DOJ Initial Russia Hearings

[TGHusker]

Notice how Trump's lawyer is now distancing the admin from Flynn.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-flynn-plea-20171201-story.html

 

Trump’s lawyer, Ty Cobb, downplayed the plea and Flynn’s promise of cooperation. Despite the courtroom statements about another member of the transition team, Cobb said in his statement that “nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn.”

“The conclusion of this phase of the special counsel's work demonstrates again that the special counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion.”

 

Cobb also attempted to downplay Flynn’s role in the administration, saying that he was “at the White House for 25 days during the Trump Administration and a former Obama administration official.”

In fact, however, Flynn was among Trump’s closest advisors throughout his campaign. He was forced to resign from his post as national security advisor, one of the most senior positions in the White House, after the Washington Post disclosed that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other administration officials about his contacts with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

[Fru]

Ty Cobb. That still cracks me up. 

[Nebfanatic]

1 minute ago, TGHusker said:

Notice how Trump's lawyer is now distancing the admin from Flynn.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-flynn-plea-20171201-story.html

 

Trump’s lawyer, Ty Cobb, downplayed the plea and Flynn’s promise of cooperation. Despite the courtroom statements about another member of the transition team, Cobb said in his statement that “nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn.”

“The conclusion of this phase of the special counsel's work demonstrates again that the special counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion.”

 

Cobb also attempted to downplay Flynn’s role in the administration, saying that he was “at the White House for 25 days during the Trump Administration and a former Obama administration official.”

In fact, however, Flynn was among Trump’s closest advisors throughout his campaign. He was forced to resign from his post as national security advisor, one of the most senior positions in the White House, after the Washington Post disclosed that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other administration officials about his contacts with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

I fear we will begin to see an even stronger misinformation campaign the closer this gets to the top. If we thought Trump has been crazy up to this point we are in for a ride now. He and his team will become even more volatile and look to create division and confusion. The entire goal will be to divert attention away from what's really happening and the antics they will engage in to achieve this end will likely be very damaging to our culture. Trump will wage all out war on anyone who doesn't support him(most people) and attempt to get those who still support him to follow suit. We have to remain strong as a people because I fear things are going to get much worse before we are rid of this disaster.

[TGHusker]

2 minutes ago, Nebfanatic said:

I fear we will begin to see an even stronger misinformation campaign the closer this gets to the top. If we thought Trump has been crazy up to this point we are in for a ride now. He and his team will become even more volatile and look to create division and confusion. The entire goal will be to divert attention away from what's really happening and the antics they will engage in to achieve this end will likely be very damaging to our culture. Trump will wage all out war on anyone who doesn't support him(most people) and attempt to get those who still support him to follow suit. We have to remain strong as a people because I fear things are going to get much worse before we are rid of this disaster.

Ummmmm  seems like perfect timing for a war wt NK .. don't you think.

 

How Sanders can stand up there and defend this guy is beyond the pale.  But then again Mike Huckabee is her dad and he is never lost for words.  But that is what it will come down to - we'll see three or 4 of these guys in the administration giving out daily propaganda briefings:

10 minutes ago, Fru said:

Ty Cobb. That still cracks me up. 

I guess the parents envisioned a baseball player and got a lawyer instead. 

[Nebfanatic]

1 minute ago, TGHusker said:

Ummmmm  seems like perfect timing for a war wt NK .. don't you think.

 

How Sanders can stand up there and defend this guy is beyond the pale.  But then again Mike Huckabee is her dad and he is never lost for words.  But that is what it will come down to - we'll see three or 4 of these guys in the administration giving out daily propaganda briefings:

He's been conditioning his base for a war with NK since he took office so I wouldn't be surprised in the least. Trump is no genius but he isn't a fool either. 

 

How I would love to be a fly on the wall in the WH. Trump was mentally unhinged already but now.........

Spoiler

 

[Landlord]

1 hour ago, Fru said:

Ty Cobb. That still cracks me up. 

 

 

 

[Fru]

1 minute ago, Landlord said:

 

 

 

 

Love me some celtic punk

[BigRedBuster]

Good question. 

 

Its along the the same lines as if your wife asks you if you talked to a certain woman. 

 

If if you lied and said “no” but you did......why did you lie?

