The Trump Investigation(s) Thread

[Holman]

The NY Times severely narrows the search down on the whistle blower. Incredibly irresponsible if you ask me. The same paper literally reported earlier in the day that the President himself made allusions to executing the whistle blower (but just a joke right? right...).

It is irresponsible, but.... if the NYT can do it, surely folks in the White House can do it.

This whistleblower probably expected to be found out.

Future whistleblowers might be different, and will be greatly discouraged by the NYT's blunder.

[malchior]

The NY Times severely narrows the search down on the whistle blower. Incredibly irresponsible if you ask me. The same paper literally reported earlier in the day that the President himself made allusions to executing the whistle blower (but just a joke right? right...).

It is irresponsible, but.... if the NYT can do it, surely folks in the White House can do it.

Plus the whistleblower has already indicated he wants to testify, right?

(And if you want to get nit picky about it, I think Trump made allusions to executing the person who leaked information to the whistleblower.)

They didn't have to testify in an open session. During the hearing the committee specifically said they were committed to protecting his identity. The lawyer of the whistle blower also had said they wanted to be anonymous still.

Also about the comments by Trump. No he made allusions to both. You have to listen to the audio to pick up on it (it's in the link below). He says the whistle blower was like a spy...then goes on to say the people who leaked information. - he then talks about the old way they treated spies and traitors. It is a comment about both.

Anyway, senior members of the intelligence community and others are in an uproar about the NY Times piece. They are the experts and have a lot of points about it.

But John Sipher, a 28-year veteran of the CIA, disagreed with the Times' decision, since it would likely have a chilling effect for others who witness wrongdoing and wish to report it.
"Providing details on the whistleblower insures that the next person who considers doing the right thing will think twice," Sipher told Task & Purpose. "In our era of brutal tribal politics, I can imagine that this person will be hounded and threatened if his name becomes public."

In addition, Sipher brought up a recent example of reporters with NBC showing up at the door of a suspected Russian defector, which didn't "benefit the public debate," but instead, only jeopardizes people who do the right thing. The Washington Post later identified the Russian by name.

[Isgrimnur]

Newsweek

The lead attorney for the anonymous Ukraine whistleblower whose complaint has created a new controversy surrounding President Donald Trump and sparked a formal impeachment inquiry, is Andrew Bakaj, a former CIA officer who works for a group supporting whistleblowers.

Bakaj "serves of counsel to Whistleblower Aid," according to the website of the nonprofit that provides legal advice to government employees reporting wrongdoing in office. Bakaj does not list that position in his LinkedIn profile, which states that he served as a senior investigator with the Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General. He is a founding and managing partner of Compass Rose Legal Group, PLLC, his current firm.
...
On his LinkedIn profile, Bakaj writes that he began serving in the CIA in 2012 and that he was "hand-selected by the Inspector General to develop a whistleblower reprisal investigation program to comply with" an Obama administration directive. Bajaj's security clearance was suspended after he reported concerns from his coworkers to the intelligence community inspector general's office and CIA superiors apparently found out who the whistleblowers were. Bakaj retired from the CIA in 2015 and founded Compass Rose Legal Group.

[Daehawk]

Giuliani says he will come out the hero in all this. Thats boy's cheese done slid off his cracker. He talks like a mental kid.

[Smoove_B]

Nunes, seriously WTF:

Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, left everyone baffled when he said at a Thursday hearing that Democrats wanted "nude pictures" of President Donald Trump.

...

"And of course, Democrats on this very committee negotiated with people who they thought were Ukrainians in order to obtain nude pictures of Trump," Nunes continued, not clarifying what nude pictures or which committee members he was talking about.

[LordMortis]

Nunes, seriously WTF:

Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, left everyone baffled when he said at a Thursday hearing that Democrats wanted "nude pictures" of President Donald Trump.

...

"And of course, Democrats on this very committee negotiated with people who they thought were Ukrainians in order to obtain nude pictures of Trump," Nunes continued, not clarifying what nude pictures or which committee members he was talking about.

Pee tapes?

[gilraen]

Nunes, seriously WTF:

Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, left everyone baffled when he said at a Thursday hearing that Democrats wanted "nude pictures" of President Donald Trump.

...

"And of course, Democrats on this very committee negotiated with people who they thought were Ukrainians in order to obtain nude pictures of Trump," Nunes continued, not clarifying what nude pictures or which committee members he was talking about.

Freudian slip?

[Zaxxon]

I'm not always an AOC fan, but a fuckin' men.

[malchior]

If she voted for Obama and then voted for Trump, isn't that, by definition, a swing voter?

Someone just posted that one of the six they interviewed went to 23 Trump rallies. I'd say that is not a swing voter. Between this, the Whistle blower story, and everyone flexing on Ken Vogel for talking up the Biden story...the NY Times again looks like it simply hasn't learned from 2016. They also had all the social media blunders editorially. They are certainly getting big stories but they have big problems too.

[Daehawk]

Lamar Alexander. Ive lived in TN my entire life and Ive not met a single person who liked him. Someone does or he wouldn't be in office yet in 50 years ive not personally heard anyone say anything good on him and always that he is a moron or incompetent or a dumbass.

[Skinypupy]

The lady next to me on the plane watched 4.5 hours of Fox News, so I watched by proxy.

Good god...the derp.

[Holman]

The lady next to me on the plane watched 4.5 hours of Fox News, so I watched by proxy.

Good god...the derp.

Sometimes you have to take one for the team and force the emergency exit at 25,000 feet.

[malchior]

The lady next to me on the plane watched 4.5 hours of Fox News, so I watched by proxy.

Good god...the derp.

Same thing here. I had a mix of CBS, NBC, and CNN going and was getting the stink eye.

[GungHo]

The lady next to me on the plane watched 4.5 hours of Fox News, so I watched by proxy.

Good god...the derp.

Someone watched 4.5 hours of, well anything, without headphones, on a plane???? What a jerk.


I really am wondering (worrying?) about the trump advisers that said to release this transcript. Are they just so far gone that they really, honestly, can't see how terrible that thing is? Are they wholly incompetent? Is it a palace coup?

And why did they release it? It's not like 'political pressure' has ever meant anything to this administration before..what changed? trump could've claimed 'executive privilege' or whatnot to not release it, and his base would have gone right along with it, no questions asked. Which means the GOP would have too. I mean we have known since oh...1985 or so, that trump wasnt fit to be president, but to make an unforced error of this magnitude...it's just sooo bad.
Maybe this is what wakes up those supporters that don't really like trump, but voted for him bc he wasn't Clinton? Maybe?

[Fretmute]

Maybe this is what wakes up those supporters that don't really like trump, but voted for him bc he wasn't Clinton? Maybe?

The "he's still less corrupt than Clinton" folks remain out in full force. I ran into them tonight!

[stessier]

The lady next to me on the plane watched 4.5 hours of Fox News, so I watched by proxy.

Good god...the derp.

Someone watched 4.5 hours of, well anything, without headphones, on a plane???? What a jerk.

I've never been on a plane where there screens had speakers. Either the subtitles were on our he just saw the guests and the Chiron crawl... Which is more than enough for most people.

[malchior]

As I'm catching up on today's morning news I could help but fell that the more I read the more I'm convinced Biden is damaged goods as others have mentioned here. Many mentions of the Trump story are accompanied by the same lies and half-truths about Biden. Whether they are GOP loyalists, deplorables, or bots the effect is the same.

There is a new thread today about how Shokin swore an affidavit that he was fired because he wouldn't stop an investigation into Hunter Biden. It includes images of the affidavit which is in english but oddly notarized in Cyrillic characters. I don't know if that is odd but it certainly feels odd. Which even if it was true is bullshit because the timelines don't match up. In fact, the opposite was true. Biden was pushing for corruption investigations that would have swept up the company at question. It is complete bullshit. And that should infuriate us.

[Zaxxon]

The meltdown continues...



(That's not a hyphen. Also, an apostrophe doesn't help his cause here.)



(Thread. Very legal and very good.)



(Yes, Schiff is the fraud. Anyone know what this bitching is about?)

[LawBeefaroni]

Nunes, seriously WTF:

Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, left everyone baffled when he said at a Thursday hearing that Democrats wanted "nude pictures" of President Donald Trump.

...

"And of course, Democrats on this very committee negotiated with people who they thought were Ukrainians in order to obtain nude pictures of Trump," Nunes continued, not clarifying what nude pictures or which committee members he was talking about.

Freudian slip?

Fake nudes.

[pr0ner]

(Yes, Schiff is the fraud. Anyone know what this bitching is about?)

Apparently Schiff decided to parody Trump's phone call with Ukraine and Republicans/Fox News don't like it one bit.

[LawBeefaroni]

I'm not always an AOC fan, but a fuckin' men.

I'd guess that most of them have read it but saying you didn't read it is a good way of avoiding having to answer questions about it until you've been told what to say by the party.

For some, may be they haven't read it but not because they didn't have time. It's the same reason people don't open bills or avoid frank discussions. If you ignore it, it goes away for a bit.

[Zaxxon]

I mean, those are reasons for not having read, say, the ACA text the day it's released. Not reading a 9-page document that's the most important thing any of them have or will have seen this month? Not so valid.

[LawBeefaroni]

I mean, those are reasons for not having read, say, the ACA text the day it's released. Not reading a 9-page document that's the most important thing any of them have or will have seen this month? Not so valid.

Like I said, most have probably read it. They just didn't want to have to answer questions so they said they didn't.

The ones that didn't, I'm not saying it's a valid reason. It's the same reason my 3-year-old buries his head in the couch and covers his ears when he knows he's in trouble. It's a very temporary way to avoid dealing with it.

[Zaxxon]

I hear you. I'm getting at the fact that so many people just accept that excuse even though it's so clearly bullshit. Sad!

[Defiant]

If I were a Senate Republican (or a Democrat, for that matter) I would just say that it is likely I will be serving as Juror in an impeachment trial and as such, it is improper for me to answer questions on the matter at this time.

[El Guapo]

I mean, those are reasons for not having read, say, the ACA text the day it's released. Not reading a 9-page document that's the most important thing any of them have or will have seen this month? Not so valid.

Like I said, most have probably read it. They just didn't want to have to answer questions so they said they didn't.

The ones that didn't, I'm not saying it's a valid reason. It's the same reason my 3-year-old buries his head in the couch and covers his ears when he knows he's in trouble. It's a very temporary way to avoid dealing with it.

It's also one of their go-to excuses ("I haven't seen that tweet / report / video"), so most of them are probably regurgitating it from muscle memory, without really thinking through (or caring) how absurd it is applies to this situation.

[Skinypupy]

The lady next to me on the plane watched 4.5 hours of Fox News, so I watched by proxy.

Good god...the derp.

Someone watched 4.5 hours of, well anything, without headphones, on a plane???? What a jerk.

I've never been on a plane where there screens had speakers. Either the subtitles were on our he just saw the guests and the Chiron crawl... Which is more than enough for most people.

It was the latter. I couldn't hear the exact spittle-flecked dialog, but seeing the chryons was enough to make my brain hurt.

[noxiousdog]

Apparently Schiff decided to parody Trump's phone call with Ukraine and Republicans/Fox News don't like it one bit.

It was widely criticized. For example, the 538 bloggers nearly universally commented it was bad form.There's enough meat there without having to make anything up.

[Scraper]

I tried to watch 15 minutes of Hannity last night, just to see how he could possibly justify this. I literally left wondering how anyone could be so dense as to believe the absolute garbage that was being spewed. He had two different guests on. Neither of them were experts in anything other than Republican talking points. They literally talked for 15 minutes without saying anything with any substance or truth behind it. All it was was biased talking point to biased talking point with no substance.

Meanwhile flip over to Maddow and the woman is just completely on the top of her game. Almost everything she said or did was backed up by proof and an actual expert qualified to talk about the topic.

It literally is two different worlds. One based on reality, facts and solid reasoning and another backed only by gas lighting and political bias. And I'm not saying Maddow isn't biased, she obviously is. The difference is that she backs up what she says with actual facts.

[Zaxxon]

The meltdown continues...



(That's not a hyphen. Also, an apostrophe doesn't help his cause here.)



(Thread. Very legal and very good.)



(Yes, Schiff is the fraud. Anyone know what this bitching is about?)

The meltdown continues, Mk II:



(Related: I wanted Ukraine to investigate Biden in order to receive US aid. They said, of course, YES!)





(Schiff has been doing parodies of Trump for two years? News! As ND alluded, even when Trump has something to legitimately bitch about, he has to create his own self-parody/self-own, neutering his point.)



(Because they're actually doing something?)



(Total gibberish / made-up bullshit)

The tweets comprising both of my posts are just from this AM, and do not even include all of his tweets. This is a very stable genius, indeed.

[Zarathud]

If Trump can’t handle the heat, it’s time for him to get out of the kitchen. Resign!

Trump is a serial offender. Who knows what other secret memos of phone calls are hiding on that server.

[Holman]

If Trump can’t handle the heat, it’s time for him to get out of the kitchen. Resign!

Trump is a serial offender. Who knows what other secret memos of phone calls are hiding on that server.

Russia just put out a statement that they hope Trump won't release his calls with Putin the way he released the call with Zelensky.

That is some expert trolling right there.

[Sepiche]

I think this captures the mood on Twitter this morning:

The President has had a completely insane day of tweeting but at least it's

*checks watch*

wow

[malchior]

I tried to watch 15 minutes of Hannity last night, just to see how he could possibly justify this. I literally left wondering how anyone could be so dense as to believe the absolute garbage that was being spewed. He had two different guests on. Neither of them were experts in anything other than Republican talking points. They literally talked for 15 minutes without saying anything with any substance or truth behind it. All it was was biased talking point to biased talking point with no substance.

Meanwhile flip over to Maddow and the woman is just completely on the top of her game. Almost everything she said or did was backed up by proof and an actual expert qualified to talk about the topic.

It literally is two different worlds. One based on reality, facts and solid reasoning and another backed only by gas lighting and political bias. And I'm not saying Maddow isn't biased, she obviously is. The difference is that she backs up what she says with actual facts.

I also think the right has twisted the language of 'news analysis' way from the norm to their advantage. The right has turned 'bias' into a term that is tantamount to corruption. In reality, Maddow has a viewpoint and uses evidence to support why her viewpoint is closer to reality. The right however pushes back and says that viewpoints are bias and journalists are supposed to be free from any bias. That is clearly an impossibility. They use that impossible position as an attack point to tear down the framework of logic that literally is the basis of modern journalism. That is why they've been able to frame nearly everything in the MSM as left-leaning. Any evidence based framework that doesn't support GOP power is always portrayed as a partisan liberal construction. It has been one of the most successful propaganda efforts in modern history.

If Trump can’t handle the heat, it’s time for him to get out of the kitchen. Resign!

Trump is a serial offender. Who knows what other secret memos of phone calls are hiding on that server.

Russia just put out a statement that they hope Trump won't release his calls with Putin the way he released the call with Zelensky.

That is some expert trolling right there.

Yup - they probably strongly suspect that their conversations are in the code word vault anyway and even if released they'll show very embarrassing things that will cause more chaos. Win/win.

[Zaxxon]

Yup - they probably strongly suspect that their conversations are in the code word vault anyway and even if released they'll show very embarrassing things that will cause more chaos. Win/win.

And yet, if you tell Donald Trump not to do something...

[Skinypupy]

Good lord, he is a whiny little bitch.

How anyone can read or listen to him and come away thinking "that is truly a strong, capable leader" is entirely beyond me.

[Daehawk]

Good lord, he is a whiny little bitch.

How anyone can read or listen to him and come away thinking "that is truly a strong, capable leader" is entirely beyond me.

Gworius weader would like a word with you...



Its just another day in the Trump soap opera.

Take 110,284!

[YellowKing]

"This whistleblower had no first-hand knowledge of the phone call!"
<Releases transcript of phone call that matches exactly what whistleblower claimed>

"This is all second-hand and third-hand information! This whistleblower is making it up!"
<Admits phone call was moved to a separate server just as whistleblower described>

Pro tip for crooks - if you want to discredit a whistleblower, you may want to not corroborate everything they say.

Also I've never said, nor heard, the term "whistleblower" more in my life than I have this week.

[em2nought]

Also I've never said, nor heard, the term "whistleblower" more in my life than I have this week.

Frankly, I prefer the term "deep state operative".

[Daehawk]

Deep Throat.