitor Donnie will try to get rid of Mueller/Rosenstein/etc.  Coming days or weeks? We'll see....

The information from Cohen's office likely has some pretty damning things...... 

Trump is now '… making thinly veiled threats to fire special Russia prosecutor Robert Mueller':

Title: "White House puts Mueller on notice after raid"

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/10/trump-skipping-summit-of-the-americas-512221

Extract: "The Trump White House punched back at its own Justice Department Tuesday, with President Donald Trump and senior officials expressing outrage over a law enforcement raid on lawyer Michael Cohen—and making thinly veiled threats to fire special Russia prosecutor Robert Mueller."

[AbruptSLR]

If Trump either tries, or succeeds, to fire Mueller; I hope that the American voters will punish the GOP in November:

Title: "Poll: Nearly 70 percent of Americans say Trump shouldn't fire Mueller"

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/382509-poll-nearly-70-percent-of-americans-say-trump-shouldnt-fire-mueller

Extract: "A majority of American voters believe that President Trump should not fire special counsel Robert Mueller, according to a poll released Tuesday.

A Quinnipiac University poll, conducted April 6–9, found that 69 percent of voters, including 55 percent of Republicans, oppose Trump firing Mueller. Just 13 percent of voters said they support Trump firing Mueller, according to the poll.

A little more than half — 52 percent — of voters said Mueller is conducting a “fair investigation." Among Republicans, 54 percent said they believe the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election is not fair."

[Buddy]

Hey, I can't help it that it silently went from collusion to corruption to Stormy Daniels! 

Feel free to open a new Mueller Investigation thread. I'm sure we'll have another helping of 'Russia, Russia, Russia' real soon that can go into this thread.

Neven.... you must be watching FOX News again.  I told you to stop those bad habits.

I'm afraid there will be a "hat trick" (collusion, corruption, AND Stormy)....AND THEN MORE THAN THAT.   

But speaking of Russia...Russia...Russia:

US sanctions are killing Russian markets — and things could get a lot worse

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/m/6d9cf1d1-05e1-3f79-a92b-9b127f9b64b5/ss_us-sanctions-are-killing.html

I hope that doesn't crimp your good friend Vladi's weekend sojourns.....

[wili]

Some perspective on chemical weapons use in Syria in the last five years:

[Rob Dekker]

...
Top US and Saudi Officials responsible for Chemical Weapons in Syria

Evidence leads directly to the White House, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, CIA Director John Brennan, Saudi Intelligence Chief Prince Bandar, and Saudi Arabia´s Interior Ministry.

The Strategic Situation, leading up to the Use of Chemical Substances in the Eastern Ghouta Suburb of Damascus on 21 August 2013.
https://nsnbc.me/2013/10/07/top-us-and-saudi-officials-responsible-for-chemical-weapons-in-syria/

Thomas, I hate to burst your bubble, but this is pure pro-Assad propaganda.
You could know that, since they don't provide any evidence at all.
Without evidence, it's just words on (electronic) paper.

Besides, nsnbc.me is on the propornot list, of web sites that frequently vent Russian propaganda :
http://www.propornot.com/p/the-list.html

[Michael Hauber]

It does not matter what the American people think or believe from one day to the next. What matters in a Constitutional Democratic Republic - and only matters - is the Rule of Law under The Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
 

Anything seriously incorrect or really funny in any of that text? Please let me know.

Yes - seriously wrong in my opinion.

American public opinion is vital in how this plays out.  A key aspect of a strong democracy is separation of powers at the top and attempting to balance them against each other.  Give too much power to either the president, or the FBI (or to the judiciary) and corruption can reign unchecked.  In this situation we may think that Trump is in the wrong and that the president must not be 'above the law'.  But in a future situation it may be the FBI in the wrong and the president must be able to deal with a corrupt FBI.

And the balance of power is political and inevitably rests on public opinion.  Muller can attempt to have Trump indicted, which requires a political vote.   Trump can attempt to have Muller fired.  Not sure why he doesn't, but surely the reason must be largely political.  Trump presumably sees the political drawbacks of firing Muller as being worse than whatever the investigation is likely to turn up.  I'm guessing if Muller is fired Trump's political support goes down, and someone else takes over the investigation (as with Comey) .

Trump may have the numbers in the republican party.  But if public opinion is strong enough, then a vote for indictment for example may see republicans vote against their president.  Strong evidence of wrongdoing (in the public opinion) will see politicians decide that voting to protect Trump despite such evidence is worse for their political careers than breaking party ranks.

[Hefaistos]

Craig Murray:
"I have never ruled out the possibility that Russia is responsible for the attack in Salisbury, amongst other possibilities. But I do rule out the possibility that Assad is dropping chemical weapons in Ghouta. In this extraordinary war, where Saudi-funded jihadist head choppers have Israeli air support and US and UK military “advisers”, every time the Syrian army is about to take complete control of a major jihadist enclave, at the last moment when victory is in their grasp, the Syrian Army allegedly attacks children with chemical weapons, for no military reason at all. We have been fed this narrative again and again and again.