 

 

[NM11046]

I want you all to read what he says and tell me there's not something wrong with him cognitively (other than the fact that he's lying):

 

"No I'm not - what has been shown is that there is no collusion.  No collusion.  There's absolutely there's been absolutely no collusion, so we're very happy.  And frankly last night was one of the big nights.  We'll see what happens."

[BigRedBuster]

 

[Danny Bateman]

This has been a bad weekend of Trump news on Russia.

 

 

Quote

On Dec. 29, a transition adviser to Mr. Trump, K. T. McFarland, wrote in an email to a colleague that sanctions announced hours before by the Obama administration in retaliation for Russian election meddling were aimed at discrediting Mr. Trump’s victory. The sanctions could also make it much harder for Mr. Trump to ease tensions with Russia, “which has just thrown the U.S.A. election to him,” she wrote in the emails obtained by The Times.

 

But it is evident from the emails — which were obtained from someone who had access to transition team communications — that after learning that President Barack Obama would expel 35 Russian diplomats, the Trump team quickly strategized about how to reassure Russia. The Trump advisers feared that a cycle of retaliation between the United States and Russia would keep the spotlight on Moscow’s election meddling, tarnishing Mr. Trump’s victory and potentially hobbling his presidency from the start.

 

As part of the outreach, Ms. McFarland wrote, Mr. Flynn would be speaking with the Russian ambassador, Mr. Kislyak, hours after Mr. Obama’s sanctions were announced.

 

“Key will be Russia’s response over the next few days,” Ms. McFarland wrote in an email to another transition official, Thomas P. Bossert, now the president’s homeland security adviser.

...
 

The Trump transition team ignored a pointed request from the Obama administration to avoid sending conflicting signals to foreign officials before the inauguration and to include State Department personnel when contacting them. Besides the Russian ambassador, Mr. Flynn, at the request of the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, contacted several other foreign officials to urge them to delay or block a United Nations resolution condemning Israel over its building of settlements.
 

Mr. Cobb said the Trump team had never agreed to avoid such interactions. But one former White House official has disputed that, telling Mr. Mueller’s investigators that Trump transition officials had agreed to honor the Obama administration’s request.
 

Mr. Bossert forwarded Ms. McFarland’s Dec. 29 email exchange about the sanctions to six other Trump advisers, including Mr. Flynn; Reince Priebus, who had been named as chief of staff; Stephen K. Bannon, the senior strategist; and Sean Spicer, who would become the press secretary.
 

Mr. Obama, she wrote, was trying to “box Trump in diplomatically with Russia,” which could limit his options with other countries, including Iran and Syria. “Russia is key that unlocks door,” she wrote.

...

It is uncertain how involved Mr. Trump was in the discussions among his staff members of Mr. Flynn’s conversation with the Russian ambassador. Mr. Spicer told reporters on the morning of Dec. 29 that the president-elect would be meeting with his national security team, including Ms. McFarland, that day. A phone call that included Mr. Trump, Mr. Flynn, Ms. McFarland, Mr. Priebus and Mr. Bannon was scheduled for 5 p.m., shortly after Ms. McFarland’s email exchange. It is unclear whether the call took place.

 

So, to recap, Obama punishes Russia for infringing on our election and asks the Trump administration to respect that during the transition. They reportedly said they would, and proceeded to do the exact opposite behind closed doors. 

 

McFarland, a failed politician and Fox News retread, emailed a bunch of senior members of the Trump administration, citing how sanctions could make it harder to appease Russia "who had just thrown the USA election to him." 

All those people were looped in on this email, deciding to undermine Obama, and reportedly all hopped on the phone just a few hours later to discuss... something. WITH TRUMP.

 

What an absolute cesspool of idiocy and arrogance. This is like Keystone Cops bad. 

Between the Great Frosty Hope coming home and the revelations of this weekend, I'm feeling night and day from last night when that awful tax bill was rammed through the Senate.

[Danny Bateman]

Evan seems to agree.

 

 

[NM11046]

Man am I loving the irony of Trump being taken down by a Fox News person.  Thanks KT!

[BigRedBuster]

 

[Danny Bateman]

14 hours ago, BigRedBuster said:

 

 

Dowd has to get interviewed about this by Mueller, doesn't he? Can you haul in Trump's lawyer if they throw him under the bus? I'd imagine someone, somewhere has to know that Trump himself tweeted that.