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linw:
Just when you thought there was at least one man who wouldn't fold, and that justice would prevail, we get that letter. ...
As we have not yet seen the actual report, we don't know who folded - was it Mueller or Barr or both?
Pass the sick bag, please.
Sideface
At this stage I'm not sure if Seth Abramson is clutching at straws, or is making a valid point.
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1109913558333210629?s=20
The general gist of his argument is that the collusion charge that AG Barr states Trump is not guilty of is one that nobody has ever accused him of in the first place. And the actual collusion that we know about from public reporting wasn't even investigated by Mueller at all.
As to the obstruction of justice charges, it sounds like Mueller passed the ball to the Justice Department, and they said "Yeah, nah. We're cool with all that." Which is 100% consistent with AG Barr's public statements on all this prior to his hiring.
This seems like it has a lot of political machinations to go through yet. But I suspect it is more than enough to ensure that Trump has a strong chance of being re-elected in 2020. Even though he is demonstrably and woefully incompetent. Partisan politics are a helluva drug.
dclegg:
At this stage I'm not sure if Seth Abramson is clutching at straws, or is making a valid point.
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1109913558333210629?s=20
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Sideface:
... As we have not yet seen the actual report, we don't know who folded - was it Mueller or Barr or both? ...
According to Seth Abramson (above):
PS5. Mueller wasn't even *consulted* on Barr's letter, as we'd been promised he would.
Sideface
The New York Times - No Collusion, No ‘Exoneration’
A Trump-friendly attorney general’s letter doesn’t do justice to the special counsel’s investigation. Release his whole report.
By The Editorial Board
The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section.
March 24, 2019
On its face, the letter that Attorney General William Barr sent to Congress on Sunday afternoon, summarizing the key findings of the special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, is good news, not just for President Trump.
According to Mr. Barr’s four-page summary, Mr. Mueller and his team were unable to establish that anyone connected to the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government when it interfered to help Mr. Trump in the 2016 presidential campaign. ...
Less than 48 hours after receiving Mr. Mueller’s report, the attorney general briskly decided that Mr. Trump had not obstructed justice. ...
How did Mr. Barr make these determinations so quickly? On what evidence in the report did he base it?
Recall that Mr. Barr got his current job only after Mr. Trump shoved out his predecessor, Jeff Sessions, for not showing him enough personal loyalty and shutting down the Russia investigation at the start.
Among the reasons Mr. Barr may have appealed to the president was an unsolicited memo he sent last year to the Justice Department, taking the position that Mr. Mueller should not be allowed to question Mr. Trump about obstructing justice, and that the president could not be guilty of obstruction unless there were an underlying crime to obstruct.
In other words, Mr. Barr did exactly as Mr. Trump hoped he would. ...
Sideface
Sideface
Barrs letter refers to no evidence of collusion with the Russian government.
Trump's campaign manager and deputy campaign manager handed a Russian "non government - but interested party / consultant" 75 pages of secret internal polling data so they'd know where to target voters on social media, launched out of the also non Russian Government Internet Research Agency.
And more, but nevermind. ~40% of American voters think that's okay. You collude with someone who's not a government official but works to the government's agenda, and scream "no collusion" in all caps.
Herr Trump is angrier and more dangerous than ever ...
The New York Times - Trump Blames ‘Treasonous’ Critics for Russia Inquiry
March 25, 2019
WASHINGTON — President Trump went on the offensive on Monday a day after the special counsel investigation reported no conspiracy with Russia, suggesting that critics who pursued such suspicions were “treasonous,” guilty of “evil things” and should be investigated themselves.
Grim faced and simmering with anger, Mr. Trump repeated his assertion that a collection of partisan foes had effectively conspired to try to disrupt or even end his presidency with false allegations about his campaign’s ties with Moscow in 2016.
“There are a lot of people out there that have done some very, very evil things, some bad things, I would say some treasonous things against our country,” he told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. ...
“I’ve been looking at them for a long time,” he added, “and I’m saying why haven’t they been looked at? They lied to Congress, many of them, you know who they are. They’ve done so many evil things.” ...
Mr. Trump indicated that he would support releasing the full report by Mr. Mueller, as demanded by congressional Democrats. “Up to the attorney general,” he said. “Wouldn’t bother me at all.”...
Sideface
The New York Times - Trump’s Shamelessness Was Outside Mueller’s Jurisdiction
A demagogic president can walk right up to the edge of committing a crime, so long as he operates brazenly in public view.
By Bob Bauer
Mr. Bauer is a professor of practice and distinguished scholar in residence at New York University School of Law.
March 25, 2019 (short extracts)
The Mueller report marked a low point for more substantive norms of presidential conduct.
It shows that a demagogic president like Donald Trump can devalue or even depart radically from key norms, just short of committing chargeable crimes, so long as he operates mostly and brazenly in full public view.
For a demagogue, shamelessness is its own reward. ...
For the classic demagogue, so feared by the founders, the only question is what works to serve his own interests.
He will do, and he will say, what it takes, weighing only the personal costs against the personal benefits.
In the polarized politics of the day, Mr. Trump is bolstered in his demagogic conduct by a passionately loyal “base” impressed by his norm-busting. ...
We have reason to salute Mr. Mueller: As a prosecutor, he did his job conscientiously, and the process generally worked as designed.
But we now have cause to worry about the future of the norms that Mr. Trump could trash on a calculation that he could get away with it.
It was a good moment for the demagogue.
Sideface
The Trump family is a nest of snakes. Congress seems to be the last hope. Unless someone can come up with something to finally nail that SOB, I think it really is the end of American democracy. The problem is that those who respect the rules try to play by them. The Trump mafia tries to find ways around them. It is hard to win by fighting clean when the opponent fights dirty. I continue to hope for the best but I do fear the worst.
Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos
Donald as The Heroic Victim (again) ...
At the White House on Monday:
Trump suggested that those behind the Mueller investigation should be investigated for their own conduct.
“They’ve done so many evil things,” said Trump. “It was a false narrative, it was a terrible thing"
"We can never let this happen to another president again. I can tell you that. I say it very strongly."
"Very few people I know could have handled it."
"We can never ever let this happen to another president again.” ...
Sideface
This will get buried deeper than the Challenger Deep.
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