We then face a propaganda onslaught from neo-con politicians, think tanks and “charities” urging a great rain of Western bombs and missiles, and are accused of callousness towards suffering children if we demur. This despite the certain knowledge that Western military interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya have had consequences which remain to this day utterly disastrous.

I fear that the massive orchestration of Russophobia over the last two years is intended to prepare public opinion for a wider military conflict centred on the Middle East, but likely to spread, and that we are approaching that endgame. The dislocation of the political and media class from the general population is such, that the levers for people of goodwill to prevent this are, as with Iraq, extremely few as politicians quake in the face of media jingoism. These feel like extremely dangerous times."

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/04/the-rush-to-war/

[Buddy]

There now appears to be a race on of sorts.  A group of senators now sees that Trump looks to be plowing the field in preparation for 86ing Mueller.  On the other side..... Trump and his team (FOX News including Allen Dershowitz) are now floating the idea of Donnie doing away with the current regulation that requires the Attorney General to be the only person able to fire the Special Council, and in its place, Donnie would have a new regulation that would make the president who would be the only one enabled to fire the Special Council.  And yes, he could do that.  I EXPECT that to happen.

The Senate bill could likely pass quickly in the Senate..... but voting on it in the House could be problematic.  So the race between a bill from Congress and an executive order from Traitor Don is on.

We're getting down to CRUNCH TIME.  As I have maintained since the beginning, Trump HAS to stop the investigation.  There are TOO MANY BODIES that have been buried ..... and now they have just raided the guy that manages the morgue (Michael Cohen).

This is truly where the rubber will meet the road.  Mueller is getting too close on a few fronts .... and Donnie knows it.

November elections loom large.  I see where Marsha Blackburn is 10 points down against her Democratic candidate in red Tennessee for the Senate race.  Nevada is going to be close with Heller.
So there could be 2 blue pickups there PERHAPS in Senate races.

Dangerous times for democracy in the US.

[johnm33]

 from Dimitry Orlov on RI

[AbruptSLR]

The linked article is important because Boente can help to confirm Comey's version of Trump's attempts to obstruct justice in Russiagate before Trump fired Comey:

Title; "Mueller Asked to Interview Ex-Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente: Report"

https://www.thedailybeast.com/mueller-asked-to-interview-ex-deputy-attorney-general-dana-boente-report

[Neven]

I used to read Orlov's work, like 10 years ago. Good to see he's still around.

[Buddy]

The Russian currency (Ruble) and the Russian stock market are continuing to get beat up.  Vladi's oligarch's are probably not having a good time this week.  If the Ruble keeps dropping, they may change it to the Rubble. 

The Russian economy CONTINUES to be weak.  The sooner that the good Russian people realize they need to throw out Putin and his allies ..... the better.

Who knows..... maybe "Camelot" does exist ..... without Putin and his Oligarch's, without Trump and company, and without Hillary.  But it doesn't just "happen".  It takes a lot of hard work, and it takes a lot of motivated people to get out and VOTE in the US..... and in Russia, I'm afraid it will take more than just voting to get the crooks out.

[TerryM]

Much is being made of Russia's pledge to "shoot down Trump's missiles", but not much talk of the follow up, "and target the positions from which they were shot".


Perhaps some missiles get through, perhaps some ships get sunk.
So much for the first inning.
Who pitches next, and who gets to hit the first home run.
Moscow's bomb shelters can protect a million or so, how robust are Washington's and New York's shelters?


Even May wants to wait until someone confirms that there actually was an attack by Assad's forces.
Terry

[magnamentis]

Jimmy has his own opinion re. the third Syrian "Gas Attack". (The first two didn't happen.)



Personally it seems as though they aren't even trying anymore. It's our story. You know it's B.S. We know it's B.S. We know that you know that it's all B.S., but there isn't a damn thing you can do about it 'cause we've got the power.

It's not a Democracy, not a Kleptocracy, not an Oligarchy, nor a Dictatorship. Is a Plutocracy and Pluto doesn't care what the mice think.

Terry

RAMEN if i may make use of your own term for once

[TerryM]

Not sure if this belongs here or on the Trump thread.

At 3 min to 7 Trump hurles a disdainful tweet towards Russia, apparently but a precursor to the New, Smart Missiles soon coming their way.


Then, 40 minutes later he tweets this:

"Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War. There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together. Stop the arms race?"

A sensible, statesmanlike, and conciliatory message.

Has Putin threatened to release and unleash the dreaded Pee-Pee Tapes?
Is our commander in chief finally answering to the tugs from his master's Puppet Strings?
Or could Trump have been reminded of some of the campaign promises that he made. Promises that undoubtedly helped him win that contest?

I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. This is enormously good news,

Tell Trump to stay out of Dallas.
Terry