Donald Trump Presidency-Day One

[slave2u]

One question that will arise is -did the Republican Candidate who appointed Manafort to lead his campaign team know that Manafort had close political and financial links to the former government of the Ukraine and its President Viktor Yanukovich, that he did not declare these links and their financial character to the relevant authorities in the USA, and was there any conduit of money and/or intelligence between Manafort, his disgraced associates who in 2014 absconded from justice to live in Russia, and the government of Russia?

trump's answer will be 'crooked hilary is to blame. bigly mad. bigly sad'.
or 'fake news.bad'

[Stavros]

What strikes me about what we know so far, going back to the beginning around the time the campaign began officially in 2016, is the number of people in the presidential campaign and then after the inauguration, who have lied, not just to each other or the press, but to law enforcement agencies. If you add in the clear links between people in the campaign and foreign governments -Ukraine and Russia-, you could say this reveals the amateurish nature of their campaign, their lack of experience in politics -except that Manafort as a lobbyist would surely know what is legal and what is not. This suggests contempt, that these people had decided the FBI, the Department of Justice, the CIA were all part of a 'corrupt' 'broken system' and could be disregarded as if lying to them was of no consequence. Flynn lied, Sessions lied, the President's family members lied, Manafort lied, Gates lied, Papadopoulos lied and yet we have denials from the White House who ought not to even be saying anything right now. Where in all this was the Republican Party establishment, eg Reince Priebus, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell? And we have only just started.

As for Manafort's lawyer barking outside the court that all his client wanted to do was to develop democracy in the Ukraine -you have to marvel at the guy's brazen cheek. By the time Yanukovich ran away to Moscow after the Maidan Revolution in 2014, he and his cronies are estimated to have robbed the Ukraine of two-thirds of its wealth. Democracy had nothing to do with it. We await the next indictments with interest.

[filghy2]

Where in all this was the Republican Party establishment, eg Reince Priebus, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell?

It seems they just want to change the subject and go back to their main priority of passing tax cuts for the wealthy. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-polit...lican-reaction

[broncofan]

I have read various reports that more indictments are likely to be coming soon, that Papadopoulos likely wore a wire between July and October 5, and that the high level official mentioned in the stipulation of facts for Papadopoulos' plea is really Manafort. These are things being whispered by mostly credible journalists on twitter but may not be certain enough to print. For instance, Papadopoulos' cooperation has been called "proactive" which according to federal prosecutors is a euphemism for wearing a wire. This much is likely to be true.

But if Manafort was the source that Papadopoulos told about his meeting with a Russian government official regarding incriminating emails then the head of Trump's campaign knew about Russian hacking as of April 2016. This also means Trump is virtually certain to have known. Which means at the best, he lied to the public about an espionage campaign against the United States and never notified the FBI about a vital matter of national security concern. He stood up in debates and dissembled about China and a 400 pound hacker. Even when he was showed intelligence data proving the link he continued to subvert and undermine these agencies.

[Stavros]

For those interested, Seth Abramson was one of the first to identify Papadopoulos as a potential source on the Russian links, he even goes as far as to claim he was, 'in effect' a Kremlin agent. His twitter feed is here-

https://twitter.com/SethAbramson

[broncofan]

Great find Stavros. Let's just say there are a lot of people on twitter you can follow who will feed you bs, but Abramson seems one of the most responsible in his process and his deductions. Also recommend. He tells you when he's speculating, which given what's public is necessary, and he makes sensible deductions.

[broncofan]

Actually shouldn't say also recommend since you're not necessarily recommending it. I've found his tweet storms to be very good. For instance, this one about the lies Sarah Huckabee Sanders told in her press conference are very good, especially for his clarification about Hillary's purported involvement with Fusion GPS.

https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/sta...64821137199104

[Stavros]

Actually shouldn't say also recommend since you're not necessarily recommending it. I've found his tweet storms to be very good. For instance, this one about the lies Sarah Huckabee Sanders told in her press conference are very good, especially for his clarification about Hillary's purported involvement with Fusion GPS.

All good points. The crunch may come if Mueller begins to look at any links between Russia and the Campaign that pass through Felix Sater and Manhattan real estate, as the President has said he will not allow Mueller to investigate his family business. The problem is that while 'collusion' in the sense of an agreed plan between the campaign and the Russians to work together to smear Hillary Clinton directly through planted Facebook/social media may not be proven, that kind of Russian interference was part of the Russian plan and welcomed by the campaign team who, it may transpire knew of it but did nothing to stop it. The meeting in New York attended by Manafort, Kushner and members of the family may turn out to be axis on which this turns, for if it leads to an indictment of Eric or Donald junior, Mueller will either be sacked, or the President issue an official pardon. Question is, where is Michael Flynn in all this? What becomes clear is the insatiable venom Republicans have had for the Clinton family ever since Bill was elected President. I think they hate them more than they hate Obama. Their genuine fear that Hillary was a winner led them to view any attack on her as an advance for them, yet seem not have cared if it came from a foreign source, such was their hostility to their fellow American. A campaign and a Presidency based on resentment, revenge and arrogance. Not a sound base on which to govern a country.

[filghy2]

A campaign and a Presidency based on resentment, revenge and arrogance. Not a sound base on which to govern a country.

Unfortunately, over 80% of Republican voters still seem to think it is a sound basis for governing. Unless that changes Trump will probably stay safe, at least until after the mid-terms.

[filghy2]

Meanwhile, here's the view from the lunatic fringe https://www.salon.com/2017/11/01/ale...ng-of-america/