The Trump/Russia connection thread

[iolaire]

One question I have is what happens should Mueller be fired?  Assuming the FBI/Justice department has leads on criminal activity wouldn't that just go forward?  Mueller leads a huge team of professionals, I have to assume that information on criminal activity would continue to be followed up on?

[kickingandscreaming]

If Mueller is fired, the investigation will carry on with his team of champions."  It also appears that Mueller is "sharing" everything with the NY AG Schneidermann who can do everything Mueller can but without the risk of pardons.

[MooseMom]

K&S is right in that the Mueller investigation is separate from the FBI investigation into Cohen.

[Michael Murphy]

Don’t be to sure that the Cohen investigation poses no risk to Dopey Donald, if the collected evidence shows that Cohen discussed criminal matters with the Presidunce then a judge can make the evidence available to Mueller.

[iolaire]

This is interesting:
Democratic Party files lawsuit alleging Russia, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks conspired to disrupt the 2016 campaign
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democratic-party-files-lawsuit-alleging-russia-the-trump-campaign-and-wikileaks-conspired-to-disrupt-the-2016-campaign/2018/04/20/befe8364-4418-11e8-8569-26fda6b404c7_story.html?utm_term=.4bbe6b6d52de

[Cupcake]

George Ryan was a republican.

[Rerun]

It is SAD the Dems will not give up.  It is ruining our country.  Donald Trump had nothing to do with Russia breaking in to the DNC's emails.  Geez Please STOP so we can move on. 

N. Korea is willing to talk .....   But Romaine Lettuce and Plane Engines take the top stories tonight on DB Media.

  

[Michael Murphy]

During the Bush Sr, Clinton, Bush Jr, Obama administrations NK was willing to talk.  Reached agreements several times broke them several times.  Until this is shown not to be another NK ploy it’s just a rehash of past behavior.

[MooseMom]

It is SAD the Dems will not give up.  It is ruining our country.  Donald Trump had nothing to do with Russia breaking in to the DNC's emails.   
 

You may be right.  But the DNC isn't suing him, rather, they are suing his campaign along with Russia and WikiLeaks.

[Rerun]

I hope Trump sues the DNC, NBC, CBS and ABC!  The man is doing GOOD THINGS.  Leave him alone!

Trump already said if he goes to the N. Korea meeting and he is not hearing good things he will walk out.   Good for Trump!

[Bill Peckham]

... The man is doing GOOD THINGS.  Leave him alone!
...

The ends justify the means? Do you really believe that?


Is it your position that all opposition to Trump is politically motivated? All the criminal investigations are baseless and should just go away?

[Paul]

Democratic Party files lawsuit alleging Russia, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks conspired to disrupt the 2016 campaign
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democratic-party-files-lawsuit-alleging-russia-the-trump-campaign-and-wikileaks-conspired-to-disrupt-the-2016-campaign/2018/04/20/befe8364-4418-11e8-8569-26fda6b404c7_story.html?utm_term=.4bbe6b6d52de

While I disagree with most of Reruns defence of Trump, including her comments on this case, I feel this case is a desperate and pathetic publicity stunt by the Democrats and only proves that deep down they are as unworthy of office as the Republicans.

[Michael Murphy]

Actually I think the case has merit.  It should have been clear to everyone that the purloined emails were the result of a hacking attack on the Democratic servers.  This is a major violation of federal law, cyber security and wire fraud statutes.  The publishing of stolen material is a crime, at a minimum it makes the members of this group of defendants guilty of participating in this crime.  The lawsuit is the only way the victims of thins crime can get redress.  Leaving Trump out is appropriate at thins time since at this time there is no evidence of collusion.  Should Mueller find the smoking gun he can be added at a later date.

[Paul]

Actually I think the case has merit.

That may be true, but even if it is, that does not change nor invalidate what I said.

[Simon Dog]

The publishing of stolen material is a crime, at a minimum it makes the members of this group of defendants guilty of participating in this crime.

Not sure if this is true, provided the publishing party was not a party to the theft.   This logic was used in an earlier area to try to impose prior restraint on publication of the Pentagon Papers.

[Michael Murphy]

Prior restraint is the attempt to ban publication by the goverment.    Accessories after the fact are people who while not participants in the planning or carrying out the crime aid and abet the felons in the time after the crime.  Every one the democrats are suing are known participants to that crime.  This is a goverment that has pardoned two republican felons for political reasons.  There is reason to believe that this president would pardon the criminals in this case.  So this lawsuit is pardon proof and the participants are libel to the discovery that is part of the civil court process.  Generally this suit would not be filed because the victims would not want the evidence made public.  Since the criminals have already published well I guess the victims will take them to court and during the discovery process more facts of this case will become know.

[Paul]

The publishing of stolen material is a crime, at a minimum it makes the members of this group of defendants guilty of participating in this crime.

Not sure if this is true, provided the publishing party was not a party to the theft.

I don't think this is correct, because if it were Julian Assange (WikkiLeaks) would have nothing to worry about, and the American authorities would not be after arresting him, he could come home and live a happy life free in the USA instead of hiding outside the country in an enemy embassy.

[MooseMom]

...it is is a desperate and pathetic publicity stunt by the Democrats and only proves that deep down they are as unworthy of office as the Republicans.

Actually, the DNC sued The Committee for the Re-Election of the President (that being Nixon) because of the Watergate scandal, and they won $750,000 in damages.  Two years later, Nixon was gone.  So this is very, very far from any sort of publicity stunt.  This suit has historic precedent AND legal precedent.  If the allegations of Trump's campaign, WikiLeaks, and the Russians of collusion are proven to be true, then RussiaGate will be a tea party compared to Watergate.

[Bill Peckham]

I don't think this is correct, because if it were Julian Assange (WikkiLeaks) would have nothing to worry about, and the American authorities would not be after arresting him, he could come home and live a happy life free in the USA instead of hiding outside the country in an enemy embassy.

Assange is as citizen of Australia and Ecuador. Ecuador is not an enemy of the United States. The British are the only ones with an arrest warrant for Assange. He has never indicated a desire to live in the USA. If Trump pardoned Assange tomorrow, Assange would still face arrest and jail in London due to the same problem he has now - a failure to Appear warrant. It isn't really fair to say he is hiding - we all know where he is ... but other than that you're right.

Assange would like a guarantee of a negative - that Britain will not extradite him to the US - Assange does not believe the British, from whom he wants a guarantee, he does not dispute that he did the crime for which there is a British warrant ... it sucks to be Julian Assange, why should I care?

[Simon Dog]

RussiaGate will be a tea party compared to Watergate.

Did you mean that the other way around?

If you did, my response would be "only in the minds of Democrats".  If you meant it as written, I agree.

[MooseMom]

Simon Dog, if the allegations are proven to be true and the DNC successfully sues the Trump campaign, et al, then the fallout will be expotentially worse than that of Watergate.  Thanks for alerting me to my confusing post!  You know me well enough to realize I had misspoken! 

Watergate was essentially the attempt to subvert an opposition campaign.  "RussiaGate" would be the same, IF the allegations are proven to be true.  No one disputes the fact that the Russians interfered, but the question remains to what extent did the Trump campaign join Russia in undermining the opposition's campaign?  And this wouldn't be "only in the minds of Democrats", because what is to stop the Russians from turning on Trump and undermining the midterms?

I suppose it is entirely possible for people in Trump's campaign to have teamed up with the Russians to get elected without Trump's realization.

But we will just have to wait and see if the lawsuit even moves forward.  If the court rules that the DNC has standing, then we're into a different ballgame.  But, the court might not rule in their favour after all.   To me, it's the Mueller investigation that's important, and adjacently, the investigation into Michael Cohen might turn out to be the most damaging to Trump himself.

 

[Michael Murphy]

Actually the lawsuit could act as a replacement for the Mueller investigation.  The New York Attorney general has a parallel investigation. If Trump kills the Mueller investigation or issues pardons to keep the players from talking the New York Attorney General would be able to keep going since the Presidunce can’t pardon state crimes.  A civil suit has more wide ranging discovery rights the a New York grand jury.  All told it may act to limit trumps ability to stop the inevitable inestigation of the 2016 election.

[Paul]

that Britain will not extradite him to the US -

You may be correct about most of these facts, I don't really follow that case now. However you are definitely wrong when you say "Britain will not extradite him to the US". When America demands, Britain tends to capitulate. In the case of arrest warrants it is usually the European Court Of Human Rights that stops us extraditing.

[Bill Peckham]

Confirmed:  when a dependent clause is read outside the context of its sentence the meaning can be totally different.

[Rerun]

Muller Report....       You guys may be right.  There will never be a Muller report now that there is a law suit.

Still will not find anything on Trump.  How can Russia influence the Mid-Terms?  We will vote for whom we want to vote.  Unless they interfere with the actual tabulations